PRR RS-1 Road Switcher

The Prototype - General Information

The American Locomotive Company ("Alco") started building the RS-1 road switcher in 1940 and continued to build them into 1957. This was the longest production run of any single design in diesel engine history. The RS-1 had a 6-cylinder 539 motor in it, rated at 1,000hp, with a top speed of 60mph. It was produced with four wheel trucks and some six wheel trucks. The six wheel trucks were used on lighter rail where the weight had to be more distributed. The RS-1 was followed by the RS-2 (1,500hp) and the RS-3 (1,600hp), although they were produced simultaneously by Alco. These engines could be used for yard switching, road service, or passenger trains. They were outfitted by the manufacturer for one of those tasks.

The Prototype - Pennsylvania Railroad

PRR RS-1 #5906 was the Pennsylvania Railroad's first diesel road switcher, which was bought in 1948. It was used to replace a steam engine in the Baltimore, MD commuter service. During the Summer of 1950, the PRR bought 22 more RS-1s. Two more units were bought each year of 1951 and 1952. The PRR ran the engines with the long hood forward. All but one made it through to the Penn Central merger of 1968. In the PRR these were classified as "AS10am", except for the first one, which was a "AS10s". The first four characters stood for Alco, Switcher, 1000 horsepower.

(PRR 8485 in 1957, source: Fallen Flags and Other Railroad Photos web site)

The Model

The Alco RS-1 is my all-time favorite engine. I just love its sleek looks. When I re-entered the hobby in 1999, after buying an N-scale starter set, my first "real" purchase was an Gulf, Mobile, & Ohio RS-1, purely because of its looks. Later, when I decided to model the mighty Pennsy, I bought several Atlas RS-1s. So, when I switched from N-scale to S-scale in July, 2008, I knew I had to have one. I eventually stumbled across the Railmaster Hobbies web site and their RS-1 kit. I decided to model road number 5627, which was a PRR AS-10am (Alco, switcher, 1000hp, modified design, and multiple-unit equipped) that was delivered to the Pennsylvania Railroad in June of 1950. There is a good 3/4 profile view of the engine in the book "Pennsylvania Railroad Diesel Locomotive Pictorial Volume One ALCo RS Series". Since I model August, 1950, the engine just barely fits my time period, even though the locomotive was never seen on the branch line that I model (oh well!). The kit took me three months to build. The final model weighs 2 pounds and 4.4 ounces (1.035 kilograms). Note that my Library page has several videos featuring this engine.


(the finished model - engineer's side)

(the finished model - brakeman's side)

Articles

References