In 1964, ALCO Built Its Biggest Diesel. Union Pacific Bought All 3 and Retired Them by 1970

ALCO built its biggest diesel in 1964, and Union Pacific bought all 3 and retired them by 1970. The ALCO C855 locomotive, the Century 855, made 5500 hp from two ALCO 251 engines, the biggest diesel locomotive in the world in 1964. This ALCO C855 locomotive history follows Union Pacific 60, Union Pacific 60B and Union Pacific 61 from the American Locomotive Company at Schenectady to North Platte, Nebraska. David Neuhart of Union Pacific asked ALCO, GE and EMD for the biggest diesel they could build. GE built the GE U50, EMD built the EMD DD35, and ALCO built the ALCO Century 855 at 5500 hp. Union Pacific wanted a diesel locomotive to replace the Big Blow gas turbine locomotive, and the ALCO C855 retired years before the GE U50 and the EMD DD35. What happened to ALCO? The American Locomotive Company lost the Union Pacific diesel race to the EMD SD45, and by 1969 the DDA40X Union Pacific Centennial had taken the record of the Century 855. Union Pacific history, diesel locomotive history, American railroad history and railroad history meet in one ALCO C855 locomotive: why Union Pacific bought all 3, why Union Pacific retired them by 1970, what happened to ALCO at Schenectady, and why the biggest ALCO diesel ended on a scrap line after North Platte. The Century 855 and the ALCO 251 engines are the story of Union Pacific big diesel locomotive history. 0:00 The strongest diesel in America 2:18 ALCO and the Schenectady works 6:02 The U50, the DD35 and ALCO's answer 9:15 Aluminum wire, fires and overheating 12:13 The horsepower race and the SD45 13:49 What happened to ALCO 15:19 The Centennial and the end of the C855 18:13 What is left in Schenectady today Sources: Albert J. Churella, From Steam to Diesel (Princeton University Press, 1998) ALCO Century 855, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALCO_Century... American Locomotive Company, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Loc... American-Rails, ALCO C855: https://www.american-rails.com/855.html Dovetail Games, Sixties Super Power: https://railfans.dovetailgames.com/c/artic... #UnionPacific #RailroadHistory #ALCO