I just noticed that there is some interest in Alco RS-1 engines, so I thought I would post something about one. I know of one at Paducah, KY, parked in the scrap yard. It was built in 1941. According to one or two sources, it is said to be the oldest existing RS-1 in the U.S. It has the number 8006 near both ends. On the cab is number 48, and faint letters that appear to be "US TVA". That RS-1 has some history, and has even been to Iran, according to what I read. It has belonged to different owners and worn different numbers.
I wasn't sure where to put this, so I put it here in "nags head". By the way, can somebody tell me where that term came from?
Bill... Is the RS 1 at the old VMV (....Paducah Shops...) or somewhere else...? I bet the TVRM guys may know something about this locomotive... They were (...and are...) pretty tight with the TVA folks about these old locomotives...
leroy
Yes, it is out behind the old Paducah shops. There are many old engines out there. I went to Paducah recently, and made a bunch of photos there, from a distance. What is TVRM?
Bill... tVRM is the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga.... I bet some of our members here are members.....
leroy
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Interesting! The paint scheme and #48 on the RS1 makes me wonder if she was a Washington Terminal engine at some point. The Tioga Central RR had 2 RS1s that were a similar shade of red. They were numbered #47 and #62- the same #s they had on the Washington Terminal. Sadly both of those RS1s were scrapped recently, so I hope #48 remains preserved.
Matt: I haven't seen anything about this RS-1 being a Washington Terminal engine. It was built in March 1941, build # 69425, and started with the CRI&P (Chicago Rock Island & Pacific) as #749. According to one source, a post on a forum, it was requisitioned by the Army, numbered #8006, and was sent to Iran. Later it was bought by the Alaska Railroad, and numbered 1042. Later it went back to the Army, then to the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority), and was numbered #48. That one source said it then went to Midwest Coal Handlers, but I haven't seen that anywhere else.
Here is a link to a photo of this RS-1 when it belonged to the Alaska RR:
http://www.alaskarails.org/pix/former-loco/JS-1042.html (http://www.alaskarails.org/pix/former-loco/JS-1042.html)
The caption under this photo has some info, but it isn't exactly the same.
Here is another link to a roster for the Alaska RR, which has some of the same info for engine #1042:
http://www.trainweb.org/rosters/ARR.html (http://www.trainweb.org/rosters/ARR.html)
The following link is to a roster for model RS-1:
http://www.thedieselshop.us/Alco_RS1.HTML (http://www.thedieselshop.us/Alco_RS1.HTML)
Look for road number 749, opposite the name Chicago Rock Island & Pacific (first column). #748 is next to #749. Over in the middle column are the build numbers for both. There is no subsequent history for this engine, but it gives the beginning.
One more link, to the forum where I found a bit of history:
http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29773 (http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29773)
I saw that old engine parked out there (couple weeks ago), and saw that it was different, probably an Alco, so I made a picture. Didn't know what I had for a while. Finally looked it up. Very old one. I didn't know any diesels were made that far back. Anyway, it is interesting. I'll include a close-up of the cab, cropped out of the large photo of this engine, which is a cropping of the original photo that includes more than just the Alco. I included a 700 pixel version of the whole engine with my first post on this subject. This close-up shows the #48, and the letters "TVA".
Thanks for the history on the RS1. I am still cutrious about the red paint. Was she painted red at Midwest Coal Haulers?
I don't know the answer to that. I saw only one mention of the name "Midwest Coal Handlers", and no info about that place. That Alco still has the number 48 on the cab, so maybe nothing changed since the TVA had it. It might have been painted red while TVA had it. Number 8006 is still on there too, so maybe the Army painted it red. It seems that the Army would have used a traditional Army color, but then it was sent to Iran, so maybe the Army painted it red. That seems unlikely. Maybe it was red all along. The photo of that Alco when it belonged to the Alaska RR is B&W, but the tone is similar to the red paint, so maybe it was red while owned by the Alaska RR. I don't know what color or colors the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific had. They were the first owner. It could be that this Alco has been red all along, repainted red now and then.