General Electric 44-ton switcher, 1940s

A former Maine Central GE 44-ton switcher is seen on the Conway Scenic Railway of New Hampshire in 1978 (it was sold in December 2010 to the Southern Prairie Railway in Ogema, Saskatchewan).  These Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives were built between 1940 and 1956, designed for industrial and light switching (shunting) duties, often replacing steam locos that had previously been assigned to them.  348 examples were built for North American railroads.

They were available with a choice of prime movers: most were built with a pair of Caterpillar D17000 V8 180 hp (134 kW) engines, but three other engines types were used: nine were built with a pair of Hercules DFXD engines, and were sold to Chattanooga Traction and Missouri Pacific Railroad and its subsidiaries; Ten were built with a pair of the slightly more powerful Buda 6DH1742, rated at 200 hp (150 kW) each. The last four locomotives built had Caterpillar D342 engines, and were sold to Canadian National Railways and the Dansville and Mount Morris Railroad.

During WW2 GE produced a "Drop Cab" variant of the 44-ton locomotives for the US Armed Forces. These appeared similar to the standard 44-ton but had a lower cab for European clearances, and large boxes next to the cab, on the front right, and back left running boards, housing the air compressors (housed under the cab on standard versions). Most of these military variants were ballasted to an actual weight of 45 tons. A total of 91 Military 45-Ton Drop Cabs were built with 31 of those sold to the Indian Government. Additional narrow gauge drop cabs were built to a 47 ton rating for the military and export.

Twelve Drop Cab 45-Ton locomotives were bought by the Portuguese CP (Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses) in 1949, with the Iberian broad gauge of 1668mm. Numbered 1101 to 1112, after some initial use as light road engines, they spent most of their lives shunting at the southern region main stations. One is preserved at the Fundação Museu Nacional Ferroviário Armando Ginestal Machado at Entroncamento.

Four of the locos bought by the US Military were exported to Australia; all saw service on the NSW Government Railways as the 79 class, before two of them were sold to the Commonwealth Railways, becoming the DE class.