pablo wrote:I hate to be the bearer of bad news - or ideas, but...All Alco 251 blocks have many parts that are interchangable with each other so using them for parts is not an issue.
There's a reason why these units weren't bought in large numbers in the first place. Then, beyond that, there have been many of them available (percentage-wise, many of them, anyway) and they haven't been grabbed.
When you bring the apparently high price into the equation, these won't likely be sold anytime soon, unless for parts. The problems with the specific block the 415's have will rule them out from many railroads that are ALCO-friendly, and since they aren't currently operating, that rules them out of many others.
A better question to little old selfish me is whether or not there are specific care practices that prolong the life of these. In other words, everybody knows that 244's have some issues, and always did, but when cared for in a specific way (as far as I read) they are durable. Any such luck with a 415? Anything prospective buyers should know?
Dave Becker
8 cylinder blocks are out there if you know where to look. As stated in an earlier post, the one C415 is in operating condition and has been used recently. There are other C415's around. Rock Island # 421 was recently photographed in a freight yard near Omaha,NE. The Buffalo Southern has one. There are three of them in Iowa-all in operating condition as far as I know. There is one in Strasburg in a Museum in operating condtion-BTW, that one also has Hi-Ad trucks.
One of the reasons they did not get sold in large numbers is because Alco was late in coming out with it(1966) at a time when the market was slow.
If Alco had stayed in business, they may have sold more of these.
While I agree the price is high for these, even the 4010 is repairable which makes it possible to have both units runners if the railroad wishes to invest the money into them. The problems these have are common ones which can be found on any make of locomotive including EMD and GE .