The FM H-20-44 was a
diesel locomotive manufactured by
Fairbanks-Morse
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, radios, farm tractors, fee ...
from June 1947 – March 1954. It represented the company's first foray into the road switcher market. The , ten-cylinder
opposed piston engine
An opposed-piston engine is a piston engine in which each cylinder has a piston at both ends, and no cylinder head. Petrol and diesel opposed-piston engines have been used mostly in large-scale applications such as ships, military tanks, and f ...
locomotive was referred to by F-M's engineering department as the "Heavy Duty" unit. It was configured in a
B-B wheel arrangement mounted atop a pair of two-axle
AAR Type-B road
trucks
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
with all axles powered. H-20-44s shared the same platform and much of the same carbody as the lighter-duty
FM H-15-44, which began its production run three months later.
In the same manner as other F-M switcher models, the H-20-44 started out displaying a variety of
Raymond Loewy-inspired contours, only to have the majority of these superfluous trim features stripped from the last few units built as a cost-cutting measure. Only 96 units were built for
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
railroads, as few firms saw sufficient value in moving freight in greater quantities or at a higher speeds than was possible with the typical 1,500 and four-axle road switchers of the era. Also limiting the model's utility as a true road unit was its lack of a short hood, which the (ironically) lighter-duty H-15-44 did have. Three intact examples of the H-20-44 are known to survive today; all are the property of railroad museums.
A six axle version for better traction was catalogued, but no orders were placed, and no demos were built.
Units produced
References
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Further reading
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External links
Fairbanks-Morse H20-44 RosterPreserved Fairbanks Morse Four-Axle Road SwitchersPSRMA's History of UP 1369— photo and short history of the second unit built, one of the three surviving FM H-20-44s.
{{FM diesels
B-B locomotives
H-20-44
Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States
Railway locomotives introduced in 1947
Standard gauge locomotives of the United States