ALCO Century 415

The ALCO Century 415 was a road switcher diesel-electric locomotive of B-B wheel arrangement produced by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) as part of their Century Series of locomotives.

Specifications
The C415 was a large switcher or small road switcher equipped with a raised cab mounted slightly off-center, with a lower, narrower hood on either side. The longer one contained the diesel engine, a 1500 hp eight-cylinder turbocharged Alco 251-F, while the shorter contained auxiliaries. The C415 could be ordered with three different cab heights; a low one for minimum clearances, a regular height one, and an extra-height one for maximum visibility. Trucks fitted were either Type B road trucks or ALCO Hi-Ad (high adhesion).

Service history
The locomotive was not that popular; 26 were built between 1966 and 1968 for seven different owners. The locomotive is still in use today. According to the November 2011 issue of Railfan & Railroad magazine, the Burlington Junction Railway now owns three C415s numbered 21, 701 and 702.

Original owners

 * Hamersley Iron in Western Australia bought the prototype in May 1968, formerly lettered as ALCO 415. The locomotive was equipped with a medium height cab and AAR Type B trucks.
 * Chehalis Western Railroad bought a single high cab unit with Hi-Ad trucks.
 * Columbia and Cowlitz Railway bought a single high cab unit with Hi-Ad trucks. (Both the Columbia and Cowlitz and the Chehalis Western are Weyerhaeuser properties)
 * Monongahela Connecting Railroad bought a single low cab unit with Hi-Ad trucks.
 * Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad bought ten medium cab units with AAR Type B trucks.
 * Southern Pacific Railroad bought ten high cab units with Type B road trucks.
 * Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway bought two medium cab units with Hi-Ad trucks; these were passed to the Burlington Northern Railroad, 4010-4011 after a merger between the two railroads.

Preservation

 * Southern Pacific Railroad 2406 is in Monterrey, Mexico, lettered as Fundidora Monterrey Steel 25.
 * Hamersley Iron 1000, formerly Alco Demonstrator 415 is at the Pilbara Railways Historical Society in Western Australia.
 * Monongahela Connecting Railroad 701 is at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
 * Chehalis Western Railroad 684 is at Fife History Museum.
 * Buffalo Southern Railroad 423, formerly Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 423 is at the Buffalo Southern's Hamburg Shops in Hamburg, New York.