RS-1 #306 in Portland Shops paint

Class DL2 was a small order of Alco RS-1s, gotten to get rid of the last few steam engines working on unelectrified nooks & crannys around the PV&T system. Additional RS-1s joined the fleet in the 1961 LT&L & TdM merger, but the march of electrification ended up leaving most of them redundant, and by 2002 all but #306 (the Portland shop’s shop switcher/diesel mascot) had been sold to industry, shortlines, and railfans.

RS-1 #302 after rebuilding with a low short nose

The 4 DL2s (302,304,305,307) that had been rebuilt with low noses & somewhat larger cabs were put into class DL2m; no other changes were made aside from turning their controls around so the front end was the short nose. They operated on the lesser-trafficked branches of the LT&L/TdM South Shore until 2001, when they were finally retired and sold.

  • Copyright © 2024 by Jessica L. Parsons (orc@pell.portland.or.us) unless otherwise noted
    Mon May 16 21:37:52 PDT 2022