GE 44-ton switcher

The GE 44-ton switcher is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric between 1940 and 1956. It was designed for industrial and light switching duties, often replacing steam locomotives that had previously been assigned these chores.

GE 44-ton switcher
Engine 7069 at the Georgia State Railroad Museum, Savannah, Georgia
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderGE Transportation Systems
Model44-ton switcher
Build dateSeptember 1940–October 1956
Total produced386
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARB-B
 • UICBo′Bo'
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Loco weight44 short tons (39 long tons; 40 t)
Prime moverPair of Caterpillar D17000 standard, also Hercules DFXD (9 locomotives); Buda Engine Co. 6DH1742 (10 locomotives); Caterpillar D342 (4 locomotives).
RPM rangeD17000: 1,000 (max)
6DH1742: 1,050 (max)
DFXD: 1,600 (max)
D342: 1,200 (max)
Engine typeD17000: V8 diesel
All others: 6-cyl diesel
AspirationNaturally aspirated
Traction motorsFour
CylindersD17000: 8
All others: 6
Cylinder sizeD17000: 5.75 in × 8 in (146 mm × 203 mm)
6DH1742: 6.5 in × 8.375 in (165 mm × 213 mm)
DFXD: 5.5 in × 6 in (139.700 mm × 152.400 mm)
D342: 5.75 in × 8 in (146.050 mm × 203.200 mm)
Performance figures
Maximum speed35 mph (56 km/h)[1]
Power output360 to 400 hp (270 to 300 kW)
Tractive effort27,000 lbf (120.1 kN) @ 30%
Career
LocaleNorth America, Australia, Saudi Arabia, South America, India, France, Sweden .

This locomotive's specific 44-short ton weight was directly related to one of the efficiencies the new diesel locomotives offered compared to their steam counterparts: reduced labor intensity. In the 1940s, the steam to diesel transition was in its infancy in North America, and railroad unions were trying to protect the locomotive fireman jobs that were redundant with diesel units. One measure taken to this end was the 1937 so-called "90,000 Pound Rule," a stipulation that locomotives weighing 90,000 pounds (41,000 kg) – 45 short tons – or more required a fireman in addition to an engineer on common carrier railroads. Industrial and military railroads had no such stipulation. The 44-ton locomotive was designed to abrogate this requirement. Other manufacturers also built 44-ton switchers of center-cab configuration.

GE built 276 of this locomotive for U. S. railroads and industrial concerns, four were exported to Australia in 1944, 10 were exported to Canada, 10 were exported to Cuba, one was exported to the Dominican Republic, five were exported to France, three were exported to India, six were exported to Mexico, five were exported to Saudi Arabia, one was exported to Sweden, two were exported to Trinidad, 10 were exported to Uruguay, and 57 were built for the United States Armed Forces. Many remain, in service and in museums.

Prime mover options

The locomotives were available with a choice of prime movers. Most were built with a pair of Caterpillar's D17000 V8 180 horsepower (134 kW) engines, but three other engine types were used. Nine were built with a pair of Hercules DFXD engines; two were sold to Chattanooga Traction and seven were sold to Missouri Pacific Railroad and its subsidiaries. Ten were built with a pair of the slightly more powerful Buda 6DH1742, rated at 200 horsepower (150 kW) each. The last four locomotives built had Caterpillar D342 engines, of which three were sold to Canadian National Railway and one to the Dansville and Mount Morris Railroad.

Military version

During the Second World War, GE produced a "Drop Cab" variant of the 44-ton locomotives for the US Armed Forces. These appeared similar to the standard 44-ton but had a lower cab for European clearances, and large boxes next to the cab, on the front right, and back left running boards, housing the air compressors (housed under the cab on standard versions). Most of these military variants were ballasted to an actual weight of 45 tons.[2] A total of 91 Military 45-ton Drop Cabs were built with 31 of those sold to the Indian Railways. Additional narrow gauge drop cabs were built to a 47-ton rating for the military and export.

