ALCO Century 415

ALCO Century 415
Rock Island No. 415 in 1972
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Model Century 415 Build date 1966–1968 Total produced 26
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Prime mover Alco 251-F Engine type Turbocharged four-stroke diesel Cylinders 8
Performance figures Power output 1,500 hp (1,100 kW)

The ALCO Century 415 is a diesel-electric locomotive of B-B wheel arrangement produced by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) as part of their Century Series of locomotives.

Specifications

The C415 is a large switcher locomotive or small road switcher locomotive equipped with a raised cab mounted slightly off-center, with a lower, narrower hood on either side. The longer one contained the diesel engine, a 1,500 hp (1.1 MW) eight-cylinder turbocharged Alco 251-F, while the shorter contained auxiliaries. The C415 could be ordered with three different cab heights; a low one for minimum clearances, a regular height one, and an extra-height one for maximum visibility.

Trucks fitted were either Type B standard road trucks or ALCO Hi-Ad (high adhesion) Type B trucks.

Service history

The locomotive was not very popular; 26 were built between 1966 and 1968 for seven different owners. The locomotive may still be in use. According to the November 2011 issue of Railfan & Railroad magazine, the Burlington Junction Railway owned three C415s numbered 21, 701 and 702.

Original owners

• Hamersley Iron in Western Australia bought the prototype in May 1968, formerly lettered as ALCO 415. The locomotive was equipped with a medium height cab and AAR Type B trucks.
• Chehalis Western Railroad bought a single high cab unit with Hi-Ad trucks.
• Columbia and Cowlitz Railway bought a single high cab unit with Hi-Ad trucks. (Both the Columbia and Cowlitz and the Chehalis Western are Weyerhaeuser properties)
• Monongahela Connecting Railroad bought a single low cab unit with Hi-Ad trucks.
• Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad bought ten medium cab units with AAR Type B trucks.
• Southern Pacific Railroad bought ten high cab units with Type B road trucks.
• Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway bought two medium cab units with Hi-Ad trucks; these were passed to the Burlington Northern Railroad, 4010-4011 after a merger between the two railroads. More units were on order when Alco ended locomotive production in 1969.

Preservation

• Southern Pacific Railroad 2406 is in Monterrey, Mexico, lettered as Fundidora Monterrey Steel 25.
• Hamersley Iron 1000, formerly Alco Demonstrator 415 is at the Pilbara Railways Historical Society in Western Australia.
• Monongahela Connecting Railroad 701 is at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
• Chehalis Western Railroad 684 is at Fife History Museum and Cultural Center in Fife, Washington.
• Buffalo Southern Railroad 423, formerly Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 423 is at the Buffalo Southern's Hamburg Shops in Hamburg, New York.

See also

• List of ALCO diesel locomotives

Further reading

• Schmidt, Brian M. (Spring 2022). "Diesels that didn't: Alco C415". Classic Trains. Vol. 23, no. 1. p. 7. ISSN 1527-0718.