The ALCO RSD-5 is a

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 ...

rated at , that rode on a pair of three-axle

trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

, having a C-C wheel arrangement. Basically an upgraded version of the earlier ALCO RSD-4, and used in much the same manner as its four-axle counterpart, the

ALCO RS-3 The ALCO RS-3 is a , B-B diesel-electric locomotive manufactured from May 1950 to August 1956 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and its subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). A total of 1,418 were produced: 1,272 for American railro ...

, the six-motor design allowed better tractive effort at lower speeds.

Original owners

Preserved units

As of 2024, there are only two unrebuilt RSD-5s known to be in existence. • CNW #1689 is preserved and operational at the

Illinois Railway Museum The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago. Overview ...

. • Utah Railway #306 is preserved at the Utah State Railroad Museum awaiting a planned restoration to its Utah Railway colors. It is currently painted as

Nickel Plate Road The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States from 1881 to 1964. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of ...

#324, from its former owner, Doyle McCormack of the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation. Two former RSD-5s (rebuilt as RSD-12's) built for the Southern Pacific survive at the

Southern California Railway Museum The Southern California Railway Museum (SCRM, reporting mark OERX), formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is a railroad museum in Perris, California, United States. It was founded in 1956 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles before movin ...

(SP #2954 and SP #2958).

References

* * C-C locomotives RSD-5 Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States Diesel–electric locomotives of Mexico Railway locomotives introduced in 1952 Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States Standard-gauge locomotives of Mexico Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway locomotives Chesapeake and Ohio locomotives Chicago and North Western Railway locomotives Milwaukee Road locomotives Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives Southern Pacific Railroad locomotives {{diesel-loco-stub