| Designated as a ?DL721? by ALCo, the
2,000hp RS32 was intended to compete with EMD?s GP20 and GE?s U25B
locomotives. Only 35 units were produced, with 25 units ordered by
New York Central in 1961 and 10 units by Southern Pacific in 1962.
New York Central?s RS32s were commonly seen in both road and local
freight assignments. Southern Pacific?s units were initially used
in road service, but later settled into local freight service in
San Francisco?s ?commute? territory. Here they were sometimes
called upon to rescue stalled commuter trains. They later migrated
across the system, ending their SP careers in Texas during the late
1970s with various other ALCo models.
Designated as a ?DL701? by ALCo, the 1,800hp RS36 was only
slightly more successful than the RS32, with a total of 40 units
produced between 1961 and 1963. Interestingly the DL701 designation
was also used for the RS11 locomotive, and this has been the cause
of some confusion when tallying fleet rosters. The largest
purchaser of RS36s was Delaware & Hudson with a total of 12
units. These units served the D&H well, operating in road and
local freight service through the 1980s. A few units even lasted
into the 1990s holding yard and local assignments, serving their
original owner for nearly 30 years. Norfolk & Western
eventually amassed a larger fleet than the D&H, with the
acquisition of Nickel Plate?s 11 units, giving N&W a total
fleet of 17 units (some with high short hoods). Other original
owners included Tennessee Central, Apache, Atlantic & Danville
and Chicago & North Western (single unit order).
Given their very low production numbers, it is interesting to
note that a handful of RS32 and RS36 locomotives can still be found
in service today on a few US shortlines and tourist
railroads.
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