Nostalgia & History > another Fogg File memory: UP C630 action

Howard Fogg caught UP C630 #2907 leading 4 other UP units wb @ Wycon, WY, not far west of Cheyenne, on Mar. 4, 1968.

---

Right out on the Wyoming mainline where they belonged. You would have thought the UP would have stuck with the units to make them work but maybe they saw the end of the line for Alco and decided there was no incentive in cleaning them up.

Nice action image.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

fbe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Right out on the Wyoming mainline where they
> belonged. You would have thought the UP would have
> stuck with the units to make them work but maybe
> they saw the end of the line for Alco and decided
> there was no incentive in cleaning them up.
>

UP and Alco spent a lot of effort trying to make the C855s work. UP's faith in Alco was killed by that fiasco.

The C630s were great at lugging tonnage into motion, so 6 out of 10 of them became the trim engines at the Pocatello and North Platte. Parts inventories were an important expense issue so the other four tended to stay east of North Platte in their last years. Circa 1974 or 1975 they were all sold to the Missabe (owned by U S Steel), which subsequently transferred them to Cartier.

I can remember working second trick at Hood River in 1970 or 1971 when the PLA came upriver in the early evening with a C630 on the point (probably last time one came to Portland) ahead of 2 or 3 EMDs. I could hear that 251 from the time it rounded Mitchell Point until it passed Hood River. Totally drowned out the EMDs.

Best regards,

Rob L.

rob_l Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> fbe Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Right out on the Wyoming mainline where they
> > belonged. You would have thought the UP would
> have
> > stuck with the units to make them work but
> maybe
> > they saw the end of the line for Alco and
> decided
> > there was no incentive in cleaning them up.
> >
>
> UP and Alco spent a lot of effort trying to make
> the C855s work. UP's faith in Alco was killed by
> that fiasco.
>
> The C630s were great at lugging tonnage into
> motion, so 6 out of 10 of them became the trim
> engines at the Pocatello and North Platte. Parts
> inventories were an important expense issue so the
> other four tended to stay east of North Platte in
> their last years. Circa 1974 or 1975 they were all
> sold to the Missabe (owned by U S Steel), which
> subsequently transferred them to Cartier.
>
> I can remember working second trick at Hood River
> in 1970 or 1971 when the PLA came upriver in the
> early evening with a C630 on the point (probably
> last time one came to Portland) ahead of 2 or 3
> EMDs. I could hear that 251 from the time it
> rounded Mitchell Point until it passed Hood River.
> Totally drowned out the EMDs.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Rob L.

And note that CARTIER got additional DECADES of good service life from these engines, only recently replacing them...

> UP and Alco spent a lot of effort trying to make
> the C855s work. UP's faith in Alco was killed by
> that fiasco.

Rob & list,

Or perhaps it was killed even before that... I've read that UP worked hard with ALCO to get the problems worked out on the FA/B fleet in the 1940s / 50s, to no avail. UP's orders of ALCO road power were basically non-existent after that, with only the handful of RS27s, C630s and 855s purchased, while they bought GE and lots of EMD products.

Take care,

Mark

This unit still exists today at the Arkansas RR Museum in Pine Bluff.
http://www.arkansasrailroadmuseum.org/

Does the mast between the mains mean
they're on track 3?

stevelv Wrote:

> This unit still exists today at the Arkansas RR
> Museum in Pine Bluff.
> http://www.arkansasrailroadmuseum.org/

See also:
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1272376

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rob_l Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > fbe Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Right out on the Wyoming mainline where they
> > > belonged. You would have thought the UP would
> > have
> > > stuck with the units to make them work but
> > maybe
> > > they saw the end of the line for Alco and
> > decided
> > > there was no incentive in cleaning them up.
> > >
> >
> > UP and Alco spent a lot of effort trying to
> make
> > the C855s work. UP's faith in Alco was killed
> by
> > that fiasco.
> >
> > The C630s were great at lugging tonnage into
> > motion, so 6 out of 10 of them became the trim
> > engines at the Pocatello and North Platte.
> Parts
> > inventories were an important expense issue so
> the
> > other four tended to stay east of North Platte
> in
> > their last years. Circa 1974 or 1975 they were
> all
> > sold to the Missabe (owned by U S Steel), which
> > subsequently transferred them to Cartier.
> >
> > I can remember working second trick at Hood
> River
> > in 1970 or 1971 when the PLA came upriver in
> the
> > early evening with a C630 on the point
> (probably
> > last time one came to Portland) ahead of 2 or 3
> > EMDs. I could hear that 251 from the time it
> > rounded Mitchell Point until it passed Hood
> River.
> > Totally drowned out the EMDs.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Rob L.
>
> And note that CARTIER got additional DECADES of
> good service life from these engines, only
> recently replacing them...


Alco's need more care than most railroads were willing to give them. Unlike an EMD which is a "fuel em and sand em" type of engine, which can take a lot of abuse before it finally gives out, Alco's will not run properly , unless properly maintained. Since most Class 1's had a fuel and sand mentality ,and which exists to a certain extant today.A few years ago , there was a railfan weekend on the A&M at Springdale ,Ark, and fans got a tour of the shops, and the CMO was there to answer questions. I remember him telling the fans that his Alco's would run as good or better than any EMD,and the Alco's had many more years of life in them, but they had to be maintained to a higher degree than most engines to get maximum performance out of them. The A&M and Apache are examples of what good maintenance will do, their 45+ year old engines are still running, while others have long since departed.

timz2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does the mast between the mains mean
> they're on track 3?


It looks to me like he's on main track 3, near the former Corlett Jct location.

Mark

So this is just another example of Alcos not doing so well in high mileage but providing decades of heavy haul service when they were kept close to the shops crews who knew them intimately with parts at hand.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

fbe Wrote:

> So this is just another example of Alcos not doing
> so well in high mileage but providing decades of
> heavy haul service when they were kept close to
> the shops crews who knew them intimately with
> parts at hand.

...the need to keep a certain make of locomotives close to a shop that knows their eccentricities and has the time and manpower to tinker with them is also what killed Baldwin, FM, and just about every imported diesel tried in the US.