ALCo RS3 Idling

[@timmungenast]

While every brand of diesel has its own wonderful sound, nothing slips into musical phrases quite as easily as an Alco. Thanks for posting this!

[@SpeakerPolice]

You're very welcome, glad you enjoy it!

[@oldwarrant4]

I started out my railroad career as a machinist and we still had some ALCOs of various types, including the RS3. It always seemed like we never had enough parts for them. EMD seemed like they were more agressive about parts supply. ALCO went through a bunch of different owners also, so there was a lot of corporate turmoil. It took the railroads about 30 years to discover that the 4 cycle engine is more fuel efficient and I think about the old ALCOs every time I hear one of the new GE's.

[@Alco16-251F]

A sound that never gets old to me!

[@SpeakerPolice]

Same here!!

[@markrhuett]

What a mean sounding engine...i could listen to this for hours...not many 244 engines left..

[@SpeakerPolice]

They sure are unique sounding machines! This one should still be operating :D

[@michaelzalewski2532]

Sweet sound! Just picked up a 244D. Engine brass plate for my collection

[@90STETURBO]

sounds just like the NYC # 8255 i work on occasionally. you can count the firing of the cylinders. i love the way it sounds especially when it throttles down as if it has stalled and died.

[@b3j8]

Wish I could go back in time to the mid 1970's. The Erie Lackawanna had nothing but Alcos working at the yard in Marion Ohio. Would have been great to just roam around and watch these old gals do their thing! I remember the EL RS-3's had an awful-sounding single-bugle horn.

[@Rocroi1643]

Amazing sound.

[@Shipwright1918]

More of a steam guy, but I have to admit these old Alcos are something special. Me, I think this is how a diesel engine is supposed to sound, a soft putter-purr as it ticks over on idle, then a throaty chuckling growl as it spools up. The diesel pickup trucks that they wind up and make 'em scream? Ungodly racket.... But this thing? Hell, I could listen to this baby work all day, music to the ears.

[@SpeakerPolice]

You and me both! They have character, just like the steamers.

[@Shipwright1918]

Exactly. All the modern stuff has about as much character as a hospital room, all clean, efficient and clinical, and ultimately very boring. These old diesels and the steamers though, they've got character in spades, they grunt and growl and hiss and moan, make an awful lot of smoke (there's a reason Alcos are called "honorary steam locos"), and ultimately won't work properly if they aren't treated just right. Makes 'em a little harder to work with, and maybe not as efficient as the modern rigs, but so what? When that 244 kicks over and starts putter-purring, or you have a steam engine that's got a full head of steam and starts barking as it shoulders a heavy load out of a yard, there is precious little that can match either one for sheer pleasing factor. As I said, not really a diesel guy, but the 1st and 2nd gen power, especially Alcos and Fairbanks Morse, sort of gave me a grudging admiration for the breed, love to have one, love to have a go driving one if I ever got the chance (after taking a steamer for a spin, of course).

[@BenjaminEsposti]

I personally don't think modern locos are boring, per se... they are interesting in their own right, especially for those who are technically inclined. It's the nostalgic feeling that older locos have, which modern ones don't. Given enough time, these new locos will eventually feel nostalgic as well. :)

[@torquetrain8963]

Big difference is that locomotives are useful unlike these pickup trucks that are overrated status symbols.

[@UCSPanther20]

My Uncle used to work on an RS 3 on the Pacific Grand Eastern Railway (Later known as BC Rail) back in the day. He still remembers the distinct sound the engine made when it was spinning down from a rev.

[@brjr2009]

What a relaxing sound.

[@SpeakerPolice]

I completely agree!

[@slamdvw]

@TankCrusher210 That 'knocking' is the fuel igniting in the cylinders when it's sprayed in. ALL diesels do it, it's just more noticeable on 4-cycles. It's even more noticeable on these large engines due to the fact they only run about 1000 RPM or so wide open. Idle about 250. If you listen REAL close to an idling EMD you can hear it, and an idling GE it's very pronounced as well.

[@acidtekno]

Nothing beats the sound of classic diesel engine

[@torquetrain8963]

much better rhythym than an emd

[@SpeakerPolice]

I love 'em all!

[@SyrusWolfe]

what an amazing sound!!!! love it!!!!

[@SpeakerPolice]

I know, right? I always look back at this clip and wish I had shot more. Same with my SD9 clips. xD

[@gdobos76]

very amazing sound, i could it listening hours :)

[@ModelingSteelinHO]

0:35 the beast awakens ! Excellent sound capture.

[@fnm9908]

nice i finally got the time to watch this video and let me tell you its music to my ears

[@2A3A66]

@DeserTBoB93535 The 244 block would have been a great engine had ALCo not pushed the R&D so fast. I guess it was a postwar rush to sales thing. The crankshaft going catastrophic was definitely the "Achilles's heel" of what was one of the sweetest sounding engines of dieseldom...

[@DieselElevators]

I'm a huge ALCO fan. Thanks for uploading this. 0:10 in the video you hear a Leslie A200 airhorn.

[@SpeakerPolice]

You're welcome, and that is correct! One on either side of the cab, facing both directions :P

[@DieselElevators]

SpeakerPolice The three honks means he was about to reverse. What's the whole deal about the "railcamp" and the locomotive itself?

