The ALCO C-643DH, also known as the Century 643DH, was a twin-engine
diesel-hydraulic locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...
, the first diesel-hydraulic
road switcher
A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive
designed to both haul railcars in mainline service and shunt them in railroad yards. Both type and term are North American in origin, although similar types have been used elsewhere.
A road s ...
built in the United States. It had a
C-C wheel arrangement and generated . Only three were built, all for
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
in 1964 (#9018–#9020). The Alco C-643DHs joined 21
Krauss-Maffei
KraussMaffei is a German manufacturer of injection molding machines, machines for plastics extrusion technology, and reaction process machinery. It was acquired by ChemChina in 2016.
History Locomotives
KraussMaffei was formed in 1931 from a me ...
ML-4000 diesel-hydraulics already on the Southern Pacific's roster. They spent most of their service lives in the flat
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...
in California.
Dissatisfaction over the poor performance of diesel-hydraulic locomotives, as well as their use of foreign-made components (the
hydraulic transmission was of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
Voith
The Voith Group is a German manufacturer of machines for the pulp and paper industry, technical equipment for hydropower plants and drive and braking systems. The family-owned company, which operates worldwide and has its headquarters in Hei ...
design), eventually led Southern Pacific to sell the 3 C-643DHs for scrap in 1973. None of the 3 examples built survived into preservation.
Original owners
See also
*
List of ALCO diesel locomotives
American Locomotive Company (ALCO) produced a wide range of diesel-electric locomotives until it ceased manufacture in 1969.
Boxcab locomotives
Switchers
Cab units
Four-axle road switchers
Six-axle road switchers
Century ...
*
ALCO Century 855
The ALCO Century 855 was a model of diesel-electric locomotive built in 1964 by the American Locomotive Company for the Union Pacific Railroad. The locomotive was notable for being ALCO's most powerful diesel-electric locomotive and, at the ti ...
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Alco Six-Axle Centuries Roster
C-643DH
Diesel-hydraulic locomotives of the United States
C-C locomotives
Southern Pacific Railroad locomotives
Experimental locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1964
Standard gauge locomotives of the United States
Scrapped locomotives
{{Diesel-loco-stub