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  • LIRR FM locomotive question

  • Discussion of Fairbanks-Morse locomotive products. Official web site can be found here: www.fairbanksmorse.com.
Discussion of Fairbanks-Morse locomotive products. Official web site can be found here: www.fairbanksmorse.com.

Moderator: pablo

 #446875  by pablo
 
When were the Fairbanks-Morse locomotives one the LIRR retired? I don't see any pictures of the C liners after the mid 1960s.

*copied from the LIRR forum, posted by author Frank*

Dave Becker

 #447304  by Allen Hazen
 
They were replaced, in road service on the LI, by the C-420. Alas, the Long Island's C-420 deliveries ran from 12/63 to 8/68, so this only narrows it down slightly! ... There was a gap in C-420 deliveries from 7/64 to 8/68: my guess is that the C-liners, as high maintenance units, would have been gone by the time the LI got its earlier C-420 units.
 #634742  by Phil12string
 
The FM's lasted a little more that a decade and were replaced rapidly as the C420's arrived. Unlike the H-16-44's, the "C" line cabs lacked MU, which required double-heading, as in steam days. This was a less than efficient arrangement, and, when coupled with the FM OP engine maintenance requirements, the LIRR purged them rapidly. The second order for C-420's were the last ones built by ALCO and the only ones on High Adhesion "B" trucks. The LIRR had hoped to get a large sand hauling contract and the new units were slated to power these trains. The contract fell through and the C420's entered the general passenger pool.
 #856771  by keyboardkat
 
As far as I know, the LIRR ordered their C-liners without MU capablity because they were thought to be so powerful that doubleheading would never be needed. And I don't think the railroad ever doubleheaded their C-liners. If a train was that heavy, they would doublehead their FM H-16-44s or Alco RS-3s. But the C-liners had remarkable acccelerative capabilities and pulling power, beyond what you'd expect for the equivalent horsepower, probably because of their quick loading and high generator exitation at the lower stages of acceleration. The LIRR's eight 2000hp CPA-20s were the only examples of that model ever built, by the way. The four 2400hp CPA-24s came a few years later, with Bankruptcy Court permission for the purchase.

The H-16-44s were real workhorses around the LIRR, and were used in both freight and passenger operations. They were equipped for MU operation, but they had WABCO air throttles like early Baldwin units, and their MU jumper cable was an air hose. A separate electrical jumper carried such functions as sanding, reversing, etc. Thus the FM H-16's on the LIRR could MU with each other, but not with anything else on the roster
 #857130  by keyboardkat
 
I was told that LIRR crews disliked the C-liners because they broke down frequently, but the railroad liked them because they could make good time and get trains over the road quickly.
 #860202  by Alcoman
 
Many people do not realize that the LIRR asked ALCO about re-powering the C-liners. Long story short, it was cheaper buying NEW C420's.
 #861601  by keyboardkat
 
Alcoman wrote:Many people do not realize that the LIRR asked ALCO about re-powering the C-liners. Long story short, it was cheaper buying NEW C420's.
Perhaps that would have been unsatisfactory because of a possible loss of horsepower. The Wabash repowered its 2400 hp F-M Trainmasters with Alco engines, but the horsepower was derated to 2350. Slight, but telling.
 #976128  by RGlueck
 
The C-Liners and H16-44's all disappeared rapidly in late 1963 and early 1964. The ALCO Century replacements were bought at the time of the NY World's Fair, and the connection of a modernized railroad was smooth. As the F-M's disappeared, some of their parts were taken and re-used in the new locomotives, but which parts, I have no idea. The locomotives themselves were shipped to a scrapper, where their prime movers were salvaged. Some went into oil rigs in the southwest, others went into marine applications. The latter is interesting, because they wound up in Viet Nam, and when the Communists won the war, they got the abandoned equipment! Consider those prime movers of 60 years ago, once hauling New York commuters, now hauling Viet Namese Commies!
Anyway, the locomotives were traded in on the new ALCOs of 1963-64. They had a terrible maintenance history, and were constantly in the shop to be rescued. Access to the engines was miserable. Like other railroads, once the green light was given to lose the FM's, the railroad was only too glad to oblige.
 #1289248  by RGlueck
 
Okay, following up on my own question,does anyone know how the FM's were shipped out? Did they go to Schenectady for scrapping or were they scrapped at a breaker and certain components kept?