N-Scale H16-44 Locomotive
Santa Fe (Blue/Yellow) #3007
Item #52054

Early Body/Square Window Cab w/Sill Mounted Handrails

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.

Features:

Bi-directional red and green LED classification lights that work
in DCC and analog mode
Scale Speed™ motor
Factory-equipped with AccuMate® knuckle couplers
Painted safety rails
Blackened metal wheels
Golden-white LED headlights
Two versions: Decoder-equipped (NCE) or non-decoder equipped with
PC board designed for easy conversion to DCC in the future if
desired