ATLAS (HO SCALE) H15/16-44
LOCOMOTIVES
In
the late 1940s, the design team at Fairbanks-Morse (FM) set out to develop an
8-cylinder 1,500-horsepower all-purpose road switcher using their opposed-piston
diesel engine design. By September 1947 FM had produced the first H15-44 locomotive
in the form of Demonstrator "FM 1500". The hood-unit style body included distinctive
features such as slightly sloped ends, rounded corners, oval cab-side windows
and a raised, rounded headlight base on each end.
The first purchaser of
the H15-44 was Monon, who quickly bought both the demonstrator and the second
unit built in December 1947. Three units were then built for Rio Grande before
additional demonstrators were produced later in 1948. Before production ended
in mid-1949, a total of 35 units had been built, with Jersey Central owning the
most units (14 total). By 1950 other builders had increased the horsepower of
their competing road switchers, and FM responded with the 8-cylinder 1,600-horsepower
H16-44 model. The earliest units were externally very similar to the previous
H15-44. MKT 1591 was initially ordered as an H15-44, but was upgraded to 1,600hp
during production.
The first true production H16-44s were ordered by Jersey
Central. Several large railroads purchased this model, including Santa Fe, New
York Central, Southern and Pennsylvania. A total of 99 units would be produced
before production of the "phase I" version ended in December 1952. FM continued
to produce H16-44s with phase II and III body styles through 1963. Our model represents
the "phase I" body style of both the H15-44 and H16-44 that was produced between
1947 and 1952. Options include FM or AAR truck side frames, high or low-mounted
headlights, early or late-production phase 1 hoods and a removable fuel tank skirt.
.
Bi-directional red and green LED marker lamps that work in DCC and analog
mode
Realistic die-cast underframe Five-pole skewed armature motor with
dual flywheels for optimum performance at all speeds
Directional lighting
Factory-equipped with AccuMate® knuckle couplers
Painted crew figures
Separately-installed
scale windshield wipers and fine scale handrails
Separately-applied coupler
cut levers and trainline hoses
Separately-applied fuel tank skirt as appropriate
by railroad
Etched metal radiator grilles AAR-B or FM-style truck sideframes
as appropriate by railroad
4-Function HO Dual-Mode® Decoder
AccuMate®
couplers are made under license from AccuRail, Inc.
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