Product Description

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that the Alco 251 — the V-configuration four-stroke turbocharged diesel introduced by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) at its Schenectady, New York works in 1954 and produced in V6, V8, V12, V16, and V18 arrangements — was manufactured and repeatedly serviced using asbestos-containing gaskets at every hot-side and pressurized sealing surface.

The 251 platform ran through Alco’s road-switcher locomotive line (Century series), through Fairbanks-Morse-competing marine propulsion installations on tugs, workboats, and small commercial vessels, through Navy and Coast Guard auxiliary craft, and through stationary generator sets in refineries, powerhouses, and industrial plants. After Alco exited locomotive production in 1969, the 251 continued in build under MLW/Bombardier in Canada and under licensed producers, meaning field-service exposure continued into the 1980s and beyond.

Litigation records describe alleged chrysotile-bearing gasket material at the 251’s exhaust manifold-to-cylinder-head flanges, at the turbocharger mounting flange, at the water-jacketed exhaust elbow on marine installations, at the cylinder head-to-block joint, at handhole and air-box inspection covers on the crankcase, and at jacket-water and lube-oil piping unions. The exposure mechanism follows the pattern common to large-bore turbocharged diesels: hot gaskets bake to the mating faces; overhaul requires scraping, chiseling, or wire-wheeling the residue off — allegedly releasing respirable chrysotile fiber into the machinist’s or engineer’s breathing zone.

Workers Exposed

  • Locomotive machinists and shopmen at Alco road-switcher (RS-11, RS-27, C-420, C-425, C-628, C-630, C-636) rebuild shops through the 1970s and 1980s
  • Marine engineers and boat yard mechanics overhauling 251-series propulsion engines on tugs, workboats, and Great Lakes vessels
  • Powerhouse and standby generator operators at refineries, chemical plants, and municipal facilities running 251-based gensets
  • Diesel mechanics performing top-end and in-frame overhauls on industrial 251 installations
  • Pipefitters and insulators working around lagged 251 exhaust piping during shutdowns and outages