FM H-24-66
{{Short description|American diesel-electric locomotives}}
{{redirect|Trainmaster|the occupation|Trainmaster (occupation)}}
{{no footnotes|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox locomotive
| name = FM H-24-66 Train Master
| powertype = Diesel-electric
| image = CPR 8909, a Canadian Locomotive Company H-24-66 Train Master.JPG
| imagesize = 300
| caption = Canadian Pacific Railway #8909, a CLC H-24-66 or "Train Master."
| designer =
| builder = Fairbanks-Morse
| serialnumber =
| buildmodel =
| builddate = April 1953–June 1957
| totalproduction = 127
| aarwheels = C-C
| gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg|lk=on}}
| trucks = Baldwin-style Commonwealth
| wheeldiameter =
| wheelbase =
| length = {{convert|66|ft|0|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
| width =
| height =
| frametype =
| locoweight = {{convert|375000|lb|kg t|abbr=on}}
| fueltype =
| fuelcap =
| primemover = FM 38D-8 1/8
| enginetype = 12-cylinders, Opposed piston two-stroke diesel
| aspiration = Roots blower
| displacement = {{convert|12443|cuin|L|abbr=on}}
| alternator =
| generator = DC
| tractionmotors = 6x WE 370DE2 DC traction motors (standard)
6x GE 752 DC traction motors
| cylindercount = 12
| cylindersize = {{convert|8.125|x|10|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| transmission = Diesel-electric
| maxspeed = {{convert|65|mph|abbr=on}} / {{convert|80|mph|abbr=on}}
| poweroutput = {{convert|2400|hp|MW|2|abbr=on}}
| tractiveeffort = {{convert|112000|lbf|kN|1|abbr=on}}
| locobrakes = 24RL air, Dynamic
| trainbrakes = Air
| safety =
| operator =
| numinclass =
| fleetnumbers =
| officialname =
| nicknames =
| locale = North America
| deliverydate =
| firstrundate =
| lastrundate =
| retiredate =
| restoredate =
| scrapdate =
| currentowner =
| disposition =
}}
The H-24-66, or Train Master, is a diesel-electric railroad locomotive produced by Fairbanks-Morse and its licensee, Canadian Locomotive Company. These six-axle hood unit road switchers were used in the United States and Canada during the 1950s.
They were the successor to the unsuccessful Consolidated line of cab units produced by F-M and CLC in the 1950s. Each locomotive produced 2,400 horsepower (1.8 MW). Like other F-M locomotives, the Train Master used an opposed-piston prime mover. It rode on a pair of drop-equalized three-axle "Trimount" trucks, giving it a C-C wheel arrangement.
Overview
Advertised by Fairbanks-Morse as "the most useful locomotive ever built", the 2,400-horsepower (1.8 MW) H-24-66 Train Master was the most powerful single-engine diesel locomotive at its introduction in 1953. No competitor offered a locomotive with an equal horsepower rating until the ALCO RSD-7 entered production in January 1954. EMD followed suit in July 1958 with the SD24, and GE introduced their U25C in September 1963.
While some railroads saw advantages in the Train Master's greater power, others thought the unit had too much horsepower. Other drawbacks were the difficulties inherent in maintaining the opposed-piston engine, inadequacies in the electrical system, and a higher-than-normal consumption of cooling water. All these contributed to poor market acceptance of the Train Masters—and ultimately the departure of F-M and CLC from the locomotive business.
Variations
Three carbody variants were produced. Phase 1a units had air-intake louvers in a continuous line along the top of the long hood and a wide separating strip between the radiator fans. Phase 1b had a "dip" in the long hood handrails to better follow the side walkways. Phase 2 units had fewer air-intake louvers, with large gaps separating them, and the radiators themselves were divided by a tiny metal strip.
=Units manufactured by Fairbanks-Morse (1953–1957)=
| class="wikitable"
! Railroad ! Quantity ! Road numbers ! Notes |
| align="center"
|Fairbanks-Morse (demonstrator units) |4 |TM-1 – TM-4 |TM-1 & TM-2 to Wabash Railroad 550–551; |
| align="center"
|1 |3000 |Later renumbered 2900. |
| align="center"
|1 |8900 |Only CPR Train Master built by FM (not CLC). Delivered with a single steam generator. Remaining (twenty) CPR Train Masters (8901-8920) built by CLC (see below). |
| align="center"
|Central Railroad of New Jersey |13 |2401–2413 | |
| align="center"
|Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad |12 |850–861 | to Erie Lackawanna Railroad 1850–1861 |
| align="center"
|9 |8699–8707 |to Penn Central 6700–6708 |
| align="center"
|17 |800–808, 860–867 | |
| align="center"
|14 |4802–4815, 4800-4815 |Renumbered 3020–3035 in 1965 |
| align="center"
|5 |6300–6304 | |
| align="center"
|25 |50–74 |to Norfolk and Western Railway 150–174 |
| align="center"
|6 |552–554, 552A–554A |Renumbered 552–557 |
| Total
! 107 ! ! |
|---|
=Units manufactured by the Canadian Locomotive Company (1956)=
| class="wikitable"
! Railroad ! Quantity ! Road numbers ! Notes |
| align="center"
|20 |8901–8920 |CP 8905 is the only H-24-66 preserved. It can be seen at the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec, Canada. |
Preservation
Only one Train Master locomotive has survived intact: former Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) H-24-66 #8905 is preserved on static display at the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec.
Some former Virginian Railway Train Masters were rebuilt into slugs by the Norfolk and Western Railway; they survived well into Norfolk Southern service. One is preserved at the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
References
- {{cite web|title=Diesel Basics|work=Diesel-Loco|url=http://smg.railfan.net/Diesel/basicdiesel.html|access-date=January 1, 2006}}
- {{cite web|title=Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 Diesel Engine |work=PSRM Diesel Locomotives |url=http://www.psrm.org/roster/diesel/fm/index.html |access-date=January 1, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060526222933/http://www.psrm.org/roster/diesel/fm/index.html |archive-date=May 26, 2006 }}
- {{cite web|title=Fairbanks Morse Train Master Locomotive: HO Scale|work=Railroad Model Craftsman — January 2005|url=http://www.atlasrr.com/Reviews/hormctrainmaster.htm|access-date=December 31, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107020435/http://www.atlasrr.com/Reviews/hormctrainmaster.htm|archive-date=January 7, 2009|url-status=dead}}
- {{cite book|author=Hollingsworth, Brian and Arthur F. Cook|year=1987|title=The Great Book of Trains|publisher=Portland House, New York, NY|isbn=0-517-64515-7}}
- {{Pinkepank diesel spotters guide 2}}
- {{cite book
| last = Kirkland
| first = John F.
| title = The Diesel Builders Volume 1: Fairbanks-Morse and Lima-Hamilton
|date=November 1985
| publisher = Interurban Press
| isbn = 0-916374-69-6
}}
Further reading
- {{cite book|author=Sweetland, David R.|year=1997|title=Train Master: The Most Useful Locomotive Ever Built|publisher=Withers Publishing, Halifax, PA|isbn=1-881411-13-3}}
- Ingles, J. David "Train Master Tribute" article pp 28–43 Trains Magazine August 1973.
External links
{{commons category|Fairbanks-Morse H-24-66 locomotives}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050308221114/http://www.sessions-station.com/Fairbanks-Morse%20Train%20Master%20Sales%20Booklet.htm Fairbanks-Morse Train Master Sales Booklet: The Lackawanna Story]
- [http://www.thedieselshop.us/FM_H2466.HTML Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 Roster]
- [http://www.thedieselshop.us/PRSVDfm.HTML#Six Preserved Fairbanks Morse Six-Axle Road Switchers]
- [http://members.shaw.ca/cprclc/ Canadian Pacific Railway CLC Locomotives]
- [http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29006&view Train Master slugs]
{{Fairbanks-Morse}}
{{FM diesels}}
{{CLC diesels}}
Category:Diesel–electric locomotives of Canada
Category:Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States
Category:Railway locomotives introduced in 1953
Category:Canadian National Railway locomotives
Category:Canadian Pacific Railway locomotives
Category:Delaware, Lackawanna and Western locomotives
Category:Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives