The Lima LRS-1200 was a 1,200 hp

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

 (895 kW) diesel-electric road-switcher configured with an AAR

AAR wheel arrangement

The AAR wheel arrangement system is a method of classifying locomotive wheel arrangements that was developed by the Association of American Railroads. It is essentially a simplification of the European UIC classification, and it is widely used in North America to describe diesel and electric...

 type B-B wheel arrangement mounted atop a pair of two-axle AAR Type-B road trucks

Bogie

A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...

, built by Lima-Hamilton

Lima Locomotive Works

Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...

 in 1950. All sixteen units were built for one railroad, the New York Central

New York Central Railroad

The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...

. A second order was outstanding at the time of Lima-Hamilton's merger with the Baldwin Locomotive Works

Baldwin Locomotive Works

The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...

, but owing to insufficient time to build the locomotives before the locomotive production ceased at Lima, they were built at Eddystone, PA, as Baldwin RS-12s.

Lima-Hamilton never assigned a model number to their models but referred to them by specification numbers. Model designations such as LRS-1200 were a railfan

Railfan

A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...

invention. Lima-Hamilton assigned A-3174 as the specification number for this particular unit.