The FM H-12-44TS was a light road switcher version of the Fairbanks-Morse H-12-44 yard switcher locomotive. Only three of the 1,200-horsepower (890 kW), six-cylinder opposed piston engine locomotives (builder numbers 12L1021–12L1023) were manufactured especially for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in May, 1956. The units had an extended frame to accommodate the addition of a short hood behind the cab, and were configured in a B-B wheel arrangement and mounted atop a pair of two-axle AAR Type-A switcher trucks with all axles powered. H-12-44TSs also came equipped with steam generator units as they were acquired solely for shuttling passenger cars in and around the Dearborn Station terminal in Chicago, Illinois.

FM H-12-44TS
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderFairbanks-Morse
Serial number12L1021–12L1023
ModelH-12-44TS
Build dateMay 1956
Total produced3
Specifications
Configuration:
 • AARB-B
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Prime moverFM 38D-8 1/8
Engine typeOpposed piston Two-stroke diesel
AspirationRoots blower
Displacement6,222 cu in (101.96 L)
GeneratorDC
Traction motors4 DC
Cylinders6
Cylinder size8.125 in × 10 in (206 mm × 254 mm)
TransmissionDiesel-electric
Loco brakeStraight air
Train brakesAir
Performance figures
Maximum speed60 mph (97 km/h))
Power output1,200 hp (895 kW)
Career
OperatorsAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Numbers541–543
LocaleNorth America
Retired1972–1974
DispositionOne preserved, two scrapped

The locomotives (#541–#543) were delivered in the road's Zebra Stripe paint scheme, though all three would finish out their days on the Santa Fe dressed in the switcher version of the blue and yellow Billboard livery. Coinciding with the end of Santa Fe passenger train service in Chicago, #541 was retired on June 1, 1972, and sold to the Allison Steel Manufacturing Company in October of that year; #542 and #543 were both retired on May 7, 1974, though #543 (the only example to have evaded the scrap yard) was subsequently preserved in Albuquerque, New Mexico and donated to the California State Railroad Museum in March 1986. It has since been moved to the Illinois Railway Museum.[1]

References

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  • "ATSF All-Time Diesel Roster, Road Numbers 500–599". Gene Crossett, Jr. Archived from the original on February 28, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  • "Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 Diesel Engine". PSRM Diesel Locomotives. Archived from the original on May 26, 2006. Retrieved January 1, 2006.
  • 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.
  1. ^ "ATSF 543 gets unloaded - Illinois Railway Museum Blog". 2.irm.org. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
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