Smoking ALCO RS-3 Working Hard on the Batten Kill Railroad

On December 29, 2019, upon hearing that there was a rare Sunday extra on the Batten Kill Railroad, we set out to catch a real treat: a classic ALCO RS-3 engine pulling 12 cars!
Enjoy the sights and sounds of a vintage ALCO RS-3 diesel engine as it smokes and even restarts at one point in the video!
Originating at Eagle Bridge, New York, the 68 year old Greenwich and Johnsonville Railway RS-3 #4116 works hard to make the first few miles with the 12 cars destined for Salem, NY. The engine would then stall just north of White Creek, and the crew would have to restart the engine and get it rolling again. After the first few miles, things would start to calm down, and the engine would pull smoothly through the small villages of Cambridge and Shushan, as well as through timely rural settings.
The Batten Kill Railroad runs along the former Delaware and Hudson Washington Branch, which used to run from Eagle Bridge, all the way to what is now the Vermont Rail System's Clarendon and Pittsford branch in Castleton, Vermont. For some info about this line, visit this page: vtstateparks.com/assets/pdf/d...
Needles to say, this line has seen many ALCOs and other classic engines throughout it's history, and I'll bet if you look at old pictures of trains throughout this section of the line, that not a whole lot has changed since!
Thanks For Watching!

[@nigelterry9299]

The plume of steam by the exhaust makes me wonder if she overheated. Long train for 1600hp. Gorgeous sounds!!!

[@blownturbotv4903]

I wondered the same thing. Love seeing those ol rs3s still earning their keep

[@PlanetMojo]

The last ALCO RS-3 was made in 1956! It's awesome to see that old train pulling freight!

[@XBOXShawn12thman]

I love it ... I wish they can restore more of these ... Gorgeous Loco's!!!

[@romanf5061]

'Shocked to see an old Alco still working. And the rocking/rolling cars reminds me of the old Penn Central!

[@nicolayu.kotomanoff4358]

1548 metric european tons!!👍👍 Cool and smooth train!👍 Amazing loco!👍❤️

[@timmungenast]

That horn around 6:45 is almost as awesome as the trademark Alco rumble! Great video with superb sound.

[@timmungenast]

Some of the sounds the rolling stock make remind me of the sounds of a diner during a busy shift: clatters and clinks of plates, glasses, and silverware. This is just a really well recorded video: some of the best sound I've heard on a railroad vid.

[@pauljohansson288]

They had their own sound.

[@charleskesner1302]

Thanks for the memories. When I was a young boy I remember the Western Maryland used a lot of those engines on their coal trains.

[@GreenMountainRailProductions]

I'm glad I could bring them back! I've been wanting to catch an engine like this for a long time, and I caught it out of pure luck. Sometimes I wish I could have seen them when they were still all over the railroads.

[@TRRailfan]

Amazing to see a loco like that still in service. I love ALCo units.

[@realMrHudson]

Jeez, can't believe they are still in use! Awesome video footage

[@GreenMountainRailProductions]

Thanks! I can't believe it either.

[@GustavoOliveira-fo5et]

One of the best locomotives ever, in são paulo the train company have 3 of this rs3, i saw one of them pulling the turistic express, it's Wonderful to see

[@alcopower5710]

Sure was swaying through that first segment. Love me some Alco Power

[@therailfanningskeleton359]

Yeah, on bigger railways, hearing that metal groaning sound would scare the crap out of me.

[@stevenfoust3782]

Great video! That track is rouuugh.

[@thomasclavinjr.3817]

Spending this week in Salem NY and saw this loco parked and this covered bridge then a quick search for Alco rs3 and your video was first up. Great coincidence and thanks for making the video

[@denisberger9657]

That engine had a great sounding horn and it echoed through the valley. Great video

[@railtrolley]

A familiar sound to me. Same horn used on the V/Line N class loco. (Victoria, Australia)

[@katyuuki2261]

Sadly someone stole that horn last fall.

[@zerozipper4299]

The guy behind the throttle must be pretty sure of them wobbly tracks. He certainly isn't moving at a crawl that's for certain!

[@WestOkieRailroadVideos]

Gotta love seeing those old ALCO's at work!

[@marcclad9112]

Working hard you bet. Thanks

[@billmoran3812]

If that has the 244 prime mover, they were known for overheating. That’s how so many of them developed cracks in the cylinder heads. They had a unique sound, but they were really poor engines. There are many EMDs built in the early 50’s still working today. Much more reliable.

[@jefftherailroadenthusiast8889]

Wow that old girl is still pulling hard. She's definitely showing her age and tiredness as she overheated trying to get up the hill. But overall an awesome video 👍

[@jetstream454]

Is that where that other smoke/steam was coming from?

