   #copyright

FM Consolidated line

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Railway transport

   The Consolidated line, or C-line, was a series of diesel-electric
   railway locomotive designs produced by Fairbanks-Morse and its Canadian
   licensee, the Canadian Locomotive Company. Individual locomotives in
   this series were commonly referred to as "C-liners." A combined total
   of 165 units (123 cab-equipped lead A units and 42 cabless booster B
   units) were produced by F-M and the CLC between 1950 and 1955.

Genesis of the C-liner

   Since 1932, Fairbanks-Morse had specialized in the manufacture of
   opposed piston diesel engines for United States Naval vessels. Not long
   after, the company produced a 300 hp 5 x 6 engine that saw limited use
   in railcar applications on the B&O, Milwaukee Road, and a few other
   lines. Additionally, two of the 5 x 6s were placed in an experimental
   centre cab switcher locomotive under development by the Reading
   Railroad (road #87, built in 1939 by the St. Louis Car Company, or
   SLCC, and scrapped in 1953). A 5 x 6 powered the plant switcher at
   F-M's Beloit, Wisconsin manufacturing facility.

   In 1939, the SLCC placed F-M 800 hp 8 x 10 engines in six streamlined
   railcars, which are known today as the FM OP800. In 1944, F-M began
   production of its own 1,000 hp yard switcher, the H-10-44. Milwaukee
   Road #760 (originally delivered as #1802), the first Fairbanks–Morse
   locomotive constructed in their own plant, is now preserved and on
   display at the Illinois Railway Museum. F-M, like other locomotive
   producers, was subject to strict wartime restrictions regarding the
   number and type of railroad-related products they could manufacture.
   Following World War II, North American railways began phasing out their
   aging steam locomotives and sought to replace them with
   state-of-the-art diesel locomotives at an ever-increasing rate.
   Fairbanks-Morse, along with its competing firms, sought to capitalize
   on this new market opportunity.

   In December, 1945 F-M produced its first streamlined, cab-equipped dual
   service diesel locomotive as direct competition to such models as the
   ALCO PA and EMD E-unit. Assembly of the 2,000 hp unit, which was
   mounted on a A1A-A1A wheelset, was subcontracted out to General
   Electric due to lack of space at F-M's Wisconsin plant. GE built the
   locomotives at its Erie, Pennsylvania facility, thereby giving rise to
   the name " Erie-built". F-M retained the services of renowned
   industrial designer Raymond Loewy to create a visually impressive
   carbody for the Erie-built. The line was only moderately successful, as
   a total of 82 cab and 28 booster units was sold through 1949, when
   production was ended. The Erie-built's successor was to be manufactured
   in Beloit and designed from the ground up; the result of this effort
   was the Consolidated line, which debuted in January, 1950.

C-liner models

   C-liners took many of their design cues from the Erie-builts, and
   appeared in the F-M catalogue with a variety of options. All of the
   designs were based on a common 56'–3" (17.2–meter) carbody, but the
   customer could choose cab or booster units equipped with 1,600 hp,
   2,000 hp, or 2,400 hp opposed piston engine prime movers. Each option
   was also offered in both passenger and freight configurations.

   All freight units, and the CLC-built Model CPA/B-16-4 were designed
   with an B-B wheel arrangement, while passenger units (in addition to
   having different gearing) featured an unusual B-A1A wheel
   configuration, as the rear truck required an extra unpowered axle to
   help distribute the weight of the steam generator. All C-liners were
   fitted out with electrical generators and traction motors manufactured
   by Westinghouse Electric.

Failure in the marketplace

   Orders for the C-liners were initially received from the New York
   Central, followed by the Long Island Rail Road, the Pennsylvania
   Railroad, the Milwaukee Road and the New Haven. Orders to the Canadian
   Locomotive Company were also forthcoming in Canada from the Canadian
   Pacific and Canadian National railways. However, accounts of mechanical
   unreliability and poor technical support soon began to emerge. It
   quickly became apparent that the 2,400 h.p. Westinghouse generators
   were prone to failure, and the F-M prime movers initially suffered from
   relatively poor piston life and proved difficult to maintain. Moreover,
   railroads were quickly moving away from cowl unit designs, and
   standardizing on road-switcher designs, as offered by the competition
   in the form of the EMD GP7 or the ALCO RS-3.

   By 1952, orders had dried up in the United States, with a total
   production run of only 99 units. The units proved relatively more
   popular in Canada, particularly with the CPR, and orders continued
   there until 1955. Several variants were only ever produced by the
   Canadian Locomotive Company, and Canadian roads accepted a total of 66
   units. However, Westinghouse had announced in 1953 that it was leaving
   the locomotive equipment market, in part because of the generator
   reliability issues in the F-M units. This development made continuing
   production of the C-liners impractical without a redesign, and since
   marketplace acceptance was already marginal, the decision was made to
   end production.

   With the Train Master series, F-M continued production of their own
   road-switcher designs, but these also ultimately proved unsuccessful in
   the marketplace and Fairbanks-Morse departed the locomotive market.

Units produced by Fairbanks-Morse (1950–1953)

Freight units

CFA-16-4 (cabs)

   Railroad   Quantity   Road numbers
   Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad

                                     12

   23A,C–28A,C
   New York Central Railroad

                                      8

   6600–6607
   Pennsylvania Railroad

                                     16

   9448A–9455A, 9492A–9499A

CFB-16-4 (cabless boosters)

   Railroad   Quantity   Road numbers
   Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad

                                      6

   23B–28B
   New York Central Railroad

                                      4

   6900–6903
   Pennsylvania Railroad

                                      8

   9448B–9454B (even nos. only), 9492B–9498B (even nos. only)

CFA-20-4 (cabs)

           Railroad            Quantity   Road numbers
   New York Central Railroad

                                                               12

                                          5006–5017

CFB-20-4 (cabless boosters)

           Railroad            Quantity   Road numbers
   New York Central Railroad

                                                                3

                                          5102–5104

Passenger units

CPA-20-5 (cabs)

         Railroad          Quantity    Road numbers
   Long Island Rail Road

                                                            8

                                       2001–2008

CPA-24-5 (cabs)

   Railroad   Quantity   Road numbers
   Fairbanks-Morse (demonstrator units)

                                      2

   4801, 4802 (sold to the NH and assigned road #0790 & #0791)
   Long Island Rail Road

                                      4

   2401–2404
   New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad

                                      8

   792–799
   New York Central Railroad

                                      8

   4500–4507

Units produced by the Canadian Locomotive Company (1950–1954)

Freight units

CFA-16-4 (cabs)

           Railroad            Quantity           Road numbers
   Canadian National Railway

                                                               23

                                          8700–8744 (even numbers only)
   Canadian Pacific Railway

                                                                6

                                          4076–4081

CFB-16-4 (cabless boosters)

           Railroad            Quantity           Road numbers
   Canadian National Railway

                                                                3

                                          8701–8705 (odd numbers only)
   Canadian Pacific Railway

                                                                4

                                          4455–4458

Passenger units

CPA-16-4 (cabs)

   Railroad   Quantity   Road numbers
   Fairbanks-Morse (demonstrator units)

                                      2

   7005, 7006 (sold to the CP and assigned road #4064 & #4065)
   Canadian Pacific Railway

                                      8

   4052–4057, 4104, 4105

CPB-16-4 (cabless boosters)

           Railroad           Quantity       Road numbers
   Canadian Pacific Railway

                                                               8

                                         4449–4454, 4471, 4472

CPA-16-5 (cabs)

           Railroad            Quantity   Road numbers
   Canadian National Railway

                                                                6

                                          6700–6705

CPB-16-5 (cabless boosters)

           Railroad            Quantity   Road numbers
   Canadian National Railway

                                                                6

                                          6800–6805
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_Consolidated_line"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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