ALCO Century 636 Contents Production Original owners Current usage See also References External links Navigation menu"Quebec Cartier Mining Railway Past & Present Power""Loco Rosters: April 1, 1976"the originalAlco C636 Original Ownersee
ALCO 300ALCO 600HH600HH660HH900HH1000S-1S-2S-3S-4DL420S-5S-6T-6SB-8/SSB-9Rebel power carDL-103bDL-105DL-107DL-108DL-109DL-110DL-202DL-203FAFBPAPBC428C620C624C636FC636PC650DH
ALCO locomotivesBHP Billiton diesel locomotivesC-C locomotivesDiesel locomotives of Western AustraliaRailway locomotives introduced in 1967Standard gauge locomotives of AustraliaStandard gauge locomotives of the United StatesStandard gauge locomotives of CanadaDiesel-electric locomotives of Australia
road switcherdiesel-electric locomotiveAmerican Locomotive CompanyALCO 251 prime moverC-Cwheel arrangementCentury 630Santa Fe RailwaySouthern Pacific RailroadAE GoodwinPilbaraHamersley IronMount Newman MiningComengBassendeanGeneral ElectricMontreal Locomotive WorksDofascoCanadian Pacific RailwayCanadian National RailwayRobe RiverWestern New York and Pennsylvania RailroadLivonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad
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The ALCO Century 636 was the most powerful single-engine road switcher diesel-electric locomotive constructed by American Locomotive Company (ALCO). It used the ALCO 251 prime mover. The locomotive had a C-C wheel arrangement and 3,600 horsepower (2,700 kW). The locomotive rested on a pair of trucks of all-new design, known as the Hi-Ad, standing for 'high adhesion'. Visually, it is similar to the Century 630, but can be distinguished by the intercooler box. The C630 has two grilles here, one above the other. The C636 only has the upper grille.
Contents
1 Production
2 Original owners
3 Current usage
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Production
The production of only 34 Alco C636s, built in 1967 and 1968, reflected Alco's dwindling locomotive market share. Despite many new and innovative features, the C636 could not hold its own. Three demonstrators were built costing Alco about $5.5 million. 636-2, the only former demonstrator operating, was a factor in dissuading potential customers from purchasing these locomotives. During an evaluation on the Santa Fe Railway, the same traction motor blower on 636-2 failed (which causes engine shutdown) and was replaced on three of four runs, and had other unsatisfactory results while being tested on the Southern Pacific Railroad.
AE Goodwin in Australia built 29 C636s between May 1968 and October 1970 for the Pilbara Iron Ore railroads. Hamersley Iron purchased 12 units in 5 separate orders. Bechtel purchased 5 C636s for use in the construction of the Mount Newman Mining facilities. The latter company ordered 12 C636s a year later and bought Bechtel's locomotives. Hamersley Iron had their fleet rebuilt in the 1980s by Comeng, Bassendean with General Electric engines.[1]
Montreal Locomotive Works produced a M636 variant of the C636 on Dofasco trucks for Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway. This was also built in Australia for Hamersley Iron, Mount Newman Mining and Robe River Mining.[1]
Original owners
| Railroad | Quantity | Road numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Alco Products (demonstrators) | 3 | 636-1–636-3 | To Québec Cartier Mining Company 77-79[2] |
| Illinois Central Railroad | 6 | 1100–1105 | |
| Penn Central | 15 | 6330–6344 | Ordered by PRR before PC merger; to Conrail as 6780-6794[3] |
| Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway | 10 | 330–335, 340–343 | To Burlington Northern 4360-4369 |
| Hamersley Iron | 12 | 3006–3017 | Built by AE Goodwin |
| Mount Newman Mining | 17 | 5452–5468 | Built by AE Goodwin |
| Total | 63 |
Current usage
The NYSW C636s and M636s are now owned by Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad/Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad.
As of March 2015, the Delaware Lackawanna is the last operator of the C-636. The two former Cartier, ex-Alco demonstrator units stored on the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad for many years have been scrapped by a local contractor. The NYSW is currently an all-EMD powered railroad. The WNYP still operates M-630 and M-636 MLW locomotives.
See also
- List of ALCO diesel locomotives
- List of MLW diesel locomotives
References
^ ab Clark, Peter (2012). An Australian Locomotive Guide. Kenthurst: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 109–119. ISBN 9781921719554..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ Komanesky, John. "Quebec Cartier Mining Railway Past & Present Power". The Diesel Shop. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
^ Waller, Robert S. "Loco Rosters: April 1, 1976". Conrail Cyclopedia. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to ALCO Century 636. |
- Sarberenyi, Robert. Alco C636 Original Owners.
