65 years young – Spanish Alco diesel locomotive back on the main line
SPANISH diesel No. 1603, one of 16 DL500A ‘World Series’ six axle diesel locos built by Alco in Schenectady USA in 1955/56, returned to main line passenger use in November after a restoration taking 17 years.
The locomotive’s first public outing was a charter train operated for UK-based PTG Tours on the FGC-owned line from Lleida to La Pobla de Segur on November 10.
The Class 1600 (later Class 316) locos (plus the original 1953-built DL500 Alco demonstrator which RENFE bought and numbered 1615; now preserved in the National Railway Museum at Madrid Delicias station), ended their working days in the early 1980s around Seville, although a few survived with engineering contractors and at least one is dumped at the yard at Vicálvaro in Madrid. RENFE had rebuilt the locos in the 1970s with the later Alco 251 engine replacing the 1600HP Alco 244C engines they were built with.
Loco No. 1603, later renumbered 316 003, (built Alco, Schenectady NY 81372/1955) has been bought by special train operator Alsa Rail which is part of the Alsa transport group, owned by UK-based National Express Group. Alsa has added the loco to its existing fleet of later Alco designed DL500s, ex-RENFE Class 321, built under licence in Spain in the mid-1960s.
Origin
Alco constructed its ‘World Series’ for export around the globe in the early 1950s, derived from the successful FA/FPA design locos which had been supplied to North American railways from 1946 onwards. No. 1603 in Spain is probably the only Alco built ‘World Series’ loco still in passenger use. While similar vintage locomotives still work in Australia, they were built under licence in Australia. A handful of even older similar FA/FPA locos remain in use with tourist railways in the USA.
No. 1603 was restored by ARMF (Associació pera la Reconstrucció i Posta en Servei de Material Ferroviari Històric) in Lleida which is also custodian of ex-RENFE ‘Garratt /Garrafeta’ steam loco 282F-0421. Alsa has bought No. 1603 to allow it to operate on the main line and plans in the near future to equip it with the digital AFSA safety system required on the Spanish national network. As it currently doesn’t have this, it is only allowed to lead trains on the national system in exceptional circumstances – although it did work the PTG train the short distance from Santurtzi to Bilboa Abando following failure of one of ALSA’s Class 321 fleet on November 11. The passenger debut was on the Catalan government owned Lleida to La Pobla de Segur line, where different rules apply.