The ALCo Dynasty in India
ALCo (American Locomotive Company) locomotives have ruled Indian tracks since 1958. Indian Railways began diesel traction on mainline broad-gauge tracks with the ALCo DL500 “World Locomotive” which was classed as the WDM1 [W (wide) D (diesel) M (mixed traffic). The quintessential moment for ALCo in India came in 1962 with the introduction of the ALCo DL560C a.k.a the WDM2 diesel electric locomotive in India. In the 1960s General Motors EMD SD-24, classed as WDM4 was acquired by the Indian Railways. Although technologically superior to the WDM2, EMD’s refusal to transfer technology pushed Indian Railways into the waiting arms of ALCo and the WDM2 began its reign in India. The simplicity of design and ease of maintenance of the WDM2 encouraged the Indian Railways to acquire the ALCo DL535 for metre gauge operations. The DL535 classed as the YDM4 acquired the same ubiquitous presence on metre gauge tracks of India as the WDM2 had on the broad-gauge tracks of India. Project Unigauge and the declining metre gauge footprint in India has restricted the YDM4 to isolated islands and most units have been withdrawn from service. Several India built YDM4s have been exported to Malaysia.
By the 1980s, as Trains became longer, Indian Railways felt the need for more powerful locomotives and thus began the tweaking of the ALCo 251C 2400 horsepower engine that powered the WDM2.
In this video I tell the story of the ALCo dynasty in India beginning from the WDM1 to the WDM3D. I also explain working of dynamic braking in diesel-electric locomotives.
Credits:
Video Footage of Pakistan Trains kindly provided by Aamir Sultan [ Ссылка ]
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