3Rail GE 44 ton switcher with proto3. Orange & black with silver steps. Road numbers #143 & 144. Only 20 made of each road #. Place your pre-order now. Credit card will not be charged until ready to ship. Expected Spring 2018.
The 44-tonner was a workaround. In 1937, seeing that new diesels were putting the fireman's role in jeopardy, the railroad unions negotiated the "90,000 Pound Rule" with the railroads - specifying that any engine with a weight on drivers of 90,000 pounds or more would require a two-man crew. General Electric's 44-tonner, introduced in 1940, skirted the 90,000 pound rule and was thus the largest locomotive that could legally be operated by one person on a common carrier railroad.
|