Twelve Drop Cab 45-ton locomotives were bought by the Portuguese Railway (CP - Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses) in 1949, with the Iberian broad gauge of 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in). Numbered 1101 to 1112, after some initial use as light road engines, they spent most of their lives as switchers at the southern region main stations. The series is withdrawn but one example is preserved at the National Railroad Museum (Fundação Museu Nacional Ferroviário Armando Ginestal Machado) at Entroncamento.

Australia

Forty-seven locomotives were bought by the US Military, and four of them were exported to Australia. All saw service on the New South Wales Government Railways as the 79 class, before two of them were sold to Commonwealth Railways, becoming the DE class.

Preserved examples

United States

Canada

Sweden

Australia

Spain

Hunosa Nº2, which used to work at the Sueros Coal Washing Facility in Mieres, Asturias, is in operational condition at the Asturian Railway Museum in Gijón, Asturias.

References
  1. 380-hp, 44-ton Diesel-Electric Railroad Locomotive (PDF). Schenectady, N.Y.: General Electric. 3 March 1947. p. 3.
  2. Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Company. p. 158. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.
  3. Guss, Chris (11 June 2023). "The end is near for short line's center-cab diesels". Trains. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  4. (1) Harwood, Herbert H. Jr. (April 2000). Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847 – 1968 (PDF) (3rd ed.). Fairfax Station, Virginia: Northern Virginia Parks Authority. p. 137. ISBN 0615114539. LCCN 77104382. OCLC 44685168. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2017. 47: GE 44-ton (380 hp); built 12/41; c.n. 15041. W&OD's first diesel. Sold 1950 to Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville (#30); resold to Cargill, Inc., Houston, Texas 1967 In Appendix K of Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority - Pre-filed Direct Testimony of Mr. Hafner, Mr. Mcray and Mr. Simmons, 30 November 2005 (Part 5), Case No. PUE-2005-00018, Virginia State Corporation Commission. Obtained in "Case Docket Search". Virginia State Corporation Commission. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
    (2) "GE 44-Ton Number 30". Number 30. The Fonda Johnstown & Gloversville Railroad. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016. Photographs of the former W&OD 47 as FJGRR 30, on the Great Western Railway of Colorado and as BJRY 44.
    (3) Zygmunt, Chris (8 June 2012). "BJRY 44". LocoPhotos: Comprehensive Locomotive Archiving. Burlington, Iowa: Jack Hilton. Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014. Lineage: ex GWR 44, ex Cargill, ex FJG 30, ex WOD 47
    (4) Zygmunt, Chris (8 June 2012). "Burlington Junction Railway No. 44 (with 2013-02-24 comment by Jack M. Jakeman: "This was the locomotive that the railroad was started with.")". RailPictures.Net. Burlington, Iowa. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
    (5) "Profiles of Railroads Operating in Iowa". Rail System Plan: Appendix A. Ames, Iowa: Iowa Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
    (6) Lewis, Edward A. (1996). Burlington Junction Railway. p. 53. ISBN 0890242909. LCCN 96215170. OCLC 35286187. Retrieved 23 December 2017. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
    (7) Miller, Gerry; Sink, Tom; Zygmunt, Chris (8 June 2012). "Photographs of BJRY 44". RailPictures.Net. Burlington and West Burlington, Iowa. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
    (8) Rumbut, Kris (11 September 2014). "BJRY 44". Pictures of BJRY 44. Burlington, Iowa: RR Pictures Archive.Net. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
    (9) Mackey, Dan (5 August 2018). "BRJY 44". Burlington, Iowa: Flickr. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  5. "Ontario & Western Railway Historical Society, Inc".
  6. "RailPictures.Net » Photo Search Result » Railroad, Train, Railway Photos, Pictures & News".
  7. "Pictures of ATSF 461".
  8. Southern Prairie Railway
  9. Musquodoboit Harbour Railway Museum
  10. PSTR Locomotives
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