These boxcabs were termed oil battery electrics[1] to avoid the use of the German name Diesel, unpopular after World War I.

ALCO built the locomotive frame, carbody and running gear, General Electric built the generator, traction motors and controls, Ingersoll Rand provided the diesel engine, and the traction batteries were made by the Electric Storage Battery Co. of Philadelphia (now Exide).

The locomotives were mainly used in city areas for switching work, where exhaust-emissions-free operation was required at spurs entering factory halls.

One locomotive was built for Rock Island, which used it for switching the LaSalle Street Station in Chicago.

The principle of operation was similar to that of modern hybrid locomotives, the diesel engine driving a main generator of 600 volts DC, which provided charging current to a bank of batteries which powered four traction motors, one per axle.