>>904248If ALCo was still around they would still be competing in the horsepower race with GE and EMD, they came out with 3000 and 3600 HP models at the same time or earlier than their competitors. They would also probably be the most penalized by the new emissions regulations since they visually seemed to be the worst polluters with their thick black "ALCo smoke." The "Century" styling probably would have lasted in new models the same way that the SD40-45 styling lasted for decades, so you'd probably see a C636-2 model at some point. If GE had stayed partnered with ALCo they probably would have done better with their reliability issues, although their diesel engines often provided more headaches to their users than their traction motors.
What killed ALCo was the inability to expand their export market during the 1960s. If they had been able to expand that market they would have had a solid base to continue domestic production. Also they had insufficient maintenance and repair infrastructure compared with the availability of GE and EMD service centers. This made ALCos the most expensive locomotives on any railroad's roster to operate and maintain and led to the early retirement of many of the company's later models.
