Fairbanks-Morse H15/16-44 Late Body - Sound and DCC - Master(R) Gold -- Undecorated

This detailed Atlas Master Silver N Scale FM H15/16-44 locomotive is based on the 1,500-horsepower diesel-electric road switcher used by a number of railroads. 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 Central Railroad of New Jersey owning the most units (14 total). By 1