| Alco C630
"Moving Railroads Forward With Innovation" |
Trains Magazine photo (December 1965) |
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| New: 1 January 2021 | ||
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In the Fall of 1964, Railway Age magazine and Trains magazine ran an Alco advertisement
touting the company's latest high horsepower locomotive. The headline read, "The Jones
Already Have One;" the ad was referring to the Schenectady Builder's new Century 630 being
used on the Atlantic Coat Line. More specifically, the six-axle freight hauler was the
first alternator-rectifier diesel locomotive to be placed in revenue service on a major
North American railroad. An AC transmission / traction system provides significant
locomotive-operation improvement. First of which is approximately 100 per cent greater
adhesion level, next comes lower maintenance costs, and lastly increased reliability.
The engineering achievement was one more in Alco's long line of pioneering advances.
Arguably, there were four different C630 models, each slightly different than the other (depending on builder):
Total production reached 133 units sans NdeM's C628 upgrades, and MLW's M630. The 2019 Locomotive Annual magazine (and Greg McDonnell) provided an excellent overview of MLW's M-Line locomotives, including the M630. For that reason, MLW's 3000-hp model has been omitted from this profile. STATUS: Western New York & Pennsylvania 630 still active | ||
| C630: Original Owners | |
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 Chesapeake & Ohio #2100 at Grand Rapids, MI on 7 April 1971. (Photographer unknown / R. Craig collection) |
 Louisville & Nashville #1431 at Sharonville, Ohio on 19 April 1974. (Dan Dover photo / R. Craig collection) |
 National e Mexico #8319 at San Luis Potosi on 17 August 1979. (John C. Benson photo) |
 Norfolk & Western #1139 at Hagerstown, Maryland on 8 August 1970. (Bob Wilt photo) |
 Pennsylvania RR #6320 at West Detroit, Michigan on 14 August 1968. (R. Craig photo)- need better photo |
 Reading #5307 at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on 5 November 1967. (Bob Wilt photo) |
 Southern Pacific 3153 at Colton, California on 20 October 1973. (Tom Chenoweth photo / R. Craig collection) |
 Union Pacific #2906 at an unknown location in May 1969. (Photographer unknown / R. Craig collection) |
| C630M: Original Owners | |
 Canadian National #2037 at Fort Erie, Ontario on 22 Sept. 1968. (R.W. Richards photo / R. Craig collection) |
 Canadian Pacific #4507 near London, Ontario in March 1969. (Denny Custer photo) |
 Pacific Great Eastern #702 at North Vancouver, BC on 6 June 1971. (Dougs Cummings photo / R. Craig collection) |
Photo of FNM C630M #702 (ex-BCR 702) needed for Part 2 of this profile: second-hand ownership. It will appear in February, along with a Technical Data sheet |
| All Alco C630 / C630Ms built by Schenectady Plant (New York) are scrapped unless otherwise noted | |||||
| Original Buyer | Road No. | 2nd Owner | 3rd Owner | Serial No. (date) | Notes or Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Coast Line | 2011 | SCL 2211 | L&N 8007(1433) | 3408-01 (7/65) | First domestically built locomotive with AC transmission |
| 2012 & 2013 | SCL 8008 & 8009 | -- | 3408-02 & 03 (12/65) | -- | |
| Chesapeake & Ohio | 2100-2103 | Robe River (Australia) 9417-9420 | -- | 3486-01 to 04 (10/67) | #9417 destroyed, others rebuilt; current status known |
| Louisville & Nashville | 1425-1428 | -- | -- | 3464-01 to 04 (6/66) | -- |
| 1430-1434 | -- | -- | 3456-01 to 05 (7/66) | -- | |
| National de Mexico | 8300-8309 | -- | -- | 3475-1 to 10 (12/66-1/67) | -- |
| 8310-8321 | -- | -- | 3496-1 to 12 (2/68) | -- | |
| 8322-8331 | -- | -- | 3495-1 to 10 (2-3/68) | -- | |
| Built as C628s and 20 upgraded to Alco C630 specs by NdeM, including 8301, 8303, 8305, 8315, 8318, 8319, 8324 & 8326 | |||||
| Norfolk & Western | 1130-1134 | -- | -- | 3456-01 to 05 (5/66) | High-Nose |
| 1135 | -- | -- | 3480-01 (9/67) | High-Nose; now an exhibit at Virginia Museum of Transportation | |
| 1135-1439 | -- | -- | 3480-01 to 05 (9/67) | High-Nose | |
| Pennsylvania | 6315-6329 | -- | -- | 3466-01 to 5 (10-12/66) | -- |
| Reading | 5300-5306 | -- | -- | 3442-01 to 07 (6/66) | -- |
| 5307 & 5309-5311 | -- | -- | 3487-01 & 03 to 05 (9-10/67) | -- | |
| 5308 | -- | -- | 3487-02 (9/67) | Owned by Reading Technical & Historical Society | |
| Southern Pacific | 7800-7814 | -- | -- | 3439-01 to 15 (3-4/66 | -- |
| Union Pacific | 2900-06 | Duluth Missabe & Iron Range 2900-2906 | Cartier 33, 38, 35-37 & 30-31 | 3440-01 to 10 (5-6/66) | -- |
| 2907 | DM&IR 907 | Cartier 34 | 3440-08 (6/66) | Now exhibited (privately owned) as UP 2907 at Arkansas Railroad Museum | |
| 2908 & 2909 | DM&IR 908 & 909 | Cartier 32 & 39 | 3440-01 to 10 (5-6/66) | -- | |
| All MLW C630Ms built by Montreal Locomotive Works (Quebec) are scrapped unless otherwise noted | |||||
| Canadian National | 2000 & 2001 | Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia 2000 & 2001 | -- | M3479-01 & 02 (8/67) | -- |
| 2002-2043 | Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia 2002 & 2042 | IBCX -- 2028, 2029 & 2031(?) | M3491-01 to 42 (12/67-4/69) | -- | |
| -- Multiple units bought by Indiana Box Corp; actual quantity unknown | |||||
| Canadian Pacific | 4500 | Arkansas & Missouri 70 | Western New York & Pennsylvania 630 | M6002-01 | Remains in Service on WNY&P |
| 4501-4507 | -- | -- | M6002-02 to 08 (7-9/68) | -- | |
| Pacific Great Eastern | 701, 703 & 704 | British Columbia Rail 701-704 | -- | M6029-01, 03 & 0404 (7/69) | -- |
| Pacific Great Eastern | 702 | British Columbia Rail 702 | FNM 702 | M6029-02 (7/69) | -- |
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Contributors: R. Craig and Ray Sabo
Original upload: 1 November 2020 | |||||