ALCO MRS-1 United States Air Force 2104 locomotive at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in Campo, California, circa 1990s
ALCO MRS-1 is a type of diesel-electric locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC). They were built by ALCO between 1953-1954 a total of 83 of these engines were built.
They were built with multigauge trucks and to a reduced loading gauge for service anywhere in the world in the event of war.
The Korean War and the intensification of the Cold War at the beginning of the 1950s caused the USATC to consider what it might need for a new land war in Europe.
Both companies were contracted produced a batch of thirteen locomotives which would be evaluated by the USATC; the vendor providing the better locomotive would then produce the rest of the required locomotives.
The MRS-1 was designed with the prospect of another land war in Europe during the "hottest" years of the Cold War, so it was equipped with adjustable trucks to fit different railroad gauges, compact bodywork to accommodate restrictive rights of way and replaceable couplers.
While many of these locomotives were ultimately scrapped, several of them still exist, in various states of preservation.
Trivia[]
- Alaska retired its last ALCO MRS-1s in 1984.
- The specification was put out to tender, and two companies responded, GM and GE.
- As delivered, they were painted in gloss black with white numbering and lettering.
- Thus the 96 locomotives were redundant for their original purpose.
- Thirteen of the locomotives were sold to the Alaska Railroad—six in 1974, and seven in 1975.
- Cass Scenic Railroad also stored 2 examples, which were sold as surplus and later scrapped in 2010.
- Alaska Railroad #1605 was featured in "Runaway Train". It had been retired in 1984, one year before filming started. The unit has since been cut up for scrap.
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