Silver Medal of Horsepower - Lima-Hamilton LT-2500
The Silver Medal of Horsepower goes to a Lima-Hamilton locomotive: the LT-2500 transfer diesel. Transfer locomotives were designed to haul freight cars within a large railroad yard from one area to another. They were not intended for high speeds but rather for increased tractive effort. Because of this, transfer units were also useful for pushing cars up a hump in some yards and sometimes for helping long, heavy freight trains up steep grades. The 2,500-hp Lima diesel had two T89SA prime movers and a center-cab configuration, a typical design for transfer duty. Lima-Hamilton’s 174th and final locomotive was built in 1951 as a Pennsylvania Railroad LT-2500 unit number 5683. Compared to all other major locomotive builders in North America, L-H had the fewest number of diesels ever produced.
LT-2500 photo property of Wikimedia Commons
