They were the successor to the ultimately unsuccessful Consolidated line of cab units produced by F-M and CLC in the 1950s. Each locomotive produced 2,400 horsepower (1.8 MW). In common with other F-M locomotives, the Train Master units employed an opposed pistonprime mover. It rode on a pair of drop-equalized three-axle "Trimount" trucks, giving it a C-C wheel arrangement.