The ALCO DL560C is a series of

diesel–electric locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source 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 whee ...

with AC electric transmission designed by the

American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various time ...

and produced under license by

Banaras Locomotive Works The Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), formerly Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), is a production unit of Indian Railways situated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. DLW was renamed BLW in 2020. History Founded in 1956 as the ''DLW'', it manufactures locom ...

(BLW) Varanasi, India for

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

as their classes

WDM-2 The Indian locomotive class WDM-2 is a class of diesel–electric locomotive that was developed in 1962 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for 5 ft 6 in gauge railway, broad gauge (W), Diesel (D), ...

, WDM-3A/2C,

WDM-3D The Indian locomotive class WDM-3D is a class of diesel–electric locomotive that was developed in 2003 by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), Varanasi for Indian Railways. The model name stands for 5 ft 6 in gauge railway, broad gauge (W), Diesel ...

and

WDG-3A The Indian locomotive class WDG-3A is a class of diesel–electric locomotive that was developed in 1994 by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW),Varanasi for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad-gauge (W), Diesel (D), Goods traffic (G) en ...

for operation in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The locomotive is fitted with a 16-cylinder ALCO 251 B, C diesel engine. In the early 1960s

needed a reliable

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

workhorse to gradually replace its

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

fleet. Equal numbers (40 each) of ALCO's DL560C and EMD's G16 were chosen for trials. More locomotives of each of these were purchased for more trials. Indian Railways was keen on producing these locomotives in the country rather than depending on imports. EMD did not agree for a Transfer-of-Technology, while

ALCO The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various time ...

did. Thus ALCO DL560C was chosen for the job due to its easy maintenance, reliability and simple operation. And from then on vast numbers of this loco in different configurations have been produced and remain the main diesel traction power of Indian Railways.

Indian Versions

There are four main variants of this loco, which are extensively modified for particular needs. They are, as follows:

WDM-2

The first loco of the type DL560C to arrive in India is WDM-2. Initial batches arrived from the ALCO manufacturing facility in ready-to-ride condition. And 12 more arrived from ALCO in,to be assembled kits. This loco remained as the workhorse of Indian Railways in the 20th century. This loco solely can haul 9 passenger compartments and can haul 18 with the help of another WDM-2. This model had a maintenance schedule of every 10 days. After later improving the fluid level and bearings, the schedule was increased to 30 days. The gear ratio being 65:18 and having a max speed of . JUMBOS (full-width short hood) and WDM-2A/2B are some of WDM-2s variants with minor modifications. The production began in the late 1960s, and went on till the late 1990s. They are being eventually retired. They belong to series 18xxx, 17xxx and 16xxx.

WDM-3A/2C

WDM-3A, previously known as WDM-2C, are more powerful than the previous WDM-2 version by . The first loco was delivered in 1994. This loco was shown to do the work of two WDM-2S. They too had a top speed of . The gear ratio is same as the WDM-2. Some locomotives had their maximum power output increased to and classed as WDM-3A. They are still under production. WDM-3C is an upgraded loco from its previous WDM-3A. Their series is 14xxx.

WDM-3D

This is the latest and the most advanced variant of all the available ALCOs. The WDM-3D are fitted with micro-processors. This variant has enhanced cabin facilities including left hand driving. This loco also has some features borrowed from its mate EMD GT46PAC. Features such as microprocessors to detect wheel slipping and phased manner power supply, monitoring engine parameters are incorporated from the latest EMD GT46PAC. This variant proved highly successful, as after serial production began in 2005 almost all broad gauge diesel sheds were allotted with this loco. The minor variants of this loco include WDM–3E and WDM–3F. They belong to series 11xxx.

WDG-3A

WDG-3A, previously known as WDG-2 were designed owing to the problems which arose with WDM-2 on hauling freight. This loco normally hauls freight. The common problems were poor ride quality, lateral oscillations, and poor traction with heavy loads. First loco was manufactured in 1995. The gear ratio is 74:18. This loco has a balancing speed of 69 km/h with a load of 58 BOXN wagons (Max. speed 100 km/h). This variant is being gradually modernized to the level of WDM-3Ds. Some of its minor improvements include WDG-3B, WDG-3C and WDG-3D. Their series are in 14501-14999 and 13000–13665. Last one built for Indian Railway was 13665 rolled out in 2012. Total 1171 were built for Indian Railways and a considerable number were supplied to non Railway customers like thermal power plants, port trusts and steel plants.