[@SpeakerPolice]

YT won't let me reply to your latest comment for some reason, so I'm replying here. RailCamp was a program sponsored by the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) that allowed selected individuals to experience real railroading with real railroads over a one-week period, in order to gain job experience and learn about the career. I was a part of the last RailCamp program offered at the Nevada Northern Railroad. As for the diesel, NNRy number 109 is one of two ALCo RS3s owned by the railroad, the other being the 105.

[@oldwarrant4]

@SpeakerPolice I was walking past a GE C44 last night and if I had closed my eyes I could have sworn I was walking past an RS3. The engine was making that exact burbling, coughing sound like it was winding up to do something spectacular! It's a good thing I didn't close my eyes because I would have tripped over a rail!

[@dava_arvarabi]

This sounds a lot like CC200, the Indonesian locomotive from 1950s which they've retired from heritage service a few years ago. It was an ALCo-GE made loco.

[@SpeakerPolice]

It may have the same 244 engine!

[@dava_arvarabi]

@@SpeakerPolice you're right. Just checked, it uses 12-244E.

[@SpeakerPolice]

They sure do sound great!

[@bearbon2]

Music to my ears!

[@SpeakerPolice]

You know it! :)

[@SpeakerPolice]

That's 'Riding the RS3 Around the Yard' and it's still live.

[@mongo5888]

I LOVE that sound!!!!!!!!!!!

[@SpeakerPolice]

I would love to see that generator; I wonder if anyone has any video or photos of it? I am still surprised that, for a time, the 539, 244, and 251 were all being manufactured at the same time.

[@dannyhonn973]

Itll still be running when the latest techno-toaster are scrapped

[@SpeakerPolice]

OH almost forgot; you can see more of this loco in the startup video on my Channel!

[@SpeakerPolice]

Sounds right to me! Although the fuel efficiency is pretty damn close, the 710 engine considered.

[@SpeakerPolice]

It is the inherent four-stroke design, in this case coupled with the ALCo engine design process. I'm not exactly sure what causes it, but someone else here could probably explain better than I. xD

[@advancedapproachproduction2394]

I wish this was 10 hours long

[@SpeakerPolice]

I wouldn't call the 244 an outright piece of garbage; rather, it was designed to be used in marine and stationary applications. It was ill-suited for railway service.

[@SpeakerPolice]

Which other video? The only other video I have of an idling ALCo is of an S2, though I do also have a video of this RS3 starting up.

[@SpeakerPolice]

Yes. They're awesome. 8D

[@SpeakerPolice]

I keep looking, and can't seem to target the dripping fuel you mention. I see oil all over the place, though. (It's possible you see a reflection as the locomotive moves.) It's true, the later 251s were too little, too late for ALCo...so sad.

[@SpeakerPolice]

That sounds so cool. 8D

[@MagictrainsOrg]

Hey, great!! =)

[@bobbartos4616]

Tilly industries still makes parts for Alco engines

[@pkranz937]

Bob Bartos FM manufactures brand-new 251F engines up to 3600 hp

[@rastewart100]

What is it that makes ALCo.'s have such a unique prime mover sound?

[@SpeakerPolice]

In a nutshell, engine design! It's just the way they are made. It's been compared to a bunch of bolts rattling around inside a 5-gallon bucket. LOL These are four stroke engines like the GEs, rather than two stroke like the EMDs, so they sound more similar to the former.

[@SpeakerPolice]

Same here, and thanks! =)

[@TankCrusher210]

What is it that creates the "Knocking" sound in four-stroke diesels like this one?

[@SpeakerPolice]

Yep, guilty. That is indeed the 109's single-tone horn. xD

[@SpeakerPolice]

Thank you, same here =)

[@choirboyfromhell1]

At least the liners are easier to lap on 244's, but god, are those heads a bitch to put on..

[@scottcarlson6246]

It seemed like these engines used to idle for months at a time on sidings back when fuel was cheap.

[@SpeakerPolice]

Haha, I believe it! Though, the EMDs probably had a better time of it than the ALCos...

[@SpeakerPolice]

@trainfart Thanks! =)

[@SpeakerPolice]

Having worked on this very engine, I know what you mean!

[@SpeakerPolice]

Thanks! I agree! =)

[@pkranz937]

Sounds a lot like the 7FDL16 in an AC44.

[@SpeakerPolice]

That's because the 7FDL is a Cooper-Bessemer design that was probably based in part on the 244. :P

[@pkranz937]

SpeakerPolice You might be right, as the GE P40/42 has quite a bit in common with the 251F - engined LRC.

[@BenjaminEsposti]

The 4 stroke diesel engines all seem to have a more clunky sound to them - probably because the pistons fire half as often as they do on 2 strokes. I love them all, I love the rumble and chug of a 4 stroke Alco or GE, and I love that bone rattling hum from a big w stroke 710. :D

[@SpeakerPolice]

It really, really is. 8D

[@SpeakerPolice]

Agreed!

[@SpeakerPolice]

Thank you! :3

[@SpeakerPolice]

I totally agree. 8D

[@SpeakerPolice]

Isn't it? =D

[@SpeakerPolice]

Good idea. :P

[@SpeakerPolice]

LOL, that's what the guys there said. XD

[@upheritage6]

yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup

[@SpeakerPolice]

Go to my Channel and do a search for 'GE B40-8 Startup'. The hidden ALCo!

[@oaleatorio1817]

Lindo som ,e vendo os bicos injetores

[@SpeakerPolice]

So I hear. It's a shame...

[@SpeakerPolice]

Seconded! =D