EMD FT

EMD FT
Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad diesel freight locomotive which has just come out of the roundhouse, Winslow, Arizona.
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderGeneral Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
ModelFTA (cab unit), FTB (regular booster), and FTSB (short booster)
Build dateMarch 1939 – November 1945
Total produced555 A units, 541 B units
Specifications
Configuration:
 • AARB-B (B-B+B-B for AB set)
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Performance figures
Maximum speed65–95 mph (105–153 km/h)
Power output1,350 hp (1,010 kW) for A unit. 2,700 hp (2,000 kW) for AB set
Career
LocaleUnited States

The EMD FT is a 1,350-horsepower (1,010 kW) diesel-electric locomotive that was produced between March 1939 and November 1945, by General Motors' Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC), later known as GM Electro-Motive Division (EMD). The "F" stood for Fourteen Hundred (1400) horsepower (rounded from 1350) and the "T" for Twin, as it came standard in a two-unit set. The design was developed from the TA model built for the C,RI&P in 1937, and was similar in cylinder count, axle count, length, and layout. All told 555 cab-equipped ”A” units were built, along with 541 cabless booster or ”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 EMD's 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. Many rail historians consider the FT one of the most important locomotive models of all time.