| EMC'S FT page 3 |
 |
 |
| Above, a scan of the transition meter from a later FT manual, dated 6-44. The representation of this meter in the Southern manual is in black and white, but this is what it really looked like. It is an ammeter or "load meter", except that it is only used for two things on the FT. One, to enable the engineman to make transition, forward and backward, at the proper time, and two, to indicate an overload condition. (A pointer, not shown here, moved across the face of this gauge.) The red triangle indicated the maximum amount of current allowable during dynamic braking, if the locomotive was so equipped. The red zone at right is the overload area. Movement of the pointer into this zone indicated an overload condition, and no short time ratings were given. Many things changed over the production run of the FT. Most of them were minor details, reflecting refinement of the locomotive as lessons were learned. One of the hallmarks of all EMD "F" production was begun on the FT's, which was the introduction of improvements during regular production without a change in model designation. Things such as the layout of the engine room electrical boxes, baffles for carbody air inlets, etc. etc. were changed from the demo set, or during regular production. Let's look at some of these changes in greater detail. |
| At some point during FT production, the controller was changed to the configuration seen at left, which was to become the "standard" F unit controller for many years to come. Compare this photo with the one appearing earlier in this article, and the one above. Note that the transition lever has been moved, and the shape of its housing changed. A number of other detail differences are visible also. The control switch box is now on the right side of the controller, out of our view. Just when the changes occurred I don't know. The scan below is from the same FT manual as the ammeter at the top of the page, and is representative of many, if not most, of the FT's made. |
| ... many things about FT's DIDN'T change during production. All FT's were 1350 horsepower, using the D8 main generator. All auxilliaries, including cooling fans, were direct driven. The cooling fans used belts and clutches, and the crew had to engage or disengage fans as required, though probably not often while out on the road. Early FT's used the 567 engine, and during production the improved 567A was introduced. The engine governor was the electro-pneumatic Woodward model SI, using magnet valves and air to control engine speed as ordered by the 8 notch throttle. The D8 generator was of the "self exciting type", with current from the batteries passing through a vane motor controlled commutator type load regulator to excite the battery field in the generator, and thus cause the generator to put out power. This load regulator could vary the amount of excitation of the battery field in the generator, which also varied the amount of load on the diesel engine. It was controlled by a pilot valve in the governor. The whole system ensured that the engine rotated at the speed ordered by the throttle, and that the engine would be properly loaded at any given speed. |
 |
 |
 |
| At left, a good clear view of an FT control stand. Very clean looking, eh? Not a lot of gizmos here. All the electrical trickery is back behind us in the engine room! This is from a Western Pacific locomotive, which actually has dynamic brakes. Almost an add on, the controls for them are hidden behind the control stand itself, and are on the front instrument panel. A warning light to indicate overloading has appeared though, on top of the housing for the transition indicator. This locomotive has the first, simpler type of dynamic brakes offered on FT's. More about those later though... Note the location of the control switches, on a box attatched to the left side of the controller itself. Also, again note the transition lever, appearing as an ad-on on top of the controller. The throttle is on the other side of the controller, and is not visible here. |
 |