Green Bay and Western HH660 #101 when Delivered new in the Fall of 1938 by ALCO-GE.
Green Bay and Western Railroad #101 was a former ALCO HH660 Diesel-Electric Switcher that was built in October 1938 for Switching services on the Green Bay and Western Railroad Route.
Order History and first Impressions[]
The #101 was ordered by the GB&W in the fall of 1938 creating the debut of Diesel-Electric power on the small coast-to-coast line in Wisconsin. Part of the first order of new ALCO HH660 series Diesel Electric Locomotives, these "High hood" locomotives were a Further improvement of the earlier HH600 class. Having 660 Horsepower on a six-cylinder Diesel engine producing torque on it's Electric generator motors, the HH660 sat on 41" drivers. Designed primarily for Switching services, the GB&W seeked the locomotive as a great opportunity to try out the new Diesel power. As the locomotive was shipped from ALCO on October 4th, 1938, it arrived on the property by Mid-October, the locomotive was painted Black with small white stripes to match the color scheme of the GB&W's Steam fleet. The switcher role proved to be a great start for the Railroad as it was successful enough for the Railroad to purchase further diesels as the GB&W invested in some ALCO S-1's in 1941. The locomotive was designed with "Blunt" design Trucks, designed by ALCO executive engineer James G. Blunt, it was found that the truck design proved to be poor riding around curves due to it's odd appearance although they operated best at slow speeds. The GB&W apparently did not invest in a second HH Series locomotive probably due to either this reason or not having enough power.
Revenue Service and later Careers[]
While on the Railroad, the locomotive's service life was not very well documented that it would often see service near Green Bay, WI. The second to join the roster was ALCO S-1 #103 which was delivered by February 1941. It is noted for small diesels like the #101, although they did not have very much Horsepower, they did they're jobs well with crew Satisfaction. Changes for the Railroad came in 1947 when the GB&W acquired their first Road Diesels which were ALCO FA's, which were delivered in a Bright red with wide Silver striping finished with a Black stripe outline, lettering and numbering along with Handrails were painted Safety Yellow. The following year in 1948, the #101 was repainted this new paint scheme to match the rest of the remaining Diesel Fleet looking a bit smart for its High-hood design. Taking a majority of lightweight jobs after Steam ended on the GB&W in April 1950, the locomotive continued service throughout the mid 1950's. Not only being the first diesel on the roster but was also the first to leave the roster as the #101 fell outdated to the more reliable Diesels such as newer RS-3's that were ordered that decade. Uninterested in keeping the veteran Switcher, the GB&W sold the unit on April 11th, 1956, to the United Electric Coal Co. keeping its old number where it operated on the small Industrial property for a number of years. The engine was repainted from its GB&W Red paint scheme around 1961 and was eventually sold to the Material Service Co. in 1972 as number #49-0159 operating in Industrial switching at their plant for four years.
Retirement and Scrapping[]
Former #101 was Twenty-eight years old when it was Retired from full Active duty in 1976, Uninterested in keeping the older locomotive around, the Material Service Co. sold for Scrapping at an unknown date in that year to Irv's Enterprises ending its service life as other GB&W Diesels back at home would continue to run on the Lines until the Green Bay Route was purchased by the Wisconsin Central Ry. on August 27th, 1993.
Trivia[]
- This locomotive was the first Diesel-Electric Locomotive to operate on the GB&W, paving the start of Steam to Diesel conversion for the Railroad.
- The GB&W #101 was the only HH Series ALCO Diesel acquired by the Railroad as the GB&W chose the more efficient ALCO S-1 series in 1941.