| Posted by SeanK97 on April 19, 2008 | |
There is one nearly identical to this here in Jackson Michigan at the Worthington Specialties facility, it is in use almost daily. Funny looking with control cabs made from old telephone booths!
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Looks similar to what CSX uses here in Baltimore to shove coal through the rotary.
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Can tell by the trucks and the grill opening that it began life as an Alco S1.
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These units were used by small coal mining operations in Kentucky, West Virginia & Virginia. Most if not all of these had been re-powered with a Caterpillar or a Cummins diesel engine, and did not "make transition", thus top speed was very low. The name given locally to these was "Bug Slugs". I can tell this one is re-powered, by the exhaust stack location and it's diameter. If the Alco diesel were still in there, it's exhaust stack would be above the last open door on the right and the stack it's self would be much larger than what is seen in this photo. This needs to be in a mining history museum, like the one at Sterns, Kentucky. The Mining Museum is reached by riding the Big South Fork Scenic Railroad, and is well worth the trip. Big South Fork Scenic has at least one Alco switcher in operation.
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