| CRI&P C415 415 at the Rocket House, 47th Street, Chicago, Illinois, June 1978, photo by Chuck Zeiler. Number 415 was built in September 1966 (c/n 3451-01), and owned by Railcar Leasing Corporation, which owned units 415-419. When the Rock Island ceased operations in 1980, these five C415's were returned to the lessor. Alco's objective with this design was to save railroads money by eliminating the need for a fireman. By placing the cab in the center, the idea was to provide the engineer with a view of all four corners. This is the rear view of the mid-cab design, three cab heights were available. Since the engineer's window is not visible in this view, one might speculate that this design was not too successful, only 26 C415's were built. This unit appears to have issues with the radiator and/or cooling system. The center cab design placed the Model 251E V-8 prime mover under the front hood, and the air compressor, electrical and cooling systems under the rear hood. This required a long drive shaft under the cab to drive the compressor and radiator fan. It also required long pipes from the prime mover to the radiator, and loose pipes can be seen in the open radiator section. |