WDM-7

They are lower powered (2000 HP instead of 2600 HP) version of the WDM-2. These locomotives were built from 1987 to 1989. A few were at

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

earlier, but later all were transferred to

Tondiarpet Tondiarpet is a northern neighbourhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Etymology This area got its name from a famous nineteenth-century Muslim Saint Kunangudi Masthan Sahib. His birthplace is located near Thondi in Ramanathapuram District. Th ...

seen shunting at Chennai Central or for light passenger haulage. Some are at the thermal power station, Chennai. They were formerly housed at

Erode Erode (; īrōṭu), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Kaveri river and is surrounded by the Western Ghats. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. It is the administrativ ...

and Golden Rock also. They are reliable and rugged locomotives even though low powered. They can be easily recognized by the lack of grilles on the short hood. Two locomotives are running on a mixture of bio-diesel and diesel. All 15 are still in service.

Export versions

Sri Lanka

WDM-2 - Class M8 In Sri Lanka Eight WDM-2 locomotives were purchased by the

Sri Lanka Railways The Sri Lanka Railway Department (more commonly known as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR)) (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා දුම්රිය සේවය ''Śrī Laṃkā Dumriya Sēvaya''; Sri Lankan Tamil dialects, Tamil: ...

, the state run railroad operator in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 1996. They were the longest and most powerful locomotives at that time. They were allocated the M8 class. However, some modifications to the appearance were done by SLR. These locomotives belong to road number 841 to 848 and all are still operational.

Bangladesh

Ten WDM-2 locomotives were purchased by

Bangladesh Railway Bangladesh Railway () is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains all railways in the country, and is overseen by the Directorate General of Bangladesh Railway. The Bangladesh Railway is governed by the Mi ...

in 2001. They were the most powerful locomotives at that time. They were allocated Class 6400 or BED-26 numbered from 6401 to 6410. All are fitted with air brake and AAR coupling. Unlike their Indian counterparts, these locomotives do not have the dynamic braking system. All locomotives are still in service. On 27 July 2020

(IR) handed over 10

diesel locomotives to

s under its “grant assistance” plan. The vehicles cost an estimated ₹600m ($US 8m) to manufacture.

Manufacturers

They were manufactured and designed by

. Now they are licensed produced by BLW and are overhauled and rebuilt by DLMW. The rebuilt locos carry an 'R' behind their serial number.

Users

The locomotive is used by the following zones of Indian Railways: *

South Western Railway South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...

* Southern Railway * Central Railway *

South Central Railway South Central Railway (abbreviated SCR) is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways. The jurisdiction of the zone is spread over the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka. It has three divisions under its administration, wh ...

* South Coast Railway * Northern Railway *

North Western Railway The North Western Railway (abbreviated NWR) is one of 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Jaipur. It has a route length of more than across the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana. NWR operates international rail s ...

Northeast Frontier Railway The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across N ...

West Central Railway The West Central Railway (abbreviated WCR), one of the 19 zones of the Indian Railways, came into existence on 1 April 2003. It is headquartered at Jabalpur. It was created by taking away two divisions namely Bhopal division and Jabalpur divi ...

East Central Railway The East Central Railway (abbreviated ECR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at and comprises , , , and divisions. History First set up on 8 September 1996 with headquarters at Hajipur, Bihar, East Central R ...

* Western Railway * South East Central Railway *

East Coast Railway The East Coast Railway (abbreviated as ECoR) is one of the 19 railway zones of Indian Railways. It came into existence on 01-April-2003. It headquarters are located at . History Consequent upon the parliament's approval, East Coast Railway wa ...

* North Central Railway * North Eastern Railway * Eastern Railway * South Eastern Railway In addition, DL560Cs were exported to * Peru. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DL560C DL560C Banaras Locomotive Works locomotives

ALCo DL560C The ALCO DL560C is a series of diesel–electric locomotive with AC electric transmission designed by the American Locomotive Company and produced under license by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) Varanasi, India for Indian Railways as their classe ...

5 ft 6 in gauge locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1962