PROTO 1000 Diesel F-M Erie-Built A-B Set - Powered -- Pennsylvania Railroad #9466A/9466B

The "Erie-Builts" were Fairbanks-Morse's first cab-unit locomotives. These powerful units packed a single 2,000-horsepower, 10-cylinder opposed-piston engine under the hood. Riding on A-1-A trucks (two powered axles and one idler axle for weight distribution, the units incorporated large GE Model 746 traction motors and came equipped with large 42" wheels (as opposed to the 40" wheels on most road diesels of the era). Production lasted from 1945 to 1949. The locos were powerful and versatile - they could be ordered for freight service or, with the addition of a steam generator for train heat, passenger service. Several gear ratios were available allowing for various top speeds ranging from 65m.p.h. for freights to 121m.p.h. for passenger service. As with competing cab units of the era, the Erie Builts were offered as A units or as cabless B unit boosters. While these units were FM locomotives, FM's Beloit, Wisconsin, plant didn't have the manufac