Looks like A&M put their new toys in the drink!

The Alcos are only used for tourists excursions now, retired from mainline service. I had tickets to ride this week, in their Vista Dome, but the derailment has forced A&M to reschedule the passenger events. :(
 
Pity, 'dem old ALCo's run better than any of these new fangled locomotives with their fancy computers! In fact that is why many shortline railroads hang on to their ALCos. They are easy to maintain, get parts for, and make a lotta smoke! LAL has a full ALCo roster by me up here in Upstate NY, I have visited their shops many times. They have parts that you would not believe were even on locomotives. You wont see a SD&70ACe traction motor lying around in the shop! Some other all ALCo railroads I can think of off the top of my head are, (correct me if I'm wrong) WNY&PA, Apache in AZ and the Adirondack Senic Railroad. These are some of the best and you should check them out!
 
Is there any other reason other than the strangely enjoyable sight of wanton air pollution to keep outdated, inefficient machines running around?

I kid, of course.
 
yea? if they are so easy to get parts for, why do you need one to be parts donor for another? every running ALCO lives off a dead counterpart.
 
norfolksouthern37 said:
yea? if they are so easy to get parts for, why do you need one to be parts donor for another? every running ALCO lives off a dead counterpart.
Click to expand...

I know that GE makes parts for EMD or ALCO locomotives, I can't remember which one it is though. Also, here's a listing on locomotive manufacture, parts, and repair, along with some info about them, some of which supplies parts for ALCO locomotives:
http://www.railserve.com/Rolling_Stock/Locomotive_Manufacturers/
 
Here's an updated photo of A&M 70. Found this while scrolling on Facebook.
10616387_774790822580297_3242427829240058755_n.jpg
 
Ouchy. That's somewhat true JC, at LAL they have 6 C424/425's, and there's only one dead parts unit! Man I don't know how they do it.
 
norfolksouthern37 said:
yea? if they are so easy to get parts for, why do you need one to be parts donor for another? every running ALCO lives off a dead counterpart.
Click to expand...
Not entirely true. Our RSD-15 has been kept running off new parts [albeit not from ALCO themselves] since we bought it at the turn of the century.
 
Yea I knew about aftermarket stuff. I think there was an article on that LAL discussing that, a lot of foreign locos used these parts and they can be remade, not to mention the engines used in other applications.
 
Thats very true JC, I remember an article somewhere maybe Railfan and Railroad, about LAL using after market parts. I am not postive, but I think LAL uses some after market parts. I'll dig into the archives. (aka the LAL shops :hehe:)
 
It was an Alco pulling the Excursion, and theres a pic of one through the woods, which though hard to see, looks at least a little banged up. They said the trains collided head on. 2 Passengers on the Excursion were Air-lifted to a local hospital. Out of 44 total people on the excursion, 35 were treated for injuries. Apparently the Excursion broke down (Being pulled by these famed A&M Alcos, not that I got anything against em, I love the older RS'1-5s), and the replacement power didn't know where they were. SO they came around a corner a "bit fast" and slammed right into the excursion.... The A&M Seems to be having a bad week with Corners....

Those are the salient points.

Edited to Add, I'm thinking A&M 70 will be out of the shop in a month or so. That damage actually looks really minimal considering it tipped over. The frame will have to be checked, but as long as its fine, and I think theres a good chance it is (They tipped going less then 17 MPH. A&M Publicly praised the crew for slowing down and keeping any of the Rail Cars from Derailing), it just needs the engine checking and some body work being done on it, new coat of paint and bam, back in business. The Excursion service is probably toast for awhile though. Hope that other fella that had tickets to ride it wasn't on it.....

Falcus
 
Last edited:
My rescheduled ticket was for Wednesday, three days from now, so thanks for thinking about me. Some train crew and passengers were badly hurt. Let's hope and pray they all recover, and that it won't be the end of A&M's excursion trains.

From NWAhomepage.com: "According to Passenger Train Operations Manager Brenda Rouse, all schedules have been suspended until further investigation. There is no set date to start running the rides again."
 
Last edited:
JackieG said:
Some other all ALCo railroads I can think of off the top of my head are, (correct me if I'm wrong) WNY&PA, Apache in AZ and the Adirondack Senic Railroad. These are some of the best and you should check them out!
Click to expand...
I'm late to the party, but all GVT (Genesee Valley Transportation) lines are also all Alco - DLWR (Depew NY and Batavia NY), FRR (Lockport NY to Brockport NY), and DL (in Northeastern PA).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
In the Matter of Payment on a Debt
Replies
0
Views
237
Euphod
E
Back
Top