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

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)

Specifications

The C415 was a large switcher or small road switcher 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 road trucks or ALCO Hi-Ad (high adhesion).

Service history

The locomotive was not very popular; 26 were built between 1966 and 1968 for seven different owners. The locomotive is still in use today. According to the November 2011 issue of Railfan & Railroad magazine, the Burlington Junction Railway now owns three C415s numbered 21, 701 and 702.[1]

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.[2][3]
• Chehalis Western Railroad bought a single high cab unit with Hi-Ad trucks.[2]
• 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)[2]
• Monongahela Connecting Railroad bought a single low cab unit with Hi-Ad trucks.[2]
• Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad bought ten medium cab units with AAR Type B trucks.[2]
• Southern Pacific Railroad bought ten high cab units with Type B road trucks.[2]
• 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.[2]

Preservation

• Southern Pacific Railroad 2406 is in Monterrey, Mexico, lettered as Fundidora Monterrey Steel 25.[4]
• Hamersley Iron 1000, formerly Alco Demonstrator 415 is at the Pilbara Railways Historical Society in Western Australia.[4][5]
• Monongahela Connecting Railroad 701 is at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.[4]
• Chehalis Western Railroad 684 is at Fife History Museum.[6]
• Buffalo Southern Railroad 423, formerly Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 423 is at the Buffalo Southern's Hamburg Shops in Hamburg, New York.[7]

See also

• List of ALCO diesel locomotives

References

Further reading

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

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