Francais | English | Espanõl

FM Train Master

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from FM H-24-66)
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about railway locomotives. For the person responsible for train operations, see Conductor (transportation).
Canadian Pacific Railway #8909, a CLC H-24-66 or "Train Master."

Image:MILW FM H-16-66 552.jpg Train Master was the designation for a series of diesel-electric railway locomotive designs produced by Fairbanks-Morse and its Canadian licensee, the Canadian Locomotive Company. These 6-axle hood unit road switchers were produced as both 1,600 and 2,400 horsepower (1.8 MW) variants, and were the successor to the ultimately unsuccessful Consolidated line of cab units produced by F-M and CLC in the 1950s. In common with other F-M locomotives, the Train Master units employed an opposed piston-design prime mover. Both the H-16-66 and H-24-66 were configured in a C-C wheel arrangement, situated on a pair of double equalized three-axle trucks.

Touted by Fairbanks-Morse as "...the most useful locomotive ever built..." upon its introduction in 1953, the 2,400 horsepower (1.8 MW) H-24-66 Train Master was the most powerful single-engine diesel locomotive available, legendary for its pulling power and rapid acceleration. While some railroads saw advantages in the Train Master's greater power, the perception on the part of others that the unit had too much horsepower (coupled with the difficulties inherent in maintaining the opposed-piston engine, inadequacies in the electrical system, and a higher-than-normal consumption of cooling water) contributed to poor marketplace acceptance of the Train Masters. Perhaps it was simply ahead of its time, as no competitor offered a locomotive with equal horsepower until the EMD SD24 arrived on the scene in July, 1958. Both F-M and the CLC ultimately left the locomotive business.

Only one Train Master locomotive remains in active service — former Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) H-24-66 #8905 is now owned by the Canadian Railroad Historical Association, which operates the Canadian Railway Museum in St. Constant, Quebec. Former Alcoa H-16-66 #721001 is privately owned, and has been preserved and stored by the CPR in Ogden.

Contents

[edit] FM H-16-66

The H-16-66 was the 1,600 horsepower (1.2 MW) variant, and was known as the "Baby Train Master." Produced from January, 1951 until October, 1958, four different carbody variants were produced (Phases 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b) though only 59 total were manufactured. Those units produced between 1951–1953 (such as C&NW #1609) displayed Raymond Loewy design lines and rode on Baldwin-style Commonwealth trucks, while later versions exhibited a more "boxy" road switcher body style which sat atop trimount trucks.

[edit] Units produced by Fairbanks-Morse (1951–1958)

Railroad   Quantity   Road numbers
Alcoa
1
721001
Chicago and North Western Railway <center>45 1510–1514, 1605–1612, 1668–1683, 1691–1700, 1901–1906  
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad   <center>6 2125–2130
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway   <center>6 150, 168–172
Tennessee Valley Authority <center>1 24

[edit] FM H-24-66

The H-24-66 "Train Master" was the 2,400 horsepower (1.8 MW) variant. Three different carbody variants were produced, and were differentiated as follows: Phase 1a units had their air intake louvers located in a continuous line along the top of the long hood, and a wide separating strip between the radiator fans; Phase 1b modifications were minor, consisting only of a "dip" in the long hood handrails that allowed them to better follow the profile of the side walkways; Phase 2 units boasted fewer air intake louvers, with large gaps separating them (the radiators themselves were divided by only a tiny metal strip).

[edit] Specifications

Builder: Fairbanks-Morse
Top speed: 65 mph / 80 mph   105 km/h / 129 km/h  
Weight: 375,000 lb 170,000 kg
Tractive effort: 112,000 lbf 498 kN
Length: 66 ft 0 in 20.12 m
Engine model: 38D-12
Engine type: 2-stroke diesel
Aspiration: Roots blower
Cylinder layout: Opposed piston, 12-cylinders
Cylinder dimensions:   8.125 in × 10 in 206 mm × 254 mm
Engine displacement:   6,216 in³ 101.9 L
Power output: 2,400 hp 1,790 kW
Transmission: DC generator, DC traction motors
Locomotive braking: Straight air / Dynamic

[edit] Units produced by Fairbanks-Morse (1953–1956)

Railroad   Quantity   Road numbers
Canadian National Railway <center>1 3000
Canadian Pacific Railway <center>1 8900
Central Railroad of New Jersey <center>13 2401–2413
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad <center>12 850–861
Fairbanks-Morse (demonstrator units) <center>4 TM-1–TM-4 (TM-1 & TM-2 sold to the WAB and assigned #550 &
#551; TM-3 & TM-4 sold to the SP and assigned #4800 & #4801)
Pennsylvania Railroad <center>9 8699–8707
Reading Railroad <center>17 800–808, 860–867
Southern Pacific Railroad <center>14 4802–4815
Southern Railway (CNO&TP) <center>5 6300–6304
Virginian Railway <center>25 50–74
Wabash Railroad <center>6 552–554, 552A–554A  

[edit] Units produced by the Canadian Locomotive Company (1956)

Railroad   Quantity   Road numbers
Canadian Pacific Railway <center>20 8901–8920  

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

  • Sweetland, David R. (1997). Train Master: The Most Useful Locomotive Ever Built. Withers Publishing, Halifax, PA. ISBN 1-881411-13-3.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


Diesel locomotives built by Fairbanks-Morse
Cab units Erie-built, OP800, P-12-42
C-liners CFA-16-4, CFA-20-4, CFA-24-5, CPA-16-4, CPA-16-5, CPA-20-5, CPA-24-5
Switchers H-10-44, H-12-44, H-12-44TS, H-15-44, H-16-44, H-20-44
Train Masters H-16-66, H-24-66


Diesel locomotives built by the Canadian Locomotive Company
Baldwin designs DRS-4-4-10
Fairbanks-Morse designs H-12-44, H-12-46, H-16-44, H-24-66, CFA-16-4, CFB-16-4, CPA-16-4, CPB-16-4, CPA-16-5, CPB-16-5
Retrieved from "http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/FM_Train_Master"
Personal tools