![]() ![]() The bodies are plastic, and on the inside of each end of hte shell are silver reflectors to increase the brightness of the lights. They have a stamped metal frame, and the fuel tank, trucks, and truck sideframes are die cast. The insides of a typical Postwar Era FM, showing the motors, lights, E-unit, horn, and horn relay.Īll Lionel Trainmasters have two motors, a reverse unit, lights, and Magnetraction (magnetized wheels and axles). Its official designation was H24-66, but Lionel fans call it simply 'Trainmaster' or 'FM'.Ībout 100 actual Trainmasters were built, and the one pictured above is the last operating FM diesel in the world. The Trainmaster was not the only diesel FM produced, just the best-known. When introduced in 1953, the 2,400-horsepower FM Trainmaster was the most powerful diesel on the market. ![]() The opposed-piston engine, while successful deep in a ship, was not as reliable when exposed to the elements in the harsher railroad world. Unfortunately for FM, the engine that sank the Japanese Merchant Marine couldn't sink EMD, and Fairbanks-Morse was out of the American locomotive business by the late 1950s. FM installed its massive engine in a diesel carbody and went head-to-head with the great locomotive makers of the time like General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD). This cut the supply line between the home islands of Imperial Japan and their resource base in East Asia, drastically shortening the Pacific War.Īfter the war, FM looked for another application for its engine, and entered the then-growing diesel locomotive market. FM's engine helped give American submariners the ability to stay on station for extended periods, which helped them to effectively destroy the Japanese freighter fleet. Navy ships, particularly US submarines during World War II. FM's engines are best known for powering U.S. FM designed an engine known as an opposed-piston design, where the pistons and cylinders are aligned opposite of one another and connected to a common crankshaft in the middle. Archerfish (right) shared something in common.įairbanks-Morse did not make its first mark with railroad locomotives, but with marine engines. We also take a look at how to tell a reproduction FM from an original (see the listing for the 2341 Jersey Central for this information). In this article we'll look at the 22 different FMs made by Lionel since 1954, and discuss the characteristics and rarity of each. The dual-motored FM is legendary for it's scale proportions and pulling power. Since then the FM has stood out as one of stars of Lionel's diesel fleet, heading up some of the finest train sets in Lionel history. Lionel introduced the Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster Diesel to the O Gauge world in 1954. Lionel's Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster Diesels ![]()
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