MTH Premier KCS "Erie Built" diesels
FM Erie Built AB Diesel Set - With Proto-Sound 2.0 - Kansas City Southern
Cab No.: A Unit - 60A B Unit - 60B
Product Number: 20-2487-1
M.S.R.P. $ 599.95
First appeared in: 2004 Volume 1
The MTH Premier Kansas City Southern A-B diesel set is a nicely detailed version of the famous Fairbanks Morse "Erie Built" locomotives.
One of railroading's most famous diesel locomotive manufacturers, Fairbanks, Morse and Co., actually began life as an engine builder for the U.S. Navy thanks to its revolutionary opposed-piston diesel power plants first developed in the early 1930s. By 1944, the company entered the locomotive business when its first H10-44 diesel switcher rolled out of the FM shops destined for the Milwaukee Road railroad.
Fairbanks Morse officials knew that real success in the locomotive business would only come if the company could produce a road cab engine and elected to use a Raymond Loewy carbody design to make that goal a reality. Unfortunately, FM did not have the shop capacity to produce the engine themselves so it was contracted out to General Electric's nearby Erie, Pennsylvania plant. Thus, FM's first road cab engine was dubbed the "Erie-Built" and made its debut in 1945. A total of 111 of the 8,000 horsepower haulers were produced with the last retired from the Kansas City Southern in 1966.
The unit's 2,000 hp (1,500 kW), ten-cylinder opposed piston engine prime mover provided ample power to its A1A-A1A wheel set. F-M retained the services of renowned industrial designer Raymond Loewy to create a visually impressive car body for the Erie-built. The initial windshield configuration utilized rectangular glass panes, whereas those units manufactured after March, 1947 received curved glass. Most units rode on conventional General Steel Castings trucks, but many were fitted with specialized, fabricated, assemblies. Eight of nine KCS Erie-builts were later repowered with an EMD 567 series diesel engine rated at 1750 horsepower.
KCS Erie Built roadnumbers : 60A, 60C, 61A, 61C, 62A, 62C, 60B, 61B, 62B
