D&H DL16a (RS-11) 520 in the lightning bolt scheme OC DL16b (RS-18) 950 in goth black TdM DL16c (Erie Mining chop-nose RS-11m) 1215 in orange & dark green PV&T DL16c (RS-11m) 1234 in blue & white

Starting with a bunch that came along with the D&H, the PV&T has accumulated a lot of used Alco RS-11s & MLW RS-18s, all of which are various subclasses of class DL16.

The D&H RS-11s were the first, so were classified as DL16; when the OSW RS-18s (the MLW equivalent of the RS-11) joined the fleet (and more when the Ottawa Central and CdfC became part of the system) they were classified as DL16b; and finally a bunch of 22 ILW-rebuilt used RS-11s (in an absurdly complicated deal involving a dozen DL17s, two locomotive brokers & the Morristown & Erie) were dumped onto the roster – as class DL16c – in 2013, replacing most of the P&W’s GE fleet.

Most of the high short hood units were rebuilt with either canadian cabs (ex-DH 509-512,514) or RS-32 style short hoods (some of the RS-18s were rebuilt with notched hoods, which made for an interesting looking unit), and the DL16c units – most of which were pretty ragged after being run into the ground on various shortlines – had their prime movers updated to 251e specs as part of the rebuilding process.

In 2013, there were 63 RS-11s & RS-18s on the roster, making the PV&T North America’s largest operator by far of these aged second-generation units.

  • Copyright © 2024 by Jessica L. Parsons (orc@pell.portland.or.us) unless otherwise noted
    Mon Dec 13 12:17:37 PST 2021