Talk:American Locomotive Company

This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Automobiles Low‑importance

	Cars portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Automobiles, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of automobiles on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.AutomobilesWikipedia:WikiProject AutomobilesTemplate:WikiProject AutomobilesAutomobile articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

New York (state): Capital District

	New York (state) portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject New York (state), a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the U.S. state of New York on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.New York (state)Wikipedia:WikiProject New York (state)Template:WikiProject New York (state)New York (state) articles
???	This article has not yet received a rating on the project's importance scale.
	This article is supported by WikiProject Capital District (assessed as Mid-importance).

Companies Low‑importance

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Companies, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of companies on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.CompaniesWikipedia:WikiProject CompaniesTemplate:WikiProject Companiescompany articles

Low This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

WikiProject Companies To-do:

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Article requests : Wikipedia:Requested articles/Business and economics/Companies
Assess : Category:Unassessed company articles
Copyedit : Category:Company articles needing attention
Infobox : Category:Company articles needing infoboxes
Maintain : Portal:Companies
Stubs : Help expand stub articles located at Category:Company stubs
Other :
- Tag company articles with the {{portal|Companies}} template
- Tag company talk pages with the {{WikiProject Companies}} project banner
- Answer requests for comments

Trains: Locomotives High‑importance

Trains Portal

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Trains, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to rail transport on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion. See also: WikiProject Trains to do list and the Trains Portal.TrainsWikipedia:WikiProject TrainsTemplate:WikiProject Trainsrail transport articles

High

This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Associated projects or task forces:
/
	This article is supported by the Locomotives task force.

United States Low‑importance

	United States portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions. Template Usage Articles Requested! Become a Member Project Talk Alerts United StatesWikipedia:WikiProject United StatesTemplate:WikiProject United StatesUnited States articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

suggestions[edit]

The UP844 might merit a mention in the steam section, since it's one of the most famous steam locomotives. It also has it's own page. ALCO is a significant player in the birth of the industrial age and I think the "low importance rating" for the wikiproject thing needs changed. This article is of great relevance to U.S. and World history. The ALCO legacy is probably rarely equaled.

Untitled[edit]

once the article for vanderbilt cup is created, please add this external link to it. thanks, Kingturtle 05:49, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Alco vs. ALCO vs. ALCo[edit]

Every reference that I've seen for the shortened company name uses either "Alco" or "ALCO". Please provide a reputable reference before changing the shortened name to "ALCo" again. slambo 12:02, 15 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I can't personally recall seeing it as ALCo in official company documentation. ALCO more common earlier on, Alco more common later, I feel, but both seem officially valid. I think ALCo is (more common as) a railfan affectation. Matthew Brown 14:15, 15 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I beleive either spelling is correct, ALCO, because its an Acrynym, ALCo, because it is the American Locomotive Company, Co meaning Company, Alco, because it has become a word in railfan jargon. Alexander101010 20:35, 4 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I support Alex's view. 'ALCo' is correctly shortened form for American Locomotive Company, both because the 'o' is the only letter not capitalized in the full name and because of the aforementioned 'Co' for 'company'. YamahaFreak 23:28, 28 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Instead of trying to guess the correct style, let's have a look at actual usage. Newspapers, such as the New York Times, use ALCO^[1]^[2] or Alco.^[3]^[4] Trains magazine, the leading generalist magazine on railroading, uses Alco.^[5] The company itself used both ALCO and Alco in its advertisements.^[6] The main historical group centered on the American Locomotive Company uses ALCO.^[7] Just about the only potentially authoritative source I could find using ALCo is Albert Churella, a noted railroad historian.^[8] Given all that, it's clear ALCo is a far less common usage, and not the one we should standardize on. Any thoughts on ALCO vs. Alco? PRRfan (talk) 23:01, 12 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ Polgreen, Lydia (2003-12-29). "As Schenectady Rusts, Experts Fear Policy Inertia". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^ Abbott, Elizabeth (2008-07-30). "In Providence, Progress in Reviving an Urban Desert". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^ "ALCO TO BE SOLD TO WORTHINGTON; Locomotive Maker Will Be a Subsidiary of Large Industrial Company". The New York Times. 1964-07-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^ "PENSIONS GRANTED, STEEL STRIKE OFF; 10,000 at Alco Plants Were Set for Walkout Tonight-- Wages Not an Issue". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^ "Best-selling Alco diesel locomotives". Trains. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^ "ALCO American Locomotive Company flyer for sale". eBay. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^ "ALCO Historical & Technical Society | Preserving the ALCO Legacy". ALCO Historical & Technical Society. 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^ Churella, Albert (1998-08-03). From Steam to Diesel: Managerial Customs and Organizational Capabilities in the Twentieth-Century American Locomotive Industry. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-2268-3.

Russian Decapod[edit]

The Russian Decapods were made during WWI for the Tsar. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.21.193.180 (talk) 17:22, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Chrysler?[edit]

In reading about Chrysler elsewhere, it sounds like he worked on trains for Alco, not cars as implied in this article.

Vanderbilt Cup Races

Walter Chrysler

I see that there is one reference to this too that says that this is not contained in Chrysler's autobiography.

"According to one report, during many of the years the Alco automobile was made, the plant manager in Providence was Walter Chrysler, who later founded the Chrysler Corporation. If this story is true, Chrysler gained his first automotive manufacturing experience with Alco but Chrysler's autobiography makes no mention of it so there is substantial doubt."

I wonder whether that "report" was from this Wikipedia article.

Studebaker and the Railroads - Volume 2, By Jan Young]

--100.4.149.120 (talk) 14:35, 10 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Why did it fail?[edit]

The article should, but doesn't, say why the company went out of business. Bad management? Obsolete products? Deliberate liquidation by a purchaser? Did too many things? deisenbe (talk) 01:16, 8 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

[1] Polgreen, Lydia (2003-12-29). "As Schenectady Rusts, Experts Fear Policy Inertia". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-12.

[2] Abbott, Elizabeth (2008-07-30). "In Providence, Progress in Reviving an Urban Desert". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-12.

[3] "ALCO TO BE SOLD TO WORTHINGTON; Locomotive Maker Will Be a Subsidiary of Large Industrial Company". The New York Times. 1964-07-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-12.

[4] "PENSIONS GRANTED, STEEL STRIKE OFF; 10,000 at Alco Plants Were Set for Walkout Tonight-- Wages Not an Issue". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-07-12.

[5] "Best-selling Alco diesel locomotives". Trains. Retrieved 2023-07-12.

[6] "ALCO American Locomotive Company flyer for sale". eBay. Retrieved 2023-07-12.

[7] "ALCO Historical & Technical Society | Preserving the ALCO Legacy". ALCO Historical & Technical Society. 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2023-07-12.

[8] Churella, Albert (1998-08-03). From Steam to Diesel: Managerial Customs and Organizational Capabilities in the Twentieth-Century American Locomotive Industry. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-2268-3.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]