FT (locomotive)

FT (locomotive) was a groundbreaking diesel-electric road freight locomotive produced by the Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois and later General Motors Electro-Motive Division. It inaugurated widespread dieselization of North American railroads by displacing steam locomotive motive power on mainline freight services and influenced British Rail and Deutsche Reichsbahn postwar diesel adoption. The FT's introduction affected fleets operated by Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Pennsylvania Railroad, and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad among others.

Design and Development

The FT grew out of research at Electro-Motive Corporation during the 1930s and was shaped by engineering practices from General Motors Higgins Industries collaborations and wartime production priorities influenced by United States Navy procurement. Designers incorporated the EMD 567 engine architecture, an evolution from earlier Winton Engine Corporation designs, and electrical components derived from General Electric systems used on New York Central Railroad demonstrators. The development process involved trials on lines owned by Chicago and North Western Transportation Company and Union Pacific Railroad, with operational feedback from crews that had experience with steam locomotive classes such as USRA Heavy Mikado types. The FT's modular carbody and multiple-unit control capability paralleled innovations seen in London and North Eastern Railway diesel experiments and in contemporary Brookville Equipment Corporation shunters.

Technical Specifications

The FT used a pair of EMD 567 V16 two-stroke diesel engines driving DC generators and traction motors in a diesel-electric arrangement similar to systems by Siemens and Westinghouse Electric Corporation. A typical A‑unit contained two prime movers providing a combined 2,700 horsepower, paired with a B-B wheel arrangement for weight distribution akin to ALCO RS-1 designs. The electrical control system enabled multiple-unit operation across lashups as practiced later by Southern Pacific Railroad and Illinois Central Railroad. Cooling, air filtration, and lubrication systems reflected engineering practices from General Motors heavy-vehicle divisions and were tested under conditions experienced on Great Northern Railway and Canadian National Railway mountain routes.

Production and Variants

Production started prewar and accelerated during World War II under materials allocations managed by the War Production Board. Electro-Motive produced A units and booster B units; the latter lacked a cab and paralleled booster concepts used by Baldwin Locomotive Works in later cabless units. Variants included differing ventilation and radiator arrangements tailored for operators such as Santa Fe and Missouri Pacific Railroad, and special-ordered units for United States Army Transportation Corps service overseas. The FT lineage led directly to the EMD F2, EMD F3, and later EMD F7 models, influencing export derivatives used by Soviet Railways and Indian Railways postwar.

Operational History

Railroads began replacing large fleets of steam locomotive freight power with FT sets on mainlines belonging to Pennsylvania Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, New York Central Railroad, and Southern Railway (U.S.). The multiple-unit control and continuous tractive effort allowed FT lashups to handle tonnage formerly requiring 2-8-2 Mikado and 2-10-2 classes, leading to timetable and maintenance regime changes similar to those occurring on Union Pacific Railroad during dieselization. Wartime restrictions influenced deployment to Transcontinental routes and to military logistics for United States Army movements. Labor and engineer unions such as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and operational doctrines at Conrail later reflected the FT's impact on crew training and shop practices established by New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad operations.

Preservation and Legacy

Several FT units survive in museums like the National Museum of Transportation, Colorado Railroad Museum, and Illinois Railway Museum, where they are interpreted alongside steam locomotive exhibits such as Union Pacific Big Boy and NYC Hudson classes. The FT's technological lineage is evident in later EMD freight series that dominated late 20th-century rosters of CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. Its role in ending steam-era dominance echoes in rail preservation movements that celebrate prototypes like the FT and landmark designs from ALCO, Baldwin Locomotive Works, and General Electric. The FT remains a subject in industrial histories of General Motors and in studies of World War II production mobilization and postwar transportation modernization.

Category:Diesel-electric locomotives Category:Electro-Motive Division locomotives