The H-16-44 was configured in a B-B wheel arrangement, mounted atop a pair of two-axle AAR Type-B road trucks with all axles powered.

[1] As with many of their F–M contemporaries, the H-16-44s produced through 1954 featured numerous Raymond Loewy design touches, in this case largely manifested in the form of sloping body lines and a noticeable protrusion in the long hood around the radiator shutters.

To reduce manufacturing costs, the curved window panes were eliminated from later models, and from 1953 onward the raised, elongated headlight mounting was omitted.

The final production phase, which commenced in March 1955, turned out units that most closely resembled the Fairbanks–Morse "Train Master" series.

209 were built for American railroads, 58 were manufactured from March 1955 – June 1957 by the Canadian Locomotive Company for use in Canada, and 32 units were exported to Mexico.