FM H-12-44

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FM H-12-44
SP 2380 switching Del Monte at SJ 4-71 (17120050020).jpg
SP #2380 backs the Del Monte into San Jose in April 1971, a week before the Amtrak takeover.
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderFairbanks-Morse
ModelH-12-44
Build dateMay 1950 – March 1961
Total produced336
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARB-B
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
TrucksAAR type A
Wheel diameter40 in (1,016 mm)
Minimum curve29.50 (194 ft (59.13 m) radius)
Wheelbase33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
Length48 ft 10 in (14.88 m)
Width10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)
Height14 ft 6+5⁄8 in (4.44 m)
Loco weight240,000 lb (108.9 t)
Prime moverFM 38D-8 1/8
Engine typeOpposed piston Two-stroke diesel
AspirationRoots blower
Displacement6,222 cu in (101.96 l)
GeneratorFM DGZJ
Traction motors(4) FM DRZH
Cylinders6 (Opposed piston)
Cylinder size8.125 in × 10 in (206 mm × 254 mm)
Loco brakeStraight air
Train brakesAir
Performance figures
Maximum speed60 mph (97 km/h)
Power output1,200 hp (895 kW)
Tractive effort40,440 lbf (179.9 kN))
Career
LocaleNorth America
DispositionMost scrapped, sixteen examples preserved

The FM H-12-44 was a yard switcher produced by Fairbanks-Morse from May, 1950–March, 1961. The units featured a 1,200-horsepower (890 kW), six-cylinder opposed piston engine prime mover, and were configured in a B-B wheel arrangement mounted atop a pair of two-axle AAR Type-A switcher trucks, with all axles powered and geared for a top speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).

A total of 303 units were built for American railroads, 30 were manufactured (between August 1951 to June 1956) by the Canadian Locomotive Company for use in Canada, and 1 unit was exported to Mexico. Initially, H-12-44s were visually indistinguishable from their predecessor model, the FM H-10-44. However, beginning in September, 1952 the Raymond Loewy design elements were removed as a cost-saving measure: cab lines were squared-off, the slanted-nose styling was discontinued, and the roof visor was eliminated. The following year, the fairing over the battery box was removed and louvers added to reduce the possibility of battery explosions. None of the units were produced between May and October 1956, after which time the carbodies were shortened by some three feet and outfitted with a deeper side skirt.

Sixteen intact examples of the H-12-44 are known to survive today, all of which are owned by railroad museums or historical societies.

One FM H-12-44TS, Santa Fe 543, now resides at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Units produced by Fairbanks-Morse (1950–1961)[]

Railroad Quantity Road numbers Notes
Fairbanks-Morse (demonstrator) 1 76 to 1
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 59 503–540, 544–564 3 custom built H12-44TS locomotives 541-543. 543 survives today
1 1 to Thunderbird Collieries 1;
to Yankeetown Dock 3
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 17 196–197, 310–319, 9722–9726 310–319 renumbered 9710–9719,
196–197 renumbered 9720–9721
Canadian National Railway 30 1630–1659 built by Canadian Locomotive Company
Central of Georgia Railway 4 315–318
Chicago and North Western Railway 9 1071–1072, 1110–1116
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("Milwaukee Road") 48 1826–1847, 2309–2325 Renumbered 700–710, 715–744, 750–756 (not in order)
Columbia and Cowlitz Railway 1 D-2 Renumbered #700)
Ferrocarril de Chihuahua al Pacífico 1 70
Indianapolis Union Railway 3 19–21
7 60–66
Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad ("Soo Line") 5 315–319
1 10 to Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway 10
New York Central Railroad 27 9111–9137
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad ("Nickel Plate Road") 22 134–155 to Norfolk and Western Railway 2134–2155
Pennsylvania Railroad 16 8708–8723 to Penn Central 8327–8342
Sandersville Railroad 1 100 Renumbered 10
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway ("Frisco") 4 282–285
Southern Pacific Company 43 1486–1491, 1529–1574, 1577–1596
Southern Pacific (Texas and New Orleans Railroad) 2 119–120 to Southern Pacific 1575–1576; renumbered 2373–2374
Tennessee Valley Authority 1 22
United States Army 20 1843–1862
U.S. Steel, Morrisville, Pennsylvania 8 GE9–GE16
Wabash Railroad 3 384–386 to Norfolk and Western 3384–3386
(Weyerhaeuser Timber Company)   1 WTC 1
WTC 1
to Pacific Transportation Services 121 then transferred to Northwest Railway Museum where it is preserved in running condition
1 2
Total 336

Preservation[]

Several examples of the H-12-44 model have been preserved around the US and Canada.

  • Weyerhaeuser Timber Company #1 is preserved at the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington. While still being occasionally run after undergoing a full rebuild and engine overhaul. The locomotive is now ran for special events with its partner caboose White River Logging Company number 001 but is not run for regular service.
  • Former US Army #1843 is a part of the collection at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum in Rush, NY (south of Rochester, NY). It is in operable condition and is a key locomotive at the RGVRRM.
  • Former US Army later US Steel #1845 is currently stored at Fairless Hills, Penn. undergoing restoration. It is privately owned.
  • Former US Army #1847 is preserved at the Golden Gate Railroad Museum in Sunol, CA. It is currently operational and has been painted in "Tiger Stripe" scheme to represent Southern Pacific #1487.
  • Former US Army #1849 is preserved for static display at the Bluegrass Railroad Museum in Versailles, Kentucky.
  • Former US Army #1850, #1853 and #1861 are stored out of service at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera, Alabama.
  • Former US Army #1855 owned and operated (on excursion train) by Nevada State RR Museum, Boulder City, Nevada.
  • Former US Army #1854 switches Business Depot Ogden in Utah as of 2019. It wears Utah Central 1854 and Defense Logistics Agency 53205.
  • Former US Army #1857 is preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California. It was used at the Sierra Army Depot at Herlong, California, located along the former Western Pacific Railroad. It is used in the museum's famous "Rent-A-Locomotive" program.
  • Former US Army unit #1860, worked at Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal. It later went to Beaufort & Morehead Railroad in North Carolina as #1860, based at the Morehead City State Ports. The North Carolina Transportation Museum acquired the locomotive in 2004 after disposition from the State Ports.
  • Former US Steel #9121 is preserved by the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey. Restoration is underway at SMS Railroad in Bridgeport, New Jersey.
  • Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe #608 (formerly #508) is at the Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco, TX, following a 2017 transfer from the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California.
  • Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe #560 is preserved at the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, California
  • Milwaukee Road 740 is preserved at the Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum in Bellevue, Ohio. It was originally numbered 2310.

References[]

  • "Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 Diesel Locomotive". PSRM Diesel Locomotives. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  • "A Fairbanks-Morse locomotive is being saved". Archived from the original on August 30, 2006. Retrieved June 18, 2006.
  • Dorin, Patrick C. (1972). Chicago and North Western Power. Burbank, California: Superior Publishing. p. 154. ISBN 0-87564-715-4.
  • Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
  • Kirkland, John F. (November 1985). The Diesel Builders Volume 1: Fairbanks-Morse and Lima-Hamilton. Interurban Press. ISBN 0-916374-69-6.
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External links[]

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