The Consolidation Line was a series of diesel-electric railway locomotive designs produced by Fairbanks-Morse and its Canadian licensee, the Canadian Locomotive Company. Railfans have dubbed these locomotives C-liners, but F-M referred to the models collectively as the C-Line.
The C-Line was intended to consist of seven models, with A and B (cab and cabless) versions of each: Four-axle freight units with 1600, 2000 or 2400 horsepower, four-axle passenger with the 1600-hp engine, and five-axle passenger units with all three engines. Moreover, railroads were quickly moving away from cab unit designs, and standardizing on road switcher locomotive designs, as offered by the competition in the form of the EMD GP7 or the Alco RS-3 and even the Baldwin DRS-4-4-1500.
Robert Aldag Jr., who would eventually head up F-M's locomotive division, acknowledged that while the C-Line eliminated the high production costs of the Erie-Built, it failed in the marketplace due to its late entry, which he estimated was five years too late to take advantage of the sales boom due to dieselization in the US.
Life-Like (and later Walthers) produced plastic A- and B-unit models of the four-axle freight C-Line locomotives in HO scale (Proto 1000 series) and N scale (Proto series). Because the C-Line units had identical car bodies, these models are correct for CFA-16-4, CFB-16-4, CFA-20-4 and CFB-20-4 locomotives. They are no longer in production.
Tru-Line Trains made 4- and 5-axle C-Liners in HO and N scale. The site announced that they were returning to production, but no date was given. On August 24, 2020, Atlas announced that they had acquired some Tru-Line Trains molds including the HO scale C-Line model.
Atlas Model Railroad made plastic models of the five-axle passenger C-Liner between 1967 and approximately 1969.
Rivarossi produced plastic four-axle C-Liner A- and B-units between 1954 and 1982. This model was later sold under the AHM brand.
Lionel announced 0 gauge versions of the CPA units (ex. MTH Tooling) in their 2021 Volume 2 catalog. Dealer Trainworld announced custom versions for the Long Island Rail Road, clad in other LI liveries than offered in the catalog.
Units produced by Fairbanks-Morse (1950–1953)
Freight units
CFA-16-4 (cabs) and CFB-16-4 (cabless boosters)
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|style="width:300px"|Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (“Milwaukee Road”)
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|New York Central Railroad
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|Delivered 2-3/1952, retired 9/1966
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|Pennsylvania Railroad
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!Totals !! 36 !! 18 !! !! !!
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CFA-20-4 (cabs) and CFB-20-4 (cabless boosters)
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|style="width:300px"|New York Central Railroad
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|5006, 5010, 5013, 5014 re-engined with EMD 567C engines in 1955, remainder re-engined with EMD 567C engines in 1956. All later scrapped.
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Passenger units
CPA-20-5 (cabs)
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|style="width:300px"|Long Island Rail Road
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CPA-24-5 (cabs)
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|style="width:300px"|Fairbanks-Morse (demonstrator units)
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|to New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 790–791
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|Long Island Rail Road
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|New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
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|New York Central Railroad
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|Re-engined with EMD 16-567C engines 1955-56, all retired 10/66 and sold for scrap 1/67
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!Total !! 22 !! !!
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Units produced by the Canadian Locomotive Company (1950–1954)
Freight units
CFA-16-4 (cabs) and CFB-16-4 (cabless boosters)
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|style="width:300px"|Canadian National Railways
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|Canadian Pacific Railway
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! Totals !! 29 !! 7 !! !! !!
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Passenger units
CPA-16-4 (cabs) and CPB-16-4 (cabless boosters)
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|style="width:300px"|Fairbanks-Morse (demonstrator units)
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|to Canadian Pacific 4064–4065
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|Canadian Pacific Railway
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! Totals !! 10 !! 8 !! !! !!
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CPA-16-5 (cabs) and CPB-16-5 (cabless boosters)
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|style="width:300px"|Canadian National Railways
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Preservation
Though none of the C Liners built by Fairbanks-Morse escaped the cutter's torch, 2 A units built by The Canadian Locomotive Company for the Canadian Pacific Railway are preserved. A unit 4104 is preserved on outdoor display in Nelson, British Columbia, and A unit 4065 is awaiting restoration at the Canadian museum of Science and technology in Ottawa. B units 4455 and 4456 (converted to BC Rail radio control receiver cars) were under private ownership in Calgary, Alberta but have since been scrapped in December 2023.
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Matzke, Eric (1990). Greenberg's Guide to Marx Trains. Vol. II. Greenberg Publishing. ISBN 0-89778-132-5.
Further reading
External links
- Fairbanks-Morse C-Liners Roster
- Preserved Fairbanks Morse Cab Units
- Canadian Pacific Railway CLC Locomotives