Hello I’ m french and I have a dream go to USA or CANADA for the trains, the big trains versus the small french trains. But it’ s a dream, now I have just one ALCO RS 3 Aristocraft. I have a problem the “driver” look to the long nose! on the prototype it’s the same? I would build a grain elevator with yard but I d’ont have any photo of this and I don’t know to be done.
thank you for your help.
sorry my english isn’t very good but I hate my engli***eacher when I’m a boy
Hello,
I’ll try to help - I think you are saying the figure (driver or engineer) in the cab is facing the long hood (nose)?
That is OK.
In an RS-3, it could be driven with the small or long nose front.
An RS3 is a “road switcher” - that is why it is OK.
Many Alco RS-3 units were built with the controls facing the long hood. US locomotives usually have (or had when the RS-3 was built) a letter “F” indicating the front of the locomotive. Your Aristocraft model will probably have this painted near the steps on the frame near the long hood end. This indicated which way the controls faced.
M636C
M636C is correct. There will be a decal with the letter F on the Long hood of the RS3. I have quite a few G models, and included is an RS3, and that is how my engineer is sitting. LGB is taking over though.
ok thank you. if I understand RS 3 is design for go on with long hood on the front but the visibility as smaller than with the short hood one the front why !!!
And is possible to drive with the short hood on the front.
They were usually setup for long hood forward, but I am sure you can make it short hood forward. If I understand your question referring to “visibility”, there were 2 people maybe 3 in the cab, the engineer, the fireman, and the brakeman. The fireman I believe had to look out the opposite side of where the engineer’s controls were, so they could both monitor the scenes ahead.
For well over 100 years the locomotives in the US had a visibility probem called a boiler, for the engineer to deal with. When the diesels arived it was assumed that they should be run with the long hood to the front. Later some of the railroads started to run short hood front, and asked for that hood to be lowered in order to further improve visibility forward. Several of the major railroads continued to run long hood front, some arguing that it provided greater crew safety in the event of a collision.
Will
france a??? anyways i got a alco down stairs, a linoel santa fe thinking of making it look like this 
or this 
How many cars RS3 can pull on a “yard”?? ( It is the word ?) The number of car pulled the same of the number of car pushed? on a train magazine I look in a photo contest a man with a remote is to controle the switcher one the “yard”?
I do not understand the wording of the question. If you are talking about how much the model can pull, I would say 20 cars. I have at least 15 and it hauls them easily without any slippage.
where a roadswitcher work? in french “une gare de triage” in english a yard? in fact not in model how many cars the RS3 can pull? The same number of cars can be pushing?
The RS-3 was used everywhere. Switching in yards, pulling freight trains on the main line, switching passenger cars in passenger terminals, and even pulling passenger trains. Those used for passenger trains usually had steam generators added to run the heat and air conditioning of the cars.
I don’t have a handy reference to the tonnage rating of an RS-3. In smaller scales, the models generally will pull more than the prototype could, dunno about a large scale model.
–Randy
[:)][:)][:)][8D]
Thank you for your details
if you have some question on french train and if I can help you I’m happy to help you.
Some railroads (for example Norfolk and Western) operated RS3s (and their other Road Switchers, such as RS11, GP9) with dual control stands in the cab so they could be run in either direction.
au revoir,
LT
Which end went first was up to the railroad, Northern Pacific ran RS-3’s short-nose first, while neighbor Great Northern preferred long-nose first. Which railroad is your RS-3 lettered for??
As far as pulling, Alco’s tended to be very good pullers, so one RS-3 with a long string of freight cars would look right, either pulling or pushing them around.
BTW - when I was a boy I hated my Engli***eacher too.
Bon chance !! [:D]
hey in france do they still use steem like this,
Originally, the RS-3 was set up to run long hood forward. While this provided excellent collision protection, engineer’s (driver) visibility was compromised. In later years, quite a few RS-3s were set up to run short hood forward. The RS-3 was a very versatile engine. It was used in yard as well as road service. Equipped with steam generator(s) it often pulled passenger trains, but it was designed primarily as a freight locomotive.
Here’s something else about the RS3. The Penn Central (and later Conrail) rebuilt a few to RS3M specs. This involved fitting an EMD diesel power plant from a retired E7. This usually involved fitting a taller long hood and twin exhaust stacks.
MKT, SLSF and RI also re-powered RS2/3’s with 567 engines, although these were V-16’s rated at 1500 HP. In these cases, the long hood was replaced with a standard EMD high long hood. This would make an interesting kitbashing project.
MP repowered some of its RS3’s with 12-567’s, and were known informally as GP12’s. They retained the old hood but acquired a new “liberated” exhaust system similar to that which they installed on their GP18’s.