ALCO RSC-2

Template:Short description Template:Template other The ALCO RSC-2 was a diesel-electric locomotive that rode on three-axle trucks, having an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement.

91 locomotives were produced — Used in much the same manner as its four-axle counterpart, the ALCO RS-2, though the wheel arrangement lowered the axle load for operation on light rail such as are found on branch lines.

The Milwaukee Road was the first railroad to take delivery of the RSC-2, initially assigning them to their Valley Division (headquartered near Wausau, Wisconsin) in November 1946. This was done in order to study the effects of an all-diesel roster (i.e. no steam locomotives available as a backup). The experiment was deemed a success and soon all steam locomotives were gone from the Valley Division. RSC-2s would faithfully serve the Milwaukee Road for many years, until being replaced in turn by the EMD SDL39.

ALCO also exported these units to the state railway of Portugal, where Portuguese Railways (CP) designated them Série 1500. These locomotives were built for the Iberian track gauge of (Template:Track gauge). The last units in Portugal served in regular passenger service into the first decade of the 21st century. Of these, five are still running today, 70 years after their arrival (one is a museum locomotive, while the other four are owned by track maintenance companies). Five units were exported to the Algerian National Railways where they were used in passenger train service.

Original buyers

Railroad	Quantity	Road numbers	Notes
Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (CP)	12	1501-1512	Designated Série 1500 by CP. Uprated from Template:Convert to Template:Convert in 1976. Top speed was then Template:Convert, the track gauge Template:RailGauge . Four still in service.
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad	22	975–996	renumbered to 580–597, 490–493 series, not in order Milwaukee Road 988 survives today at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum and is under restoration.
Office des Chemins de Fer Algériens	5	040DD1–040DD5
Seaboard Air Line Railroad	37	1500-1536	1532-1536 rated at Template:Convert
Soo Line Railroad	4	368–371
Union Pacific Railroad	11	1180–1190	1190 was originally ALCO demonstrator 1190, all units later renumbered 1280-1290
Total	91