The EMD FT was considered the first successful diesel-electric locomotive built. It was designed and built by the Electro-Motive Corporation (now Electro-Motive Diesel) as an alternative to steam power. The name stood for "Fourteen hundred horsepower, Twin" as it came standard as a two-unit set. They were also the first products produced by EMD to use both the EMD 567 engine and the Blomberg B truck. The 567 would be a starting block for future EMD engines, and the trucks themselves are still being built for use on new locomotives. 555 FTA-units and 541 FTB-units were produced.
History[]
In the 1930's, EMC ventured out into the locomotive market, with a goal to build a reliable diesel locomotive capable of replacing steam engines on services. After about 8 years of designing, the company came up with the EMD FT, a compact, streamlined 1350 hp "cab unit" style locomotive with the ability to MU (Multiple unit) with other diesel units.
The FT was offered as both an A-unit and a B-unit. The A-unit had all the controls necessary to run the locomotive, along with the engine and running gear, while the B-unit was only equipped with an engine and the related running gear. With the use of MU cables, the engineer in the A-unit could control both his/her A-unit as well as the B-unit, thus giving the FT an advantage over steam locomotives; the ability to be linked up and controlled by a single operator.
Early FTs were produced in A-B-B-A sets, four units linked by drawbars. This later proved to be very inconvenient, and the drawbars were removed and replaced with couplers.
During World War II, the production of diesel locomotives were strictly regulated. The FT was only sold to operators who were deemed to have the most benefit from operating these. Most were allocated to Santa Fe, owing to the desert conditions they traveled through, along with the scarcity of water for steam locomotives. The Santa Fe would go on to have one of the largest rosters of FTs, and was in fact the first railroad to order the FT. The last railroad to order the FTs was the New York, Ontario, & Western Railroad.
The FT was discontinued and replaced by the F2 in 1945. Very few FTs are known to be preserved, those being two A units and a couple of B units, which are today on static display in museums. However there are dozens of its cousins (the F3, F7, F9) that survive in larger numbers. The St Louis Museum of Transportation owns the very first FT-A, EMD Demonstrator #103, as well as a Southern Railway FT-B that has yet to be restored. The Virginia Museum of Transportation owns the 103's matching B-unit. The two demonstrator units have been reunited from time to time, such as for the EMD 50th Anniversary event, Railfair '91, and "Streamliners at Spencer".
Sonora y Baja had the last remaining FT-A in operation, 2203, as well as a B-unit that they were in the process of restoration in the early 1990s. Both units were ex-Northern Pacific, The 2203 had been rebuilt with a newer model of the 567 engine. It's reported that the B-unit was going to receive a 567 engine salvaged from a GP18, but that never came to be. Before the B-unit's restoration could be finished, the Sonora y Baja was merged away, and the new owners were quick to sell off any assets they deemed unnecessary. 2203 was sent to the railroad museum in Puebla, but it's matching B-unit ended up being scrapped.
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