GE 44-ton switcher

Specifications
Specifications
Configuration:;
• AAR	B-B
• UIC	Bo′Bo'
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Loco weight	44 short tons (39 long tons; 40 t)
Prime mover	Pair of Caterpillar D17000 standard, also Hercules DFXD (9 locomotives); Buda Engine Co. 6DH1742 (10 locomotives); Caterpillar D342 (4 locomotives).
RPM range	D17000: 1,000 (max); 6DH1742: 1,050 (max); DFXD: 1,600 (max); D342: 1,200 (max)
Engine type	D17000: V8 diesel; All others: 6-cyl diesel
Aspiration	Naturally aspirated
Traction motors	Four
Cylinders	D17000: 8; All others: 6
Cylinder size	D17000: 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)

Type and origin
Type and origin
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	GE Transportation Systems
Model	44-ton switcher
Build date	September 1940–October 1956
Total produced	386

GE 44-ton switcher
GE 44-ton switcher
	Engine 7069 at the Georgia State Railroad Museum, Savannah, Georgia
Power type
Type and origin
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	GE Transportation Systems
Model	44-ton switcher
Build date	September 1940–October 1956
Total produced	386
Configuration:;
Specifications
Configuration:;
• AAR	B-B
• UIC	Bo′Bo'
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Loco weight	44 short tons (39 long tons; 40 t)
Prime mover	Pair of Caterpillar D17000 standard, also Hercules DFXD (9 locomotives); Buda Engine Co. 6DH1742 (10 locomotives); Caterpillar D342 (4 locomotives).
RPM range	D17000: 1,000 (max); 6DH1742: 1,050 (max); DFXD: 1,600 (max); D342: 1,200 (max)
Engine type	D17000: V8 diesel; All others: 6-cyl diesel
Aspiration	Naturally aspirated
Traction motors	Four
Cylinders	D17000: 8; All others: 6
Cylinder size	D17000: 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)
Maximum speed
Performance figures
Maximum speed	35 mph (56 km/h)
Power output	360 to 400 hp (270 to 300 kW)
Tractive effort	27,000 lbf (120.1 kN) @ 30%
Locale
Career
Locale	North America, Australia, Saudi Arabia, South America, India, France, Sweden .

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.

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 like Davenport and Whitcomb also built 44-ton switchers for this reason.

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