Five railroads owned original FS booster units. Those were the FT type boosters that were built with couplers on both ends and had the fifth porthole for hostler control. The five original owners were: ATSF, D&RGW, MP, SOU, and SSW. All Santa Fe boosters were type FS. D&RGW, MP, SOU and SSW also owned FT boosters. And the Southern also owned short boosters.
Additionally some railroads replaced drawbars with couplers on regular FT boosters.
Ed in Kentucky
PM RailfanThat extended area was the crew lounge/water closet.
In reality, quite true about the hopper, anyway. No B unit, no hopper (WC).
The Lackawanna had a steam locomotive tender (X-600) fitted with a drawbar that would mate to the rear of the FT B so it could still operate while one of the cab units required shop work. It was painted to match the gray & maroon! A genuine dummy unit.
The B units had no batteries so they couldn't run without the A.
Regards, Ed
The 24 FT short boosters could be found on: CRI&P 4, DL&W 4, GN 10, M&SL 2, and Southern 4.
FT boosters with steam generators could be found on AT&SF, D&RGW, EMD demonstrators, GN, Milwaukee and SAL.
The steam generators were removed from the demonstrators before they were sold to the Southern in May 1941.
Southern (NO&NE) had two four unit sets of drawbar connected FTs. These were the units of EMD orders E-485 and E-486. The booster units in order E-486 were the short booster type. Road numbers were 6800AB-6803AB.
That extended area was the crew lounge/water closet. (Because passenger trains dont have cabooses.)
Douglas
SeeYou190I wonder if the GREAT NORTHERN drawbar connected FT A-B-B-A units had the "FTSB" booster units in the center.
My Bad!!! It was Northern Pacific that had the A-B-B-A connected sets
Fingers typing before brain engaged!
Northern Pacific Railway's diesel engine 6005 in Lester, ca. 1950 by IMLS Digital Collections & Content, on Flickr
Northern Pacific Railway's new FT diesel locomotives in Auburn, ca. 1944 by IMLS Digital Collections & Content, on Flickr
Description: Ten sets of four-unit FT diesel locomotives were purchased by Northern Pacific Railway in 1944 and assigned to freight service between Livingston Mountain and Auburn. Repair and maintenance of these locomotives was assigned to the Auburn Diesel Shop. The locomotives pictured were later changed in number to 5402 instead of 6002, 5403 instead of 6003, etc., the number "5400" representing the horsepower of four units of these locomotives coupled together. The normal configuration was with a cab unit on either end, with two cabless units sandwiched in between.
None of the reference notes I've read mention that the N-P FTBs were the shorter variety. Specific applications of drawbars between units were often modified depending on road.
Good Luck, Ed
gmpullmanSome of the Santa Fe FTs and Some built for G-N, Rio Grande and a few others had steam generators in the B units.
Thank you. I could not find this information anywhere I looked.
gmpullmanG-N DID have A-B-B-A drawbar connected sets.
I wