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.

Western railroads had long battled for riders, but the announcement of the new streamlined California Zephyr from Chicago to Oakland caused quite a stir. A joint project of the Burlington, Rio Grande and Western Pacific, each road contributed cars and used its own new diesels along its leg of the trip.

On the Rio Grande, the power pool included two matched sets of A-B-A Alco PAs, shuttling between Denver and Salt Lake City. Delivered in 1947, they first handled the Exposition Flyer, which was replaced by the new Zephyr in 1949. That August the PAs went to the paint shop, exchanging their original black for a much flashier Grande Gold and silver combination to better match the lightweight stainless steel cars - in all, the PAs would eventually wear four different schemes! By the early 1950s, PAs were regularly handling Rio Grande's smaller trains, such as the Mountaineer, Royal Gorge and Yampa Valley Mail, along with the joint MP-DRGW Colorado Eagle and pinch-hitting on the Zephyr until 1960. The PBs were rarely needed on smaller trains and placed in storage. The four PAs ran out their last miles by 1967, with one traded-in on a new SD45.

Many of these trains included lightweight Pullman-Standard cars, acquired as Rio Grande took over production slots from Chesapeake and Ohio cancellations. With adjustments to the original C&O specifications, new lightweight coaches, sleepers and lounges were acquired in the early 1950s.

When the Delaware & Hudson upgraded its New York-Canada service in 1967, it shopped around and found some great deals on Rio Grande's Pullman-built cars. These went on to serve the Laurentian and the overnight Montreal Limited through 1971. In 1974, they were leased by the state of New York for Amtrak's new Adirondack, but kept their D&H colors. Bumped from that job in 1977, they spent their last years in New York commuter service and were retired in the early 1980s.

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)