The EMD FT The revolutionary FT was originally developed by the Electro-Motive Corporation, a few years before it became an official division of General Motors. The model, which was designed for freight service, debuted a few years after EMC released the EA intended for passenger service. The EMD FT was a 1,350-horsepower (1,010 kW) diesel-electric locomotive produced between November 1939, and November 1945, by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (the F stood for 1400 horsepower (rounded from 1350) and the T for twin, as it came standard in a two-unit set). All told 555 cab-equipped A units were built, along with 541 cabless booster B units, for a grand total of 1,096 units. The locomotives were all sold to customers in the United States. It was the first model in EMDs very successful F-unit series of cab unit freight diesels, and was the locomotive that convinced many U.S. railroads that the diesel-electric freight locomotive was the future. For this reason, many rail historians consider the FT one of the most important locomotive models of all time. The FT proved a marketing sensation convincing railroads that diesels could be used in standard road service following successful demonstrations by GM during 1939 when an A-B-B-A set toured the country. The success of the locomotive also convinced EMC that the introduction of a formal line of diesels could be viable and as history was to prove, the FT diesel would pave the way for steams demise. Today, despite being more than 60 years of age a number of FTs survive, including original GM demonstrator #103, which is on display at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. The idea behind what would become the FT began in the 1930s with then EMCs chief engineer Richard Dick Dilworth who was attempting to come up with a rugged, reliable, and powerful main line locomotive that could replace steam, the tried and proven motive power that had been in service since the birth of the industry. Dilworth was a self-taught mechanical and electrical engineer who knew diesel engines well dating back to his days at General Electric when the company was designing its own early diesels. Using the General Motors then relatively new 12-cylinder model 567B prime mover capable of producing 1,350 horsepower Dilworth experimented by using two of the engines with each housed in its own carbody. Next, he then gave each locomotive two, four-axle trucks powered with GMs model D7 traction motors. The two units were semi-permanently coupled using a drawbar instead of a standard knuckle coupler, which officially gave the set a rating of 2,700 horespower. This early setup proved incredibly successful and Dilworth slowly refined the design by adding an additional set providing for an A-B-B-A lashup that could offer an eye-popping 5,400 horsepower. Such power rivaled nearly any steam locomotive of the time albeit via four units instead of one. It was this A-B-B-A set that General Motors went to market in 1939 as the FT. The new cab locomotive was given a beautiful streamlined carbody by the companys new styling department, then headed by now legendary Leland Knickerbocker. The FT was the first to sport the now classic bull dog nose that was applied to all future models, including the passenger designs (starting with the E7). Officially, the FT stood for Freight, Twenty-seven hundred horsepower. Part of the models huge sales numbers came from the extremely successful PR campaign of the original demonstrator, which embarked on a cross-country tour in May of 1939 featuring A units #103 and #103A and B units #103(b) and #103A(b). During the following eleven months they traveled across 20 states covering some 83,764 miles convincing railroads as they went of diesels superiority for use in main line freight service. Another reason for the FTs success was its application of dynamic braking, the first locomotive to employ the feature. Just as electric motors were efficient in using the overhead catenary for regenerative braking by returning voltage back into the system, dynamic brakes worked by using the traction motors to retard the trains progress. This feature not only prolonged the life of both the wheels and brake shoes but also allowed the locomotive to hold back very heavy trains on steep grade for an increased level of safety (and this dynamic braking is still used by modern day diesels today). The EMD FT used GMs D7 traction motors that could produce 40,000 pounds of continuous tractive effort (and 55,000 pounds starting). Its bull dog nose and sweeping, streamlined carbody became the most famous such design ever developed and remains easily recognizable by both railfans and the general public. While the FT looked good visually what really impressed railroads was the models cost savings. While companies realized they would have to sacrifice horsepower with the new diesel (at the time, the largest single steam locomotive was nearly three times as powerful as the FT) this was a trade-off they were willing to make and orders quickly took off. As it had done with the E1 passenger model the Sana Fe was the first to jump on board ordering a whopping 320 A and B units by itself (interestingly, it purchased more FTs than Alco’s entire line of PAs). It wasnt long until other railroads followed. During World War II, locomotive production was regulated by the War Production Board. The traditional locomotive builders were prohibited from building diesel road locomotives until early 1945. There were a few dual-service ALCO DL-109s for the New Haven. Steam locomotives could be built with fewer precious materials, and were the proven type of motive power at the time. EMD however, was purely a diesel builder, and therefore was allowed to continue building diesel freight locomotives. The WPB assigned the FTs to the railroads it deemed most able to benefit from the new locomotives. The Santa Fe received by far the largest allocation, given its heavy war traffic and the difficulty and expense of providing water for steam locomotives on its long desert stretches. The original A-B-B-A demonstrator set was sold to the Southern Railway. Were it not for the wartime restrictions, many more FTs would have been built. Most railroads wanted diesels, but often had to settle for steam locomotives. These wartime restrictions on other manufacturers diesel programs helped ensure EMDs dominance of the postwar diesel market. In the end nearly two dozen railroads, all Class Is from the Chicago & North Western and Milwaukee Road to the Reading and New York Central purchased the FT. The model became so successful that by time production had ended in the late fall of 1945 EMD had sold over 1,096 units! The locomotive led to the later classic F3 and F7, both of which sold even better. Today, five FT units are known to be preserved: demonstrators A unit #103 at the National Museum of Transportation, St. Louis and B unit #103(b) at the Virginia Museum of Transportation; Northern Pacific A unit #5401D at the Puebla Museum in Mexico; Southern B unit #4100C also in St. Louis; and Southern B unit #4103B at the Southeastern Railway Museum.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 21:58:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015