>>799698ALCo C-415 switcher, one of the last locomotives produced by the company before it quit the business. Only a couple dozen were built and Rock Island had one of the largest orders.
>The design selected was inherently flawed. They happened to be rather slippery due to uneven weight distribution- prime mover in the front, air compressor and radiator system in the rear. Batteries were in the left-rear hood, air reservoirs on the right. If you're familiar with Alcos' tendency to shove or drag non-Alco power, this presents an obvious problem. The excitation system that GE was currently using was implemented, as such, the C415 was notorious for slow loading. >The in-cab experience wasn't great either. Alco developed a V8 in which the cylinders fired every 90°, not particularly smooth running. As I recall this required the use of counterbalance shafts, but these resulted in secondary vibrations. The engine-auxiliary shaft also ran underneath the cab floor. And then there was the duplex controller mentioned earlier... Alco's exhaust stack was designed to keep smoke away from the crew. However, it warmed the cab, and it wasn't unknown for the pegboard wall to catch fire. In later units, the vertical section was rotated lengthwise, but most roads simply straightened the stacks. Following many complaints, Alco switched to conventional stepwells and dual controls. If you compare a representative from each C415 order, notice they all look different. Alco was at work with this model until the very end; you can't blame them for trying. 