C636 coming from CESM

[C855B]

That gray/black/white scheme was on a demo set that was all over the place. ...

I surmise that one road not demo'ed would have been the UP. I think they had their fill of Alco's second-gen reliability with the C855s. Like the 855s, the C636s and DH643s always struck me as one step too far for Alco's design approach, which by that point had become hot-rodding by strapping on this bit or that bit. The results seemed a little Rube-Goldbergesque.

[jmlaboda - RIP]

I think they had their fill of Alco's second-gen reliability with the C855s. Like the 855s, the C636s and DH643s...

Don't forget the 10 C630s that were sold to DMIR and later migrated to Canada on Cartier.

[C855B]

Don't forget the 10 C630s that were sold to DMIR and later migrated to Canada on Cartier.

I don't think UP had nearly the problems with the C630s as they did with the 855s. As it turns out, they bought the 630s after the 855s, although mostly as part of a 3000hp evaluation program, EMD vs. GE vs. Alco. They also had the RS-27s demos rostered until '71.

[dcutting]

I'll take one, nice to see some more Alcos, would like to see a C425 in N also.

C-415 is next... we shall see after that.

[nkalanaga]

The SP&S had good luck with their Alcos as well, although they did smoke more than the NP/GN EMDs.  Maybe it was because the shop crews had a lot of experience with them, and and weren't splitting their time between several builders?

The FAs and early RS's didn't last long on the BN, but the various Centuries, and the RS-11s, were in service until 1980.

The last units the SP&S bought were GP-38s, simply because Alco was out of business.  They were ordered shortly before the merger, and were the first new units delivered in BN paint.

[SP-Wolf]

C-415 is next... we shall see after that.

Be still my heart --- C415's --- outstanding!!
What mechanism would work for them -?

Wolf

[dcutting]

Be still my heart --- C415's --- outstanding!!
What mechanism would work for them -?

Wolf

I've already prototyped a replacement frame for the atlas MP15DC and this model will use that 3D printed frame.

[jmlaboda - RIP]

...and weren't splitting their time between several builders?

But they were... EMDs were also a part of the mix and not in a small way.  I think it was more so a matter of being willing to see what it took to make the ALCOs work and, like the Delaware & Hudson, the units were able to be made into something that could be of value.

Given enough time (that is to say, if the merger didn't happen) we might well have seen the Morrison Knudsen TE56-4As (the RS3 rebuilds for D&H which they labeled RS3Ms) being built for the SP&S as well out of the many RS3s they had, leading to an even greater dependence on the ALCO product.  As for those GP38s that were ordered... had ALCO remained a builder for a couple more years we would have seen even more C415s ordered, which was SP&S's intent had ALCO not bellied up... instead of the GP38s.

[SP-Wolf]

I've already prototyped a replacement frame for the atlas MP15DC and this model will use that 3D printed frame.

Very good --

Thanks,
Wolf

[wazzou]

C-415 is next... we shall see after that.

Will you be offering a Hi-Ad truck option for the C-415?

[wcfn100]

I've already prototyped a replacement frame for the atlas MP15DC and this model will use that 3D printed frame.

What parts from the MP15 are you using?

Jason

[CBQ Fan]

Then there are these:

https://lowellsmith.net/product-category/n-scale/sps/

[Ike the BN Freak]

Then there are these:

https://lowellsmith.net/product-category/n-scale/sps/

But as Lowell stated on the page, these are just C630s painted up as C636s.

[dcutting]

Will you be offering a Hi-Ad truck option for the C-415?

I already have hi-ad trucks designed to fit the atlas trucks so yup.

What parts from the MP15 are you using?

Jason

Everything except the frame, truck side frames, and PCB... the flywheels are extended using 3D printed components so that they can still turn the drive shafts.

[nkalanaga]

Jerry:  The SP&S definitely wanted more Alcos, not the GP-38s.

According to my old BN roster information, the SP&S contributed 19 EMDs and 87 Alcos on merger day.  The EMDs were 6 switchers, 6 GP-9s, 6 Fs, and one lone E.  I don't remember any of the GPs making it to Pasco, and the Fs/E were the main passenger power.  I have no idea why they bought the GP-9s.  By merger time, the non-Alcos seemed to stay around Vancouver, or in Oregon.  Maybe the GP-9s were for the Inside Gateway?

According to "The Northwest's Own Railway, vol 1", Mr. N. S. Westergard, last vice-president of the SP&S before the merger, they had so many Alcos because the GN and NP thought they ought to buy some, to satisfy the "Elkins Anti-trust Act", but didn't want them on their own lines.  Certainly the GN sent theirs, that weren't traded/scrapped, to the SP&S.