[@craigpennington1251]

They need some rail work in few spots. If not, derailment will happen. Alcos, 4 cycle big diesels = cool locomotives.

[@marcconyard5024]

No.1 end leading too. What a treat!

[@edporter8009]

Those are some pretty rickety tracks!

[@K8S450DR]

Beautiful and literally touching video, with a great sound. I could even feel the weight of the train that old loco pulled.

[@darrylwmurphy738]

That ALCO S-3 is due for an overhaul

[@mitchmatthews6713]

I've always loved the RS locomotives!

[@jaymorgenthal9479]

Vivid memories of NYCRR RS3’s pulling out of Hawthorne on the Harlem Division in the mid 60’s really belching out smoke.

[@juliovanderleibuenodecamar2312]

Álco is Alco! GREAT!

[@JosephMusgrove]

Blowin that ALCO smoke!

[@trainnerd25]

Rockin and Rollin!

[@juliovanderleibuenodecamar2312]

Very good!! Alco RS-3 is Tremendous!!

[@thelovertunisia]

Amazing channel. Exactly what I love old locos suffering and smoking.

[@thelovertunisia]

@Soviet Silver Link ☭ I love the smoke hh like Alcos too

[@paulhare662]

Sitting there idling at 3:20, looks like something Stephen King would wright about, surprised he hasn't.. Anyway, it's election time, 2020 and I needed a stress reliever. I can't decide if the rumbling Alco diesel or a screaming Detroit Diesel is more appealing? Thanks for a great video.

[@zerozipper4299]

Possessed Alco R-S2....I mean did create a story about a possessed laundry press!😂

[@tompaah7503]

Always amazed at how bad the US infrastructure is. One of the worlds richest countries and the track is crumbling under the train, cars bobbing around and speed is rarely exceeding walking speed. Even the tracks in dirt poor countries like Moldova are in way better shape.

[@dkbmaestrorules]

It's what you get when your railways exist to make a profit rather than provide a service...

[@johnkurtz8360]

Love the Alco s Rs 1 2 or 3 and the high hood C420 s

[@Mercatoyd]

I try to watch every video out there about the G&J.. I grew up quite a ways from here in Colonie NY.. until I moved to Fla in the late 80's. This was a really great follow along this stretch of territory. Thanks for sharing.

[@johnramsayskier]

Some pretty cool footage! Wish I had known this was happening! I was in the area!

[@FrenckyCFC]

I need to see this one

[@TransportationFanHU]

Like in the classical old times!

[@stephen5548]

Love the video. RS3’s are my favourite loco. A lot of people filming it or are they the same group? Here in B.C. Canada they call us “FTN’s”. The T & N stand for train nut. The F stands for something not printable. I have a hogger friend who worked for CPR and he told me this. I love the scenery in that neck of NY state too.

[@jppicur]

Thank you for this excellent video. American track scares the heck out of me. I would never stand that close to it for pictures or film.

[@mattagnew206]

Some of that is seriously sketchy, isn't it? @11:00...

[@jlmoo1]

Was he over heated. See the vertex of steam. Look like mini tornado 🌪

[@jukeboxdude]

I keep coming back to this video to hear the amazing tone of that horn. Does anybody recognize the model or know of one with similar tones??

[@edporter8009]

Pretty rough looking tracks at 7:30! Love the video. Thank you!

[@garycousino4016]

Wow! Great catch. NY sure has some very pretty rural areas. 4:20 the vortices coming off the stack , camera angle from inside the covered bridge well done

[@ogenmatic]

Awesome footage. Very well thought out locations & excellent editing.

[@alcopower5710]

Thats some amazing footage. Really like 10:11 when crossing the bridge and also the shot taken from inside the covered bridge. Enjoyed the whole video. Thanks for sharing

[@GreenMountainRailProductions]

Thanks for watching!

[@randylarson5682]

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL !!!!

[@craigpennington1251]

P.S. We had two of these on the RR I used to work at. They were work horses with power.

[@talkingpens]

That alco blessed you with its exhaust blast, kind of like getting communion at church eh?

[@ryanfisher6402]

Needs more horn

[@andrewschannel4259]

I don't even understand how they get parts for those ALCOs!

[@stephenroberts4895]

Some parts can be acquired from GE, but often times parts have to be fabricated.

[@pauljones2762]

They're out there just hard to get someone to give them up if they got an Alco still running.

[@andrewschannel4259]

@@pauljones2762 A lot of times railroads get another locomotive and part it out to keep the operational unit running.

[@darrylwmurphy738]

Preventive Maintenance - Overhaul TLC

[@Shane-Singleton]

Don't ever get to see those in my area. Mostly only modern power on Class A main lines here. I'd love to see an old RS3 pulling in person.

