FM Train Master

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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."

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad #553, a late model FM H-16-66 or "Baby Train Master." Virtually all of the original Loewy-inspired design features have been omitted from the unit.

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.

[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)

[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

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

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

[edit] References

• Diesel Basics. Diesel-Loco. Retrieved on January 1, 2006.
• Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 Diesel Engine. PSRM Diesel Locomotives. Retrieved on January 1, 2006.
• Fairbanks Morse Train Master Locomotive: HO Scale. Railroad Model Craftsman — January 2005. Retrieved on December 31, 2005.
• Hollingsworth, Brian and Arthur F. Cook (1987). The Great Book of Trains. Portland House, New York, NY. ISBN 0-517-64515-7.
• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.

[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

• List of Fairbanks-Morse locomotives

[edit] External links

• Fairbanks-Morse Train Master Sales Booklet: The Lackawanna Story
• Fairbanks-Morse H16-66 Roster
• Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 Roster
• Preserved Fairbanks Morse Six-Axle Road Switchers