FM Erie-built

FM Erie-built
The lone A-B-A set of Erie-builts ordered by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, built in May 1947, hauled a number of its named passenger trains, among them the Super Chief and San Diegan.
Type and origin Power type Diesel Builder Fairbanks-Morse, at General Electric's Erie, Pennsylvania plant Model Erie-built Build date December 1945 to April 1949 Total produced 82 cab units, 29 boosters
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR A1A-A1A Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Wheel diameter 40 in (1,016 mm) Minimum curve 210 (273 ft (83.21 m) radius Wheelbase 51 ft 11 in (15.82 m) Length 64 ft 10 in (19.76 m) Width 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) Height 15 ft 7 in (4.75 m) Prime mover FM 38D-10 RPM range 850 r.p.m. max Engine type Opposed piston diesel Displacement 10,369 cu in (169.92 l) Generator FM GT-567 Traction motors (4) GE 746 Cylinders 10 Cylinder size 8.125 in × 10 in (206 mm × 254 mm) Train heating Steam generator Train brakes Air
Performance figures Power output 2,000 hp (1.49 MW) Tractive effort 54,850 lbf (244.0 kN))
Career Disposition All scrapped

The Erie-built was the first streamlined, cab-equipped dual service diesel locomotive built by Fairbanks-Morse, introduced as direct competition to such models as the ALCO PA and EMD E-unit. As F-M lacked the space to manufacture the units in their own plant, the work was subcontracted out to General Electric, which produced the locomotives at its Erie, Pennsylvania, facility, thereby giving rise to the name "Erie-built."

The unit's 2,000 hp (1,500 kW), ten-cylinder opposed piston engine prime mover provided ample power to its A1A-A1A wheel set. F-M retained the services of renowned industrial designer Raymond Loewy to create a visually impressive car body for the Erie-built. The initial windshield configuration utilized rectangular glass panes, whereas those units manufactured after March, 1947 received curved glass. Most units rode on conventional General Steel Castings trucks, but many were fitted with specialized, fabricated, assemblies. Eight of nine KCS Erie-builts were later repowered with an EMD 567 series diesel engine rated at 1750 horsepower.

82 cab-equipped lead A units and 29 cabless booster B units were built for American railroads between December 1945 and April 1949. Afterward, F-M continued to market dual service streamlined units under its Consolidated line of locomotives, more commonly referred to as "C-liners".

After their retirement, several Erie-built "B" unit hulks were sent to the Canadian Pacific for their incorporation in a quasi-portable CWR rail welding plant then located at Smiths Falls, Ontario. These units were painted in a reverse "Erie-Lackawannaish" CP Paint Scheme, as this was just before CP Adopted the CP Rail multi-mark paint. Around 1990, the CP CWR plant with the Erie-Built units was moved to CP Transcona near Winnipeg. When-to-be-scrapped, four Erie-built trucks were salvaged from the CP welding plant units and these trucks were sent to Oregon to be placed under two truckless ex-D&H/ATSF Alco-GE PAs returned from Mexico.