#2948
ALCO RSC-3
🇺🇸 United States ·built by American Locomotive Company· from 1950· ALCO RSC-3 is a diesel-electric locomotive
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. CP 1520 class: Nuno Morão from Portugal· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 2. ALCO RSC3 7653 IRON: João Bosco Setti· CC BY-SA 2.5
what is it?
The ALCO RSC-3 was a diesel-electric locomotive of the road switcher type rated at 1,600 horsepower (1,200 kW), that rode on three-axle trucks, having an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement. Used in much the same manner as its four-axle counterpart, the ALCO RS-3, though the axle load was spread out for operation on light rail such as are found on branch lines. This locomotive had much better success as an export unit than in the domestic market.
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 76 years ago, in 1950.
- 1.2 MW is about 14 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 19 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 16.2 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1950–1955
- number built
- 99
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- American Locomotive Company, Montreal Locomotive Works
- top speed
- 105 km/h
- power
- 1.2 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- A1A-A1A
- length
- 16.2 m
- weight
- 116 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4652293, Wikipedia: ALCO RSC-3 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.