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The design of
the General Electric 44 ton diesel switch engine was the direct result
of the 1937 agreement between the unions and railroads to allow one-man
operation of locomotives weighing less than 90,000 pounds. From the
start the GE 44 Ton unit was designed for the railroads as opposed to
its competitor’s industrial locomotives. Unlike these industrial
sisters, the 44 tonner had four traction motors, which permitted the
unit to handle the same weight train faster and for a longer time. On
the larger railroads, which acquired two-thirds of the 373 units built,
these switchers found use along the waterfront and in aging industrial
areas with tight radius curves. Increasing freight car size, eventually
limited the effective use of these small locomotives and they were
replaced by larger heavier switchers of the end cab design.
Production of
the GE 44 ton locomotive began in July, 1940 and continued until
October, 1956 when the Dansville & Mt. Morris Number One was
constructed. Over ninety percent of these 44-ton locomotives were
powered by two Caterpillar D17000 V8 engines; most were equipped with GE
GT555 generators and GE733 traction motors with double reduction gears.
The Museum’s
44 tonner was among the first to be constructed, built in December 1940
by General Electric, construction #12945, for the Mississippi Export
Railway as their number 45. It was used by the short line along its
sister locomotives, the 44 and 47 for fifteen years. In 1955, it was
sold to the Pullman-Standard Car Co. for use at their Bessemer, AL plant
and renumbered 44. The North Florida Railway Museum purchased the
locomotive in mid 2002 and is currently restoring it both cosmetically
and mechanically.
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