ALCO PA1 Rio Grande

The ALCO PA was a family of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains. The locomotives were built in Schenectady, New York, in the United States by a partnership of the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and General Electric (GE) between June 1946 and December 1953. Designed by General Electric’s Ray Patten, they were of a cab unit design. While externally the PB models were slightly shorter than the PA model, they shared many of the same characteristics, both aesthetically and mechanically. ALCO’s designation of P indicates that they were geared for higher speeds and passenger use. However, beyond this, their design was largely similar- aside from the PA/PB’s both being larger A1A-A1A types with an even more striking nose – and many railroads used PA locomotives for both freight and passenger service.