The ALCO Century 628 was a six-

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotation, rotating wheel and axle, wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In ...

, diesel-electric locomotive. A total of 186 C628s were built between December 1963 and December 1968. There were 135 C628s built for US railroads, 46 C628s built for Mexican railroads, and five C628s for Australia. The C628 replaced the C624 (DL600C/RSD-41) as a part of ALCO's 'Century' line of locomotives. The C624 was intended to replace the earlier RSD-15 model, but was never built. The C628 was offered instead in August 1963. Hamersley Iron purchased five to haul iron ore services in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. They were built in

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

. All had been retired by 1982, with one preserved on a plinth in Dampier. The Southern Pacific purchased the four demonstrators in 1964, and an additional 25 C628s were delivered in 1965.

Preserved

Australia

* No. 2000 preserved by the Pilbara Railways Historical SocietyExhibits
Pilbara Railway Historical Society

North America

* Nacionales de Mexico 610, formerly Delaware and Hudson 610, preserved at the Yucatán Railway Museum in Mexico * Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico 606, formerly Ferrocarril de Pacifico 606, preserved at the Yucatán Railway museum in Mexico

References

*Alco Century 628 Study by Win Cuisnier (Preston Cook) Extra 2200 South Issue #54 Oct-Dec 1975 p. 21. *Alco Century (and predecessors) Spec-Profile by Don Dover Extra 2200 South Issue #54 Oct-Dec 1975 p. 22

External links

*Sarberenyi, Robert.

'. Century 628 C-C locomotives Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States Diesel locomotives of Western Australia Railway locomotives introduced in 1963 Standard-gauge locomotives of Australia Standard-gauge locomotives of Mexico Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States Diesel–electric locomotives of Australia Diesel–electric locomotives of Mexico {{diesel-loco-stub