Southern Pacific 4805 Trainmaster
The H-24-66, or Trainmaster, was a diesel-electric railroad locomotive produced by Fairbanks-Morse and its licensee, Canadian Locomotive Company. These six-axle hood unit road switchers were deployed in the United States and Canada during the 1950s. They were the successor to the ultimately unsuccessful consolidated line of cab units produced by F-M and CLC in the 1950s. Each locomotive produced 2,400 horsepower. In common with other F-M locomotives, the Trainmaster units employed an opposed piston prime mover. The model rode on a pair of drop equalized three-axle "Trimount" trucks giving it a C-C wheel arrangement.
Touted by Fairbanks-Morse as "...the most useful locomotive ever built..." upon its introduction in 1953, the 2,400 horsepower H-24-66 Trainmaster was the most powerful single-engine diesel locomotive available at the time, legendary for its pulling power and rapid acceleration. No competitor offered a locomotive with an equal horsepower rating until the ALCO RSD-7 entered production in January 1954 (EMD followed suit later in July 1958 with the SD24, and GE introduced their U25C in September 1963).
While some railroads saw advantages in the Trainmaster’s greater power, the perception on the part of others was that the unit had too much horsepower (coupled with the difficulties inherent in maintaining the opposed-piston engine, inadequacies in the electrical system, and a higher-than-normal consumption of cooling water) contributed to poor marketplace acceptance of the Trainmasters. Both F-M and CLC ultimately left the locomotive business.
FM built four Trainmaster Demonstrators, two were designated 'eastern demonstrators': TM-1 and TM-2, and two 'western demonstrators': TM-3 and TM-4. Southern Pacific hosted the 'western' pair TM-3 and -4 in 1953, testing them in freight service between Los Angeles and El Paso. TM-4 was tried on 'commutes' even though TM-4 did not have a steam generator; the only one of the four without this feature. SP purchased -3 and -4 in 1953, and ordered another 14, painting them in Black Widow paint which were the first hood units in this scheme.
Touted by Fairbanks-Morse as "...the most useful locomotive ever built..." upon its introduction in 1953, the 2,400 horsepower H-24-66 Trainmaster was the most powerful single-engine diesel locomotive available at the time, legendary for its pulling power and rapid acceleration. No competitor offered a locomotive with an equal horsepower rating until the ALCO RSD-7 entered production in January 1954 (EMD followed suit later in July 1958 with the SD24, and GE introduced their U25C in September 1963).
While some railroads saw advantages in the Trainmaster’s greater power, the perception on the part of others was that the unit had too much horsepower (coupled with the difficulties inherent in maintaining the opposed-piston engine, inadequacies in the electrical system, and a higher-than-normal consumption of cooling water) contributed to poor marketplace acceptance of the Trainmasters. Both F-M and CLC ultimately left the locomotive business.
FM built four Trainmaster Demonstrators, two were designated 'eastern demonstrators': TM-1 and TM-2, and two 'western demonstrators': TM-3 and TM-4. Southern Pacific hosted the 'western' pair TM-3 and -4 in 1953, testing them in freight service between Los Angeles and El Paso. TM-4 was tried on 'commutes' even though TM-4 did not have a steam generator; the only one of the four without this feature. SP purchased -3 and -4 in 1953, and ordered another 14, painting them in Black Widow paint which were the first hood units in this scheme.
