| D&H C420 (DL-721A) 415 at Scranton, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1982, photographer unknown, Chuck Zeiler collection. Built as Lehigh Valley 415 (c/n 3385-12) in October 1964, it was acquired by the D&H in 1976, sold in 1987. The following is from Richard Steinbrenner's Alco history book, "A Centennial Remembrance": In 1962 Alco undertook a complete redesign of its basic road locomotives to capture the lead over its competitor's latest products. Thus, the Century Series locomotives were born. The Series featured air systems with improved efficiency (Alco claimed the needs for fans and other accessories were up to 100 horsepower less that competitive units), pressurized engine compartment to exclude outside dirt, an advanced transistorized control system, improved accessibility and maintainability, and a more spacious cab design. The initial Century Series was three models: the 2000 hp B-B Century 420, 2400 hp B-B Century 424, and the 2400 hp C-C Century 624. The C420 and C424 became major components in the Century Series sales , but the C624 was never built, since it was superseded in just a few months by the 2750 hp C628, which put Alco back in the lead in the seesaw horsepower race. Alco's first Century sale was to the Lehigh & Hudson River Railroad for two C420's, booked on January 24, 1963. However, at the Chicago show staged for railroad executives on January 29, 1963, Alco was able to announce an order from the Erie - Lackawanna for 15 C424's. The first Centuries built were the initial three C424's of the E-L order, delivered on June 4, 1963. The L&HR C420's were delivered on June 17. |