Atlas N 40005536 Fairbanks-Morse H15/16-44 Early Body Locomotive, Master Gold, Undecorated/Unlettered

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 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. This 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. This N Scale locomotive replica comes equipped with a dual-mode ESU LokSound sound and DCC decoder for operation on DCC and DC layouts (DC with reduced sound functions), and features a scale-speed motor with dual flywheels, directional LED lighting, accurate decoration and AccuMate(R) magnetic knuckle couplers. This FM H15/16-44 is one of many Atlas and Trainman N Scale locomotives.