#2614
ALCO DL-109
🇺🇸 United States ·built by American Locomotive Company· from 1939· model of 74 “A” and 4 “B” American diesel-electric locomotives
_with_wayfreight_west_of_Minooka%2C_IL_on_January_18%2C_1967._(22381541362).jpg)
3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Rebel postcard: E. C Kropp, Milwaukee, for G M & O· Public domain
- 2. Florida Sunbeam postcard: Southern Railway, Seaboard Air Line Railroad, New York Central· Public domain
- 3. CRI&P 621 (Alco DL109) with wayfreight west of Minooka, IL on January 18, 1967. (22381541362): railfan 44· Public domain
what is it?
The ALCO DL-109 was one of six models of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) between December, 1939 and April, 1945 ("DL" stands for Diesel Locomotive). They were of a cab unit design, and both cab-equipped lead A units DL-103b, DL-105, DL-107, DL-109 and cabless booster B units DL-108, DL-110 models were built. The units were styled by noted industrial designer Otto Kuhler, who incorporated into his characteristic cab (US Patent D121,219) the trademark three-piece windshield design.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 87 years ago, in 1939.
- Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 12 minutes.
- 1.5 MW is about 18 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 26 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 23.8 m long: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1939–1945
- status
- retired
- number built
- 74
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- American Locomotive Company
- operators
- Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Southern Railway, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
- top speed
- 193 km/h
- power
- 1.5 MW
- wheel arrangement
- A1A-A1A
- length
- 23.8 m
- weight
- 154 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4652276, Wikipedia: ALCO DL-109 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.