Posted by WJSTIX;
Re the FT name "F stood for Fourteen (an approximation of the 1350 h.p. of each unit) while the T indicated Twin units, as each unit of an A-B set was dependent upon the other.
Posted by HOTWATER;
“This is absolutely incorrect! I began my career with EMD on June 1, 1962, and met & worked with many, MANY of the "old timers" from the early 1940s. I have also seen the actual internal Engineering Dept. paper work for the very first EMC FT demonstrator set. As I stated previously, the "F" stood for Freight, and the "T" stood for Twenty seven hundred HP. The men in Engineering were following the same pattern as the E Series (E stood for Eighteen hundred HP on the first E), while the "SC" switching model was "S" for Six hundred HP, and "C" for Cast under frame (the second model 'SW' stood for Six hundred HP, with the "W" standing for Welded under frame)“
I have no desire to argue about this but does anyone else wonder why in the FT designation the second letter refers to horsepower while in the E series and the SC/SW switcher series the first letter is the horsepower reference? Also, I find this part of HOTWATER’s statement, “The men in Engineering were following the same pattern as the E Series...” to support the assertion that the F in FT stood for fourteen. YMMV
