Rail and river turbochargers
ALCO, GE, Elliott, Cooper-Bessemer and Caterpillar units: veteran designs that keep locomotives, pushboats and stationary engines running — especially across South America — long after factory support thinned out.
Parts that are hard to find, on engines that cannot stop
A rail operator or a river fleet with ALCO or GE power has the same recurring problem: the engine is reliable and will run for decades, but its turbocharger parts get harder to source every year. That is exactly the gap we cover — cataloguing references, recovering components instead of scrapping them, and keeping exchange units available.
- Overhaul, repair and component recovery
- Reverse engineering and machining of obsolete parts
- Rotor balancing and documented final testing
- Field service at depots and river terminals
- Support from our stations in Paraguay, Argentina and Panama
What we cover
ALCO
GE
Elliott
Cooper-Bessemer
Caterpillar
The ET13 is a Cooper-Bessemer unit. If your data plate shows a different designation, send it over and we confirm the frame and its parts list.
MODEL NOT LISTED? ASK US.
Close to the fleets that use them
- Paraguay: workshop on the Paraná–Paraguay waterway
- Argentina: station in Mar del Plata
- Panama: regional hub at the Canal
- Spain: heavy workshop capacity in Madrid
Rail and river work is won on availability, not on catalogue price. Having workshops on the waterway and on the Atlantic coast means a unit can be exchanged or overhauled without an ocean crossing — and with the heavy machining of Madrid behind it when a component has to be recovered.
TURBO INTERNACIONAL IS AN INDEPENDENT SERVICE PROVIDER. BRAND AND MODEL NAMES ARE USED FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES ONLY.
Frequently asked questions
How do you handle parts that are hard to find?
Three ways, in this order: genuine part if it exists and arrives in time; proven equivalent, selected by our technical team, when it does not; and recovery of the existing component — shaft, blades, nozzle ring, casing — when neither route meets the deadline. On engines that cannot stop, the deadline is part of the technical decision.
Can you keep an exchange unit ready for a fleet?
Yes, and on fleets with repeated units it is the cheapest insurance there is: the exchange unit goes in and the removed one is overhauled without pressure. We also store standby equipment at our Madrid or Algeciras facilities free of cost for rapid assistance.
Question not here? Our FAQ has 27 more — how they work, maintenance, cleaning in service, spare parts and operation — plus a plain-language glossary. And if what you have is a symptom, the troubleshooting guide goes from symptom to likely cause.
Frequently asked questions Troubleshooting guide