MLW C630M No. 3000, operated by Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad, at Steamtown National Historic Site, August 4, 2008.
(Eddie Maloney from North Las Vegas, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
ALCO CENTURY C630 DIESEL-ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
The ALCO Century 630 is a model of six-axle, 3,000 hp (2.2 MW) diesel-electric locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) between 1965 and 1967. It used the ALCO 251 prime mover. 77 were built: 3 for Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, 4 for Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, 8 for Louisville and Nashville Railroad, 10 (with high noses) for Norfolk and Western Railway, 15 for Pennsylvania Railroad, 12 for the Reading Company, 15 for Southern Pacific Railroad and 10 for Union Pacific Railroad.
Montreal Locomotive Works produced a C630M variant of the C630, with 4 for British Columbia Railway, 8 for Canadian Pacific Railway and 44 for Canadian National. MLW M630s were built by Montreal Locomotive Works from 1969 to 1973: 29 for CPR, 26 for BCR, and 20 for Ferrocarriles Nacional de Mexico (N de M). Eight of the BCR locomotives were designated M630(W) and were built with a wide-nosed cab, known as the "Canadian" or "safety" cab. The latter two models, along with the nearly identical MLW M636, had more in common with the ALCO C636 than the C630, and all MLW versions rode on high-adhesion trucks cast by Dofasco.
In January 1975, four Chesapeake and Ohio Railway locomotives were sold to Robe River Iron Associates in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. One was destroyed in an accident in February 1979, with the remaining three rebuilt by A Goninan & Co, Perth as CM40-8s in the early 1990s.
Many C630s are still in service with the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad and other short line railroads.
Reading Alco C630 5300 at unknown location, October 4, 1970. Photographer: J R Quinn.
(Craig Garver, Public domain, https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalrailartist/50366566587/in/dateposted/)
Overview
Type and origin
Power type: Diesel
Builders: ALCO, Montreal Locomotive Works
Model: Century 630
Build date: 1965 – 1968
Total produced: 133
Specifications
Configuration:
• AAR C-C
Gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Prime mover: Alco 251
Alternator: GTA 9
Performance figures
Power output: 3,000 hp (2.2 MW)
Career
Locale: North America
Pennsylvania Railroad Alco C630 6321 at Camden, New Jersey, April 4, 1968. Photographer unknown.
(Craig Garver, https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalrailartist/50274414553/in/dateposted/)