[@thomasabramson100]

Battenkill need to get MORE customers AG products might be good in that area

[@Bozukoviy]

Waoh that engine + horn sound combo... awesome. What's the horn used on that RS-3 ?

[@colinthepanamerican]

Leslie s2a

[@Funkyjbell]

That's some bad rail. Great video.

[@MattKonsol]

Cool alco video plus this was even taken on my birthday btw my name is Matt I added you as a subscriber.

[@kenfolstad1346]

Awesome, super cool

[@gmac8852]

Scrappers torches be waiting for them old engines. Those engineers deserve newer safer and more comfortable equipment .

[@user-ft5vp3hy4c]

Lots of BAD track on that line ! Surprised that train made it !

[@JAMESP-gt2iz]

Can't believe the condition of the rail America is dead.

[@realMrHudson]

I have a question about the Amtrak Ethan Allen Express. When the train arrives in Rutland, how do they turn around so the train is facing the other way when it's ready to go back to New York City? I don't think they have an Amtrak yard in Rutland, so how do they do it?

[@GreenMountainRailProductions]

They wye the train around in the VRS’s Rutland yard

[@johnnyx07860]

I believe this is an old ex-L&HR locomotive

[@mrserious55]

nice horn

[@jarrinwoodruff1863]

So at the road crossing where it stalls a d has to start again I see diesel smoke but then a white cloud smoke it that steam from the radiator or something

[@paulhare662]

Looked like ghosts.

[@billmoran3812]

The radiators are at the very front of the car body mounted vertically. I think more likely the steam is coming from leaks on the engine itself.

[@TemplarKnight1177]

Are these locos not diesel electric? It notches up very little, like if it was a road truck or tractor with a mechanical drive train. Then the engineer notches down for no apparent reason, and notches up again. It sounds like the engine is never above notch 4. Other diesel electric locos (EMD, GE) will notch up and stay at a high notch until they achieve speed, not throttling up and down like this ALCO. The low RPM makes it sound like it's not working hard at all, only the smoke suggests it does. These ALCO's sounds like farm tractors, except the sound is deeper. But I do like it, nice video!

[@zerozipper4299]

The RS3 is Diesel Electric. The throttling is to get it up to the desired speed and keep it there. Plus the track is in bad condition too so a slow start is the safest bet.

[@skruloos1]

That's one tired old rs!

[@andrzejszyszo4284]

Fatal track condition, do trains run there regularly or exceptionally? I can't see any rust on the rails, they look like they're frequently used.

[@joshteshek1155]

How is this Alco still working? It is so hard to find parts for this type of locomotive

[@jek230]

Is so amazing this is still in use, its used often or only eventually?

[@katyuuki2261]

This locomotive is quite the frequent work horse on this line.

[@N00N01]

After having an alco locomotive actually do stuff or just exist its going to be named simolourly like the railroad, _battered and killed_

[@ninjaprof9788]

How do you know when the BKRR is running?

[@GreenMountainRailProductions]

Usually you can tell if there is an upcoming train by the amount of cars stored on the siding in Eagle Bridge.

[@amtrak713productions8]

Hey do you know what days they run?

[@benm3403]

I live near the railroad, most Friday afternoons they make round trips

[@JFinnerud]

What's up with the occasional puffs of white steam ? Was it running hot or something ?

[@LCERRP]

Not steam. It’s some type of exhaust

[@zerozipper4299]

Old gal' probably overheated pulling up the hill. The white smoke is probably radiator steam. at 3:10 in they had to restart it before going over the crossing.

[@reedryan8745]

Tier -1.

[@alcobufff]

HI Would it be ok if I used part of this video in my own about the rs-3?

[@GreenMountainRailProductions]

Sure!

[@alcobufff]

@@GreenMountainRailProductions Thanks!

[@williamcap2236]

Where is this ?

[@GreenMountainRailProductions]

Washington County in Upstate New York

[@williamcap2236]

@@GreenMountainRailProductions really ? I'm in Schuylerville i would love to see an operating RS3 ! I grew up like 10 mins from the old alco site now it's a casino 😔

[@haydenbritt1237]

that is a sketchy section of track lol

[@azulcosta]

Whas the diesel engine motor replaced? I think it's not the old 251C..... Seems that the sound is very different from this recorded video in past 2012: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZaqY3ign5KVhMU&t

[@artfulldodger5597]

Those would have Alco 244 prime movers in them. I believe both of their RS3's still have 244's in them

[@KuntalGhosh]

They should fix the tracks! A derailment is waiting to happen!

[@anthonylabarge4331]

Track could use a little work

[@user-ul1pf7fh1c]

Ужас как вагоны раскачивсет в начале видео

[@GMCGUY-]

Horrible track