One thing you have to remember in the diesel locomotive Wars is that General Motors would Finance your purchase of an EMD diesel General Electric would Finance the purchase of a general electric diesel locomotive. When you went to Alco you had to have cash money in hand as well as for Baldwin and Fairbanks Morse. There were many railroads that could not afford to replace steam but were financed by Standard Oil so they would use diesel fuel provided by Standard Oil. In Steam days you would use outdated engines for branch line and then switching use when the Diesels came you put a brand new diesel locomotive on a branch line and that Branch line became a money loser where is with the old steam engine it made money. These were used as excuses to shut down many Branch lines. The railroads also wanted to use the Diesels to go to one man operated trains like on mass transit and electric trains. A fireman was Superfluous on a diesel locomotive but the Union force them to continue to have one anyways. There was one of the financial advantages of having a diesel locomotive. Generally diesel switchers were used in cities that had anti-smoke ordinances. When New York created its own anti-smoke ordinance that was when Baldwin started to make diesel locomotives to serve that need. Any locomotive steam electric or diesel if you maintain it and take care of it properly they last damn near forever.

The DL109 is one of my favourite locomotives, along with the Fairbanks Morse Erie Built and EMD's slant nose E units (E, E1, and E3 through E6)

I remember seeing a lot of the old Alco and EMD switchers working the yard at Niagara Falls, N.Y. back in the 1960's when I used to sit at my spot watching trains. Brings back memories. A lot of the locomotives coming through the yard back then had New York Central markings.

I have always really liked ALCo diesels. The dl-109 is certainly an unusual looking locomotive. I live a few minutes away from a railroad museum that actually owns a few s-1s, rs-1s, and rs-3s. It’s a shame that none of the dl-109s were preserved. with the modification to have one or two 251 prime movers, it could have been a good locomotive.

I had a pair of the Life Like DL109s I painted in my club's RR colors. I liked this uniqueness of it's look. I got sick of F units. The model was a great eunner.

Definitely not forgotten by SOU fans. I have DL107/108 and DL109/110 SOU HO and N plastic and brass models pulling several Tennessean passenger consists.

I picked up an N scale DL-109 at a train show earlier this year. I think the required widening of the car body gives the locomotive a very cool look. Not the first time that has happened. Originally the British Morris Minor car was to be slimmer. But when they decided to mount a transverse engine and front wheel drive drivetrain in it the whole car had to be widened a few inches. Like the Alco they did this simply by cutting the body down the middle and adding a strip. Which, in my opinion, ended up with a good looking style line as a result.

The New Haven Alcoa deal 109 ran in service reliably for many years and we're looked upon as a candidate for conversion with third rail shoes in order to go into Grand Central Terminal but they were too heavy to go over the aqueduct before they got to the terminal. The reliability aspect of the DL 109 showed how much availability at diesel locomotive had that did not have to go to the shops as much as Steam did for regular maintenance but you didn't have to perform regular maintenance on a diesel locomotive for it to operate and function properly.

The DL109 and the Baldwin BP20 Passenger Sharks for the PRR were some of the most exotic diesels ever built. Both had ginormous pistons from the 606sc and 539T 6 cylinder inline 4 stroke diesels.

The 531 engine was sufficient for a switcher you could not make it bigger or add more cylinders to it that's why they designed the 244 engine the 244 had horsepower limitations so then they came up with the 251. The ALCO DL 109 were famous for having almost 97% availability rate especially for the New Haven that ran passenger trains with them during the daytime and then filled them up and put freight trains on them so they would be basically running day and night and they were the only non-switcher engine at Alcoa was allowed to build during the war production board restrictions during World War II because it was cataloged as a dual service engine. Now you have to remember at this point in time all of the diesel manufacturers were in brand new territory and did not have any experience with diesels because there weren't any previously. They learned when you pushed it into too hard what problems it developed or if you made it too long and the crankshaft broke people made a big thing about the crankshaft breaking in the Alcoa PA but when they were breaking into 20 cylinder sd45 nobody said his thing so there is Prejudice from one company to the other just like in the car industry.

*LOVE the Alco DL109, because of that strange center window and the trucks on it... Very unique! Q: So only a limited number were built with the center window?* *That shop model dates back to the 1970s! - **18:06* *The Santa Fe also ran the DL109*

Love that Penn Central unit with Buffalo Central Terminal in the background!

Currently engrossed in an issue of Railfan & Railroad and it’s all about the Alcos💪🏽

@2:48, I actually ran that switcher a few times during my time with the Midland RY (Baldwin City, KS). I believe it was originally owned by the C B & Q (if I'm mistaken, please correct me!!) The barely-seen nose of the other locomotive is ex-Rock Island E-8 number 652 having been restored to its original Rocket color scheme; previously it had acted as C R I & P's bicentennial locomotive "Independence" and worked the Chicago commuter service for many years. Don't know the history of the NW2. The 652 is now back on "home rails" at a RR museum in Manly, Iowa. Not sure if the NW2 is still in Baldwin City at the present time (2023) or not. I dearly wish steam had never been replaced - especially given OPEC's corruption.

The LIRR got many years out of their old S1 and RS1 units. In fact, the original S1 still does excursions on the Catskill Mountain Railway I believe.

I have got to say, the Look of the Alco DL-109 is unique amongst other Cab Units. It has a rounded nose similar to its competitor, however, the nose itself is Lower and Longer than the Competitor, which gives it a more unique profile.

A few notes, there was indeed a ALCO 538T it powered the HH1000. EMC actually had a reasonably successful line of switchers in the 1930's selling about 150 units across all models. The SW/SC and NW/NC, rated at 600 and 900HP, used the Winton 201-A. The SW-1 and NW-2 were simply the first models to use the 567.

I would love to see Walthers do a B-unit DL-110 in the next run they ever plan to do.

The car body was NOT cut in half and welded together. Famed industrial designer Otto Kuhler designed it that way! Many roads liked their engines and they ran for decades!

An excellent video. I love the DL-109, and I am hoping to get an A-B-B-B set someday to pull my eighteen car passenger express train, which currently is run with either two Mantua heavy 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotives, or an A-B-B-B-B set of phase one F-7 units. Hello from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.

This video was very well done. I have the MTH Premiere DL-109 (olive green and gold) from about 15 years ago and I love it and the actual DL-109. The only thing I didn’t care for with MTH’s DL-109 from that long ago was that instead of making a dummy DL-109 they made a DL-109 B unit, which never existed. Oh well.

I have an N scale model of Rock Island DL109 #621, which I really like!

All 2 cycle diesels require some form of boost to function, Roots style blowers were common method. They did not increase horsepower but fulfil the missing intake and exhaust strokes. As the piston moves down, it uncovers ports that have compressed air that forces the exhaust gasses out the opposite side.

I might add, in 1929 ALCO / GE produced a experimental diesel electric passenger locomotive, NYC 1500, with a 900-hp, 12-cylinder, V-type engine. Apparently, it did not perform very well. On the other hand, the freight unit with the Ingersol -Rand engine ran for a much longer period.

I've always thought these locos had a cool, "Buck Rogers," look to them-what people in the 30's thought the future would look like.

Great video and historical references. Your NH DL109 look and sound great.

Yesssssss!!!!! DL109 was a real brute!!!! Thanks!

super interesting - didn't realize they had so many issues. thank you

From my own interest in railway history, it seemed like once EMD/GM got the jump on the old steam locomotive companies like Alco, Baldwin and Lima, in the late 1930s, they were always going to struggle against a company that represented the future.

Good old Revell engine-house! I still have one!

Very good documentary, did not know much about this engine, or Alco until now

Fascinating video. This was the first time I've seen your channel and I've subscribed. Interesting layout and I like the idea of using your models to give some idea of what those locomotives sounded like, since there isn't any other reference.

Large steam locomotives had lots of weight per axle you had to have extremely good track many railroads after World War II that scrapped their lights weight steam engines for diesel locomotives found that as the cars got bigger their tracks were not sufficient. Track second handle 50 ton cars we're not able to handle 100 ton cars without being totally rebuilt. Another reason for a branch lines being abandoned by Major railroads. The EMD 567 motor was a brand new engine design because they used the Winston distillate motor and that was at the end of its development. It was better for them to start with a clean sheet of paper with the 567 then try to improve the Winton engine. 4-stroke diesel locomotives are better on fuel economy but require more maintenance where is two-stroke diesel locomotives like emds have less maintenance but are thirstier. This was not a factor when diesel was six cents a gallon.

Very informative. Thank you.

Southern railway had FT, Dl109, and PA3 and plenty of pictures.

This is the third time I have watched this video. You have finally riled me enough to post a comment. Your bad words about ALCO are quite misplaced. The New Haven had great success with them. Because they learned how to run them. There was a hard fast rule on the New Haven that you never, ever shut the prime mover down unless major repairs were to be made. In addition, the New Haven took oil samples of every locomotive daily. They had their own lab to check the status of the oil. The railroads that had ALCO troubles did not use this system and many had EMD mechanics that did not understand ALCO. Yeah, they had troubles. A lot of them. But not the New Haven! Now, the New Haven was THE main route to New England via the Maybrook line. The yard at Maybrook, New York served the New Haven, the NYO&W, the Erie, the L&HR, the L&H and NYC. Occasionally the PRR. ALL this traffic went east via the New Haven! The New York Central simply could not handle the traffic over the Boston and Albany. The Boston and Maine was likewise clogged with traffic. During the war years there was a tremendous amount of traffic between the west and New Englend. Those DL 109s were put into service running commuter service in the day time, and pulling freight from Boston to Maybrook at night. In the few years of WW2, they were never shut off to speak of. And, they performed all that was asked of them. You are right about the lack of MU on the nose, All the New Haven's big Texas steam locomotives were used as pushers on the Maybrook line and so the trains went through. ALCO responded with the FA1 and FB1 to be used as A-B-A sets and that eliminated to worn out steam locos. Those F1s, like theDL109s before them, worked night and day without stopping. Eventually, the New Haven purchased FB2s and ran A-B-B-A sets between Cedar Hill and Maybrook. The New Haven finally gave in and bought some GM GP9s. About all I can say for them is they rode really nice. But they were a problem when used as a switcher on a local freight. And they wouldn't pull like the RS3s. And they broke down. But they were cheap to fix! So, in a way i understand where you're coming from, but I don't think you have done proper research. I have now finished my rant. Hope I didn't offend.

Dude do a review on the bachman HO Acela!! Great job as always!

the video at 12:03 shows an FM CPA diesel. Not sure of if this was intended. Thanks for great video

Yes the DL109 may be forgotten to me it is and was a Fine looking motor. So what it a few problems and show me a company that did not. To me Alco was under appreciated from the get go

2:54 EMD's 2 cycle engines require a supercharger to run. Similar to all 2 stroke Detroit diesels.

I believe the locomotive at *:50 is a Rock Island TA the Baby Brother of the E3A?

can you do a video about the Alco DL-202 Black maria an experimental freight locomotive, A cousin of Alco DL-109, and respond to Emd FT units.

daily diesel user here. The reason as to why a prime mover sounds rought when cold is that this type of engines do not have any pre haeating of the fuel the idé behind this is that this is the easy and mutch simpler to construct a diesel loco engine. In a diesel car you can install a electrical heater by remove the plug on the engine block to heat the engine with help of the normal power plug. In dowing so you save fuel and the car battery. Both types of engines has injcetions pumps but in a prime mover it has a higer pressure compared to a modern crdi engeine witch is between 2500-3000 bar depends on type and maker. 😃😃😃👍👍👍👍

So New Haven DL 109 served the railroad for 20 years but after World War II with the construction of the freeways running alongside the railroads the New Haven lost lots of money having to run empty trains while everybody took the turnpike instead. When the DL 109 came up for heavy service they did not have the money they were already bankrupt. Any competent management of the New Haven railroad did not do the locomotives any good. You know what happens to a car when you run it and never change the oil well that's what happens when you do the same thing to a locomotive. They could get financing to buy the purchase of a new locomotive and then they would not have the money to perform proper maintenance on them at all which is how they suffered.

During World War II EMT production of Road locomotives was reduced to one a month because the 567 engine was also extensively used in submarines just like the Fairbanks Morse diesel engine was used in submarines as well.

ALCO: If you leave those Diesel Engines out in the Rain, they'll rust......

Love the documenty you do. however, you got too many tracks on you trainset. it looks too confusing.

Interesting that NASA's huge space system transporters are Alco powered

Did you install your loksound decoder? Thank you.

At 12.08, isn't that a Fairbanks Morse ?

Really, the sound portion of this video could be left out.

100145 units?

Sounds like the failure of BMC, et al. >Sigh

German planes did not attack on 7dec 1941 if this is the content you make I am very sorry for you

Now I know why that this locomotive was so ugly.

Enough with the Monday morning quarterbacking. Diesel serve specific purposes when they were first created they were to subplant steam not to replace steam. The fact that you had to have four diesel locomotives to get the same horsepower as a modern steam engine. Modern steam engines had lower cost per mile then diesel locomotives especially after World War II when the price of diesel fuel doubled. With steam you had to have a crew for every engine and you would run a train all the time to get cars from your industries and when they had diesels you had the whole for tonnage guys who would make customers wait and then send 10 diesels to pull 500 cars with one crew. Railroad service suffered with the hall for tonnage attitude which is why many shippers went to trucks. The Long Island Railroad handled 8,000 freight car loads a year. When the New York and Atlantic took over Long Island Railroad Freight Service and gave customers good service they went to 37,000 car loads a year service is the only thing a railroad can sell. Shippers like it when you call the railroad and tell them you have an empty car and in an hour they send an engine to come get it so you don't have to pay another day's rental on the car. There are many aspects to the railroad industries that are not so simple to explain money finances tax laws all enter into the picture. Penn Central could not afford to rebuild all of the locomotives from the various manufacturers that they had so EMT and General Motors financed 2000 locomotives for railroad that had bad track everywhere and slow orders almost Universal. What good is high speed locomotives when your track is the only good for 10 miles an hour?

Seven minutes plus, before you even mention the DL-109... Geezzzz

the narrator doesn't speak English very well. example, succession vs secession, use of quirk for characteristic.

No mention of Rock Islands “Christine” named after Christine Jorgensen the first major public figure to undergo gender reassignment surgery?!?!? I think it’s hilarious that because they replaced the “male” Alco engine with the “effeminate” electro motive engine they named it after a transgender XD

Like I said earlier, your channel is a wealth of great information about real railroad stuff but, Dude, this layout sucks balls.

Sorry alco guys but the DL109 is ugly.