The ALCo PA was far out sold by EMD E units, but is widely viewed as the most beautiful first-generation diesel locomotive. They just looked so right leading the streamlined passenger trains during the fading glory of passenger service in the United States.

ALCo built a total of 294 PA's and PB's from 1946 to 1953. Much of the locomotive’s aesthetic look was designed by Ray Patten, the head of General Electric industrial design. GE was not building road locomotives yet and was working with ALCo in the locomotive business.

GE made the electrical equipment for all Alco diesels during this time. ALCo PA’s & PB’s had ALCo 244 16 cylinder 2000 horsepower prime movers. They were geared in accordance with railroad requirements and could operate up to 100 mile per hour.

An unfortunate characteristic of these prime movers is the turbocharger lag that resulted in these units belching black smoke until the turbocharger came up to speed. This gave the units the distinction of being “honorary steam locomotives” in the view of many railfans.

Recreate the beauty of first class passenger travel with these Walthers Mainline ALCo PA locomotives and matching Walthers Proto passenger cars in a variety of schemes for the Walthers Fallen Flag Series.

With new leadership, and expectations for increased passenger traffic for the upcoming Expo 67 in Montreal, planning began to upgrade the road's flagships, the daytime Laurentian and the overnight Montreal Limited.

With used cars and locos readily available, D&H found some great bargains. Four Santa Fe PA diesels were purchased for just $30,000 each, and a dozen lightweight Pullman-built stainless cars, including coaches, lounges and head-end equipment, were acquired from the Denver & Rio Grande Western. The locos rolled out of the D&H shops in late 1967, resplendent in a unique D&H variation of the classic Warbonnet colors, which were also used on the cars.

The popular trains remained in regular service until Amtrak took over in 1971. For the next few years, the equipment languished, and two of the engines suffered major mechanical failures.

Help arrived from an unlikely source in 1974, as the State of New York sought to restore passenger service between Albany and Montreal, much of it along the D&H tracks. Amtrak found itself unable to provide equipment, but the D&H fleet was still mechanically sound. Two of the Alcos went west for rebuilding, while the other locos and the cars (along with a pair of former CP Rail Budd domes) were assigned to Amtrak's new Adirondack service, where all served until 1974.

Bumped from their jobs by new Turbo trains, the four PAs drifted into freight service before ending their days in commuter runs around Boston. All four were sold to Mexico in 1978, but two of the four later made it back to the states. The former #18 was reborn and restored as Nickel Plate #190, while #16 was acquired by the Museum of the American Railroad with plans to restore the unit to its original ATSF colors.

Features:

• Fully assembled and ready to run
• Accurate paint schemes
• Same powerful drive as Walthers Proto locos featuring:
  
  • Five-pole skew-wound motor
    
  • 14:1 gear ratio
    
  • Helical-cut gears for quiet operation and easy multiple unit operation
    
  • All-wheel drive and electrical pickup
    
  • Dual machined brass flywheels
    
• Heavy die cast chassis
  
• Constant and directional lights
  
• Factory-installed handrails
  
• Molded drill starter points for grab irons (sold separately)
  
• RP-25 metal wheels
  
• Proto MAX metal knuckle couplers
  
• Painted and real metal finish to simulate stainless steel
  
• Dynamic brakes
  
• Small number boards
  
• Working headlight and Mars light
• Units available in DCC Ready and with factory installed SoundTraxx DCC w/Sound for DCC and DC layouts, DCC w/Sound units feature:
  
  • 16-Bit digital quality sound
    
  • Horn and short horn toot
    
  • Bell
    
  • Prime mover
    
  • Three lighting functions
• Easily handles 18" radius curves (22" or larger recommended)