FM H-24-66

Touted by Fairbanks-Morse as "...the most useful locomotive ever built..." upon its introduction in 1953, the 2,400 horsepower (1.8 MW) H-24-66 Train Master 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 Train Master's greater power, the perception on the part of others 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 Train Masters. Because of this, both F-M and CLC ultimately left the locomotive business with both parties eventually ceasing to exist altogether.

Three different carbody variants were produced, and were differentiated as follows: Phase 1a units had their air intake louvers located in a continuous line along the top of the long hood, and a wide separating strip between the radiator fans; Phase 1b modifications were minor, consisting only of a "dip" in the long hood handrails that allowed them to better follow the profile of the side walkways; Phase 2 units boasted fewer air intake louvers, with large gaps separating them (the radiators themselves were divided by only a tiny metal strip).

Units manufactured by Fairbanks-Morse (1953–1957)

Railroad	Quantity	Road numbers	Notes
Fairbanks-Morse (demonstrator units)	4	TM-1 – TM-4	TM-1 & TM-2 to Wabash Railroad 550–551; TM-3 & TM-4 to Southern Pacific 4800–4801/3020–3021
Canadian National Railway	1	3000	Later renumbered 2900.
Canadian Pacific Railway	1	8900	Only CPR Train Master built by FM (not CLC). Delivered with a single steam generator. Remaining (twenty) CPR Train Masters (8901-8920) built by CLC (see below).
Central Railroad of New Jersey	13	2401–2413
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad	12	850–861	to Erie Lackawanna Railroad 1850–1861
Pennsylvania Railroad	9	8699–8707	to Penn Central 6700–6708
Reading Company	17	800–808, 860–867
Southern Pacific	14	4802–4815, 4800-4815	Renumbered 3020–3035 in 1965
Southern Railway (CNO&TP)	5	6300–6304
Virginian Railway	25	50–74	to Norfolk and Western Railway 150–174
Wabash Railroad	6	552–554, 552A–554A	Renumbered 552–557
Total	107

Only one Train Master locomotive has survived intact — former Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) H-24-66 #8905 is now owned by the Canadian Railroad Historical Association, which operates the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec.

Former Virginian Railway Train Masters rebuilt into slugs by the Norfolk and Western Railway survived well into Norfolk Southern service with one currently preserved at the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.

• "Diesel Basics". Diesel-Loco. Retrieved January 1, 2006.
• "Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 Diesel Engine". PSRM Diesel Locomotives. Archived from the original on May 26, 2006. Retrieved January 1, 2006.
• "Fairbanks Morse Train Master Locomotive: HO Scale". Railroad Model Craftsman — January 2005. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2005.
• Hollingsworth, Brian and Arthur F. Cook (1987). The Great Book of Trains. Portland House, New York, NY. ISBN 0-517-64515-7.
• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-026-7.
• Kirkland, John F. (November 1985). The Diesel Builders Volume 1: Fairbanks-Morse and Lima-Hamilton. Interurban Press. ISBN 0-916374-69-6.

• Sweetland, David R. (1997). Train Master: The Most Useful Locomotive Ever Built. Withers Publishing, Halifax, PA. ISBN 1-881411-13-3.
• Ingles, J. David "Train Master Tribute" article pp 28–43 Trains Magazine August 1973.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fairbanks-Morse H-24-66 locomotives.

• Fairbanks-Morse Train Master Sales Booklet: The Lackawanna Story
• Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 Roster
• Preserved Fairbanks Morse Six-Axle Road Switchers
• Canadian Pacific Railway CLC Locomotives
• Train Master slugs