** Alco introduced the DL600 (RSD7) to the railroad industry in January 1954. The six-axle RSD7 was a significant departure from all previous roadswitcher models built in Schenectady. The carbody featured high hoods at each end with notches sculpted at the corners. Internally, the big Alco was propelled by a 244G V16 prime mover, which delivered 2250-horsepower. The G-series engine was coupled to a new Model 710 water-cooled turbo-charger, which had undergone years of development and testing. With the arrival of a sister unit during the following month, the pair of 65'-1" long locomotives began a 50,000-mile demonstration tour. Assigned road numbers DL600 and DL601, the combo sported a classy maroon, gray and yellow color scheme created by noted railroad artist Howard Fogg. The two demonstrators were upgraded to 2400 horsepower and sold to the Santa Fe Railroad as #600 and 601. Ten additional RSD7s were delivered to ATSF during the latter part of 1955.

** Early in the 1960s, Alco designers worked diligently to launch a new line of high-performance diesel locomotives. While teams of engineers devoted months to finalizing locomotive mechanical systems, acquiring production equipment, defining manufacturing plant layouts, the sales group was assigned the task of developing a marketing campaign. With all of the pieces finally in place, Alco introduced its Century Series line of locomotives in January 1963. "Century" was in reference to the nearly 100 new features and mechanical system improvements built into the new locomotive models.

** Alco's large, full-page ad in several trade and business publications shouted, "The Jones' Already Have One." The Jones' in this instance was the Atlantic Coast Line, which was the first railroad to take take delivery of the most powerful, single-engine locomotive in the industry (at that time) - Alco's Century 628. By late January 1964, the fleet-footed locomotives were racking up serious mileage on the point of hot Richmond (VA) to Waycross (GA) manifests. Alco clearly wanted everyone to know that they were at the forefront of the horsepower race (. . . at least temporarily).

** Pennsylvania Railroad was the single largest purchaser of Baldwin Locomotive Works' four-axle freight cabs. By the mid-1950s, the "Standard Railroad of the World" had added 170 sharks to its active roster (106 cab units plus 64 booster units). There were 102 RF-16As / RF-16Bs and 68 of the DR44-1500As / DR44-1500Bs. The sharks were primarily assigned to system-wide coal and heavy drag freight service. Sharks #9726A, 2001A & 9583B were rebuilt late in 1959, with an Alco 1800-hp 12V-251B engine. The threesome returned to service as #9632A, 9633A & 9632B and spent much of January 1960 in helper duty and running shakedown tests. The rare trio were officially retired during the summer of 1966.

** Speaking of the Pennsylvania Railroad, January 1962 saw the curtain fall on an interesting period in the diesel- electric locomotive's evolution. PRR de-activated #5811(ist) and 5824; they were the last of Penny's fleet of 24 "centipede" locomotives (#5811-5834). Built during 1947 and 1948, PRR's DR 12-8-1500/2 centipede were semi-permanently coupled and stretched 183 feet between coupler faces. Designed for mainline passenger service, the"Babyface" locomotives were reclassified by mid-1953 and placed in freight service, with many years spent as pushers. The change was was due in part to the DR12's on-going reliability issues. The Seaboard Airline was the only other U.S. buyer of the centipedes, all of the monster-size Seaboard locomotives were retired between 1957 and 1961.

** Whitcomb Locomotive Works was a division of Baldwin Locomotive from 1941 until 1952. The Rochelle, IL-based company had been building small diesel industrial and mining locomotives since 1929. In January 1941, the industrial manufacturer received its largest order ever for diesel locomotives. The U.S. War Department placed an order for 52 center cabs locomotives to support Allied operatons in Eqypt. They would be 65-ton locomotives, with most of them going to the Army and remainder to the U.S. Navy.

** EMD introduced the first four-axle, 1500-hp GP series locomotive in 1950; it went to the Atlantic Coast Line railroad as GP7 #100. During the next 4+ decades, the LaGrange builder's product catalog included 16 additional geep models. In January 1993, the last four-axle roadswitcher left the EMD plant. The 3800-hp locomotive was built as Southern Pacific #9794, with builder's plate #936428-25. EMD's last geep now generates revenue for the Union Pacific as #1015.

** In terms of unit sales, EMD's SD18 was not a strong performer. Only 54 of the 1800-horsepower units were built, and they went to six different owners. One of those railroads was the coal and ore-hauling Chesapeake & Ohio. The C&O purchased a total of nineteen units with the first deliveries starting in January 1963. The six-axle locomotives, which wore the railroad's standard blue and yellow attire and carried 1800-1818 in the number-boards, were assigned primarily to coal-hauling duties. Two features made the EMD-built six motors distinctive: A factory-applied low-nose, and a pair of Alco trimount trucks with GE traction motors. The Chessie System takeover brought new colors and a renumbering to 7300-7318.

** In January 1957, EMD delivered two 1750-hp FL9 demonstrators to the New Haven Railroad for extensive testing. Numbered 2000 & 2001, they were the first of a 30-unit order slated for Boston-New York commuter service. The dual-mode cab units were an elongated version of EMD's FP9 model, and they featured a 3-axle rear truck with pick-up shoes that drew power in third-rail territory. An additional 30 FL9s were delivered to the New Haven during 1959 / 1960; this last batch were powered by an 1800-hp V16-567 prime mover. Most of the FL9s were rebuilt during the late 1970s and early 1980s. After five decades of hauling commuters, some of the FL-9s were sold / donated to museums, while a few others were related to work-train duty on Amtrak. Three FL-9s are still seeing service on tourist operations.

** Marketplace driven, Fairbanks Morse was not the type of company that could easily turned its back on a new opportunity. When the New Haven railroad approached the locomotive builder in 1955 about the design of a new light-weight passenger train, the Beloit, Wisconsin manufacturer said yes. Twenty-one months later, FM was ready to unveil the newest in railroad passenger technology. In January 1957, the first P12-42s were introduced and prepared for high-speed demonstration tests on the NH's John Quincy Adams. Numbered 3100 and 3101, the locomotives were powered by 1700-hp, eight-cylinder 38D8 engines, and employed two 4-axle trucks, each with a single traction motor. The cars were low-center of gravity, Talgo type.

** One of the few remaining Fairbanks Morse strongholds in North America, during the 1970s, 80s & 90s, was U.S. Steel Company's "Fairless Works" located in Morrisville, PA (near Philadelphia). At the height of operation, the huge industrial complex employed 13 FM-built H12-44s, along with a group of eight Baldwin-built switchers. FM locos #GE9-GE16 were built in late 1951 and 1952 directly for US Steel. The other five FMs (#23-27) were acquired second-hand in 1970. Senior member of the FMs was #25 which had been built in January 1951 and originally worked for the New York Central as #9120. Its resume also included brief stints with the Penn Central and Conrail before joining the steelmaker's industrial fleet. The four-axle #25 was scrapped in 1996.

** From Russia, With Love .... well not exactly. In 1946, GE built twenty large electric (3000-3300V DC) locomotives for Russia, but worsening relations between the U.S. and Soviet Union (often referred to as "Cold War" politics) drastically altered those plans. Three of the 12-axle (2-D+D-2) electrics were purchased and modified for 1500V DC operation by the Chicago South Shore & South Bend. The commuter railroad assigned 800 series road numbers to the three electrics and relegated them primarily to freight service. The 800-class made their final revenue run on 31 January 1981. However, the #803, can still be seen in operation at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. As for the other seventeen Russia-bound electrics, five went to Brazil and the remainder were purchased by the Milwaukee Road.

** At the Erie Plant in Pennsylvania, General Electric in 1961 had its sights clearly set on Alco and replacing the Schenectady-based builder as the second largest locomotive manufacturer in the world. For GE, the year began with the roll-out of the first U25B production units. Attired in a rather simplistic red and white scheme, a 10,000-hp demonstrator team departed on a 12-month sales tour. The high-nose demonstrators carried road numbers 753-756. When their long-distance journey came to a close, the GE four-some was sold at the end of the year to the SLSF (Frsico) as #804-807.

** Looking much like their U25B predecessors, the first of GE's new 2800-hp B-B roadswitchers were delivered in January 1966. In gleaming orange and black, six U28B locomotives went to the Milwaukee Road wearing road numbers #393-398. An interim model, the newcomers, which employed a U25B carbody, helped GE keep pace in the horsepower race with Alco's and EMD's 3000-hp catalog offerings. With delivery of New York Central #2822 & 2823, the U28B took on a pug-nose appearance, which carried thoughout all future U-Boat models. Production of the U28B ran for one year and totalled 148 units.