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Why Union Pacific SCRAPPED The Most POWERFUL Diesel Ever

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In 1964, the American Locomotive Company delivered the most powerful diesel locomotive ever built to Union Pacific. The Century 855 produced 5,500 horsepower per unit, more than anything from General Electric or Electro-Motive. Three units were built as an A-B-A set, designed to replace aging gas turbines on UP's demanding mountain routes.

The maiden run did not go as planned. According to shop-floor accounts, miswired traction motor contactors caused all three electrical cabinets to blow open during the first stage of transition. Flames shot out of the lower panels, the grass along the right-of-way caught fire, and a switcher had to tow the entire consist back to the yard. The most powerful diesel in America had failed before it left town.

ALCO engineers rewired the units and put them back in service, but the problems continued. The company had used aluminum wiring instead of copper to cut costs, and those connections proved prone to overheating and arcing under heavy freight loads. Crews described the C855s as rough riding, difficult to maintain, and frequently sidelined due to overheating or electrical failures.

Union Pacific never ran all three units together again after that first day. The locomotives spent most of their short careers in and out of the shop at North Platte, struggling to handle the brutal conditions of Sherman Hill. GE and EMD both delivered competing designs that proved more reliable, and ALCO received no follow-up orders.

By 1970, all three C855s had been pulled from service. ALCO itself closed its Schenectady plant in January 1969, ending 121 years of American locomotive production. The company that built Big Boy couldn't survive the diesel transition.

Union Pacific scrapped all three units in February 1972. Less than eight years from delivery to the cutting torch. No museum preserved them. The most powerful diesel ever built simply disappeared.

#ALCO #UnionPacific #C855 #Locomotive #RailroadHistory #Trains