my ESPEE MODELERS ARCHIVE

California's Railroad to the U.S. 1861 - 1996

Southern Pacific
Cotton Belt
Texas & New Orleans
RSD5

63 units delivered

36 units to SP
3 units to SSW
24 units to T&NO

Southern Pacific's RSD5's, came in two varieties; branchline/switcher and road/helper service.

Road/helper units were setup short hood forward, switchers long hood forward.

• the following units were setup long hood forward:
  • SP #5294 - 5307, 5336 - 5339
  • SSW #270, 271, 272 later 2888, 2889, 2890
  • T&NO #155 - 175, 185, 186 later 2850 - 2870, 2886, 2887

• the following units were setup short hood forward:
  • SP #5445 - 5507 later #2871 - 2885

In 1960, 21 RSD5's were traded back to ALCo to be rebuilt into RSD12's, (or DL-702) only the trucks and miscellaneous equipment was reused. SP #5294 - 5307, 5336 - 5339, 5445 - 5447 were the units involved. Originally delivered with ALCo's 244 engine, (as were all RSD5's), these came back with the then new 251 engine.

The remaining 15 SP units #5448, 5494 - 5507 were leased to the Texas & New Orleans without being renumbered.

The Texas & New Orleans (T&NO or TNO) was a subsidiary of SP, and existed until 1961 when it was fully absorbed by SP. The T&NO units #155 158, 160 - 170, 172 - 175, 185, 186 later became SP #2850, 2852 - 2859, 2861 - 2870, 2886, 2887

T&NO 170 - 176 were delivered with dynamic brakes and later became hump units, 185, 186 were 'plain jane' units and remained as switchers.

In the 1965 renumbering, the branchline/switcher units became #2850 - 2870, 2886, 2887 and road/helper units became #2871 - 2885

With 63 units built over a 3 year period, in at least 7 orders, to 2 or 3 owners, (depending how you want to classify T&NO), there are bound to be a lot of differences, in appliances (light packages) fitted, and paint schemes as delivered. As well, some units lasted over 20 years before retirement, so would have lived through a lot of changes, regarding appliances and paint schemes.

I have only turned up one modeling article so far, so a photo is going to be a must, if you want to get it right.

Prototype References:

• SP Motive Power Annual 1966-67 - has a photo of 5505 in 1964.
• SP Motive Power Annual 1967-68 - has a photo of T&NO 155 in Road Switcher paint.
• SP Motive Power Annual 1967-68 - Twenty Eight Years of ALCo Diesels mentions RSD5's.
• SP Motive Power Annual 1968-69 - has a photo of 2878 in Black Widow.
• SP Motive Power Annual 1970 - has a photo of (ex T&NO 169) 2870 probably in Blood Nose.
• SP Motive Power Review 1978-79 - Article on Dieselization of the T&NO - covers RSD5's in text and Blood Nose photo's.
• SP Dieselization by Garmany - Chapter 13 has photos.
• Diesel Era Mar/Apr 1998 Vol.9 No.2 - ALCo's RSD4/5's, pages 11-26, 54 - 59.
• SP Historic Diesels Vol.8 Alco Roadswitcher Locomotives by Joe Strapac