Locomotive, Diesel, Fairbanks Morse, H-15-44

History: The FM H-15-44 was a road switcher manufactured by Fairbanks-Morse from September 1947 to June 1950. The locomotive was powered by a 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW), eight-cylinder opposed piston engine as its prime mover, and was configured in a B-B wheel arrangement mounted atop a pair of two-axle AAR Type-B road trucks with all axles powered. The H-15-44 featured an offset cab design that provided space for an optional steam generator in the short hood, making the model versatile enough to work in passenger service as well as freight duty.

Raymond Loewy heavily influenced the look of the unit, which emphasized sloping lines and accented such features as the radiator shutters and headlight mounting, as is found on CNJR #1501 and KCS #40. The cab-side window assembly incorporated "half moon"-shaped inoperable panes which resulted in an overall oblong shape. The platform (underframe) was shared with F-M's 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW) end cab road switcher, the FM H-20-44, as was the carbody to some extent. The platform and carbody was also utilized by the H-15-44's successor, the FM H-16-44.

Only 35 units were built for American railroads and none exist today.

From Wikipedia
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Full F-M H-15-44 data sheet on The Diesel Shop.

Railroad/Company: Fairbanks Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, farm tractors, feed mills, locomotives and industrial supplies until it was merged in 1958. It used the trade name Fairbanks-Morse.
Fairbanks Morse and Company merged with Penn-Texas Corporation in 1958 to form Fairbanks Whitney Corporation. One of the successors of the original company is Fairbanks Morse Engine, a subsidiary of EnPro Industries, that continues to develop and sell opposed piston (OP) engine technology for marine applications.

Fairbanks Morse was the last builder to enter the diesel locomotive market in 1939 and the first to exit in 1958. While its opposed-piston engine design was not as successful in locomotive application as with marine ships its locomotives were nevertheless revolutionary for their time, so revolutionary that it would take twenty years after the builder’s exit from the market for railroads to become interested in similar models!

From Wikipedia
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