Lima LS-1200

The A-3170 (LS-1200) is a diesel-electric switcher locomotive built between May 1950 and August 1951, by the Lima-Hamilton Corporation of Lima, Ohio, United States. Lima's original design was the A-3080, a 1,000 hp (750 kW) switcher, which became the standard for Lima's designs. A 660 hp (490 kW) switcher (proposed specification number A-3081) had also been designed at the request of American Rolling Mill Company, but none were built. By changing fuel rack settings, the A-3080 was upgraded to the A-3170 producing 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) from a turbocharged Hamilton T89SA four-stroke, eight cylinder inline diesel engine, a Westinghouse generator and 4 Westinghouse traction motors provided the 74,508 lbf (331.43 kN) of tractive effort.

A-3170
Type and origin Power type Diesel Builder Lima-Hamilton Corporation Model A-3170 (LS-1200) Build date May 1950 – August 1951 Total produced 69
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B  • UIC Bo′Bo′ Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Wheelbase 8 feet Length 47’ 10” Loco weight 250,500 lb (113.6 t) Prime mover Hamilton Engines and Machinery T89SA Engine type 4-stroke diesel Aspiration Turbocharged Displacement 6,107 cu in (100.08 L) Generator Westinghouse 499A Traction motors Westinghouse 362D (4) Cylinders Inline 8 Cylinder size 9 in × 12 in (229 mm × 305 mm) Loco brake Straight air Train brakes Air
Performance figures Maximum speed 60 mph (97 km/h) Power output 1,200 hp (895 kW) Tractive effort 74,508 lbf (331.4 kN)
Career Class CR&I- DES-15b NH- DEY-6 NKP- LS-12 WAB- D12 Locale North America

Lima-Hamilton did not assign model numbers to their models but referred to them by specification numbers. Model designations such as LS-1200 were a railfan invention. Lima-Hamilton assigned A-3170 as the specification number for this particular unit. The Southern Pacific ordered 60 locomotives but agreed to receive 84 S12s from BLH instead.

Original owners

Owner	Quantity	Road Numbers
Armco Steel	3	710, E109, E110
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad	24	320–329, 340–353
Erie Railroad	6	660–665, to Erie Lackawanna in 1960, same numbers
Chicago River and Indiana Railroad (New York Central Railroad)	6	8406–8411
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad	10	630-639
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road)	4	309–312, to Norfolk and Western in 1964, same numbers
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis	6	1200–1205 (1200 ex Lima-Hamilton demonstrator 1200)
Wabash Railroad	10	401–406, 408–411, to Norfolk and Western in 1964, same numbers
	69

Preservation

Two A-3170’s are preserved:

• ARMCO Steel E-110, the final locomotive produced by Lima- Hamilton, at the Illinois Railway Museum.
• Baltimore and Ohio 320, at the Whitewater Valley Railroad.

References

• Kirkland, John F. (November 1985). The Diesel Builders Volume 1: Fairbanks-Morse and Lima-Hamilton. Interurban Press. ISBN 0-916374-69-6.
• Hirsimaki, Eric (1986). Lima – the History. Hundman Publishing Inc.
• "The Yard Limit - Lima". Retrieved March 9, 2009.