filter_framesAlco Locomotive Lantern Slides

Locomotive manufacturers sent field instructors to provide training to the railroad’s workforce that would service and maintain new locomotives ordered by the railroad. This kit, formerly used by an Alco field representative, includes six wooden storage cases full of 362 glass mounted oversized slides. The images depict all aspects of locomotive technical features for the 244 and 539 series prime movers (used in early RS and S series locomotives). In addition, the associated electrical, running gear and pneumatic systems are covered in extreme detail. A field instructor would have used these lantern slides to explain the basic functioning of the new locomotives, their major components, and routine maintenance tasks. These slides date from 1945 to 1955, a time when railroads completely replaced their steam locomotive fleets with diesel locomotives. This process, known as dieselization, required that railroad maintenance forces adapt their skills to support internal combustion engines and work with highly standardized parts and practices. After World War II, dieselization helped many railroads to improve their financial performance and, in some cases, the purchase of new diesel locomotives was underwritten by the federal Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Dieselization also impacted communities as many locomotive shops were closed completely and others saw their work forces reduced significantly.

The lantern slides held by the Special Collections Research Center were produced by the American Locomotive Company, commonly referred to as Alco. In 1925 Alco built what is regarded as the nation’s first commercially successful diesel locomotive. In 1942 the United States Army Transportation Corps purchased Alco locomotives to operate the Trans-Iranian Railway to create a secondary supply route between Allied forces and the Soviet Union. While Alco locomotives were widely purchased in the United States, the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors gained a commanding market share by the mid-1950s. Alco ceased locomotive production in the United States in 1969 and some Alco locomotives can be found in service on smaller railroads and museums. However, Alco designed locomotives remain widely used by the Indian Railways, where technology transfer agreements facilitated local production and continuous improvements.

They are a complete set that would have been used by an Alco field instructor to provide training sessions. In many cases lantern slide collections are sold as individual slides, which diminishes their usefulness in understanding their original context.

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