ALCO FA

The ALCO FA was a family of B-B diesel locomotives designed to haul freight trains. The locomotives were built in Schenectady, New York, by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) between January 1946 and May 1959. They were of a cab unit design, and both cab-equipped lead (A unit) FA and cabless booster (B unit) FB models were built. A dual passenger-freight version, the FPA/FPB, was also offered. It was equipped with a steam generator for heating passenger cars.

Externally, the FA and FB models looked very similar to the ALCO PA models produced in the same period. They shared many of the same characteristics both aesthetically and mechanically. It was the locomotive's mechanical qualities and newer locomotive models from both General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and General Electric (GE) that ultimately led to the retirement of the locomotive model from revenue service. Several examples of FAs and FBs have been preserved in railroad museums, a few of them in operational states on such lines as the Grand Canyon Railway and the Napa Valley Wine Train.