They still build 251's??????

Well, at first guess:

Alco's no longer in business,

The OP (Opposed Piston) diesel is harder to maintain,

Perhaps the 251 performs better in a stationary environment rather than a mobile environment.

Rusty

I don't know where TRAINS Magazine would have come up with such information. 

As far as I know, every nuclear power plant in the U.S. has EMD 645 diesel engine 999 Units, for emergency stand-by power. The EMD 999 Units are one of the few diesels that can meet the requirements for FAST START, and LOAD ACCEPTANCE required in a nuclear plant.

From the time an emergency loss of power is detected, the 999 units must:

1) Start and come up to FULL SPEED, WITH-IN 10 seconds!

2) Begin load acceptance with-in 20-30 seconds!

3) Be at least 80% of full load with-in 60 seconds!

Not many diesels in the world can do THAT. Certainly NOT an ALCO engine! 

I remember reading a article when FM purchased the rights to the Alco 251. There are other applications the 251 are being used for as the NASA's shuttle crawler, and FM wanted to supply parts and new engines.

 GE decision to stop or reduce the partnership with Alco to build there own locomotives was 1 reason Alco stopped locomotive production

http://www.fairbanksmorse.com/...gine_fm_alco_251.php

http://www.fairbanksmorse.com/nuclear/

They still do .... along with the Oppie and several state of the art diesels ..

http://www.turbodisel.com.ar/i...malco251brochure.pdf

The FM/ALCO engine, a world renowned name well established as a
workhorse and prime mover for marine, stationary and locomotive
applications. It is found in demanding applications powering icebreakers,
tug boats, dredges, pumps, emergency nuclear back-up generators,
locomotives, and a host of other applications needing reliable, rugged and
dependable power.