FM H-12-44 explained

The FM H-12-44 was a switcher locomotive produced by Fairbanks-Morse from May 1950 until March 1961. The units had a 1200hp, 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 60mph.

Of the 336 H-12-44 locomotives produced, 303 were for American railroads, 30 were made between August 1951 to June 1956 by the Canadian Locomotive Company for use in Canada, and one was exported to Mexico.

H-12-44s were visually indistinguishable from the predecessor FM H-10-44 until September 1952, when the Raymond Loewy design elements were removed to reduce production costs. 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 chance of battery explosions. Production paused from May to October 1956, after which 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, all of which are owned by railroad museums or historical societies.

Units produced by Fairbanks-Morse (1950 - 1961)

Railroad Quantity Road numbers Notes
Fairbanks-Morse (demonstrator) 1 76 to Yankeetown Dock Corporation 1
59 503–540, 544–564 3 custom-built FM H-12-44TS locomotives 541-543. 543 survives today
1 1 to Thunderbird Collieries 1;
to Yankeetown Dock 3
17 196–197, 310–319, 9722–9726 310–319 renumbered 9710–9719,
196–197 renumbered 9720–9721
30 1630–1659 built by Canadian Locomotive Company
4 315–318
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)
1 D-2 Renumbered #700)
1 70
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
27 9111–9137 To Penn Central 8300-8326
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad ("Nickel Plate Road") 22 134–155 to Norfolk and Western Railway 2134–2155
16 8708–8723 to Penn Central 8327–8342
1 100 Renumbered 10
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway ("Frisco") 4 282–285
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
1 22
20 1843–1862
U.S. Steel, Morrisville, Pennsylvania 8 GE9–GE16
3 384–386 to Norfolk and Western 3384–3386
White River Lumber Company (Weyerhaeuser Timber Company)  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 U.S. and Canada.

References

Specific

External links

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