The first Alco RS-3 arrived on the GB&W in May 1951.
The builder's photo shows the "as-delivered" appearance of the
locomotive; over the years several changes took place, most notably:
- The exhaust stack was reconfigured when the locomotive was switched to a
water cooled turbocharger (ca. 1955).
- The trucks were painted gray and white checkerboards on the frames were added (ca.
1957).
- The access doors with stamped louvers were replaced by doors with no
louvers, and two car body filters were added on each side (ca.
1960). The change was was a retrofit package offered by Alco to reduce
damage to piston rings and crankshaft bearings from dust being drawn into
the car body.
- The red-and-gray paint scheme was replaced with a simpler all-red scheme
(ca. 1969).
- The RS-3s were rebuilt with a low short hood as part of a repowering
program (ca 1973).
- The gray trucks were painted black (ca. 1975).
GB&W #305 is preserved at the Gopher State
Railway Museum in New Prague,
Minn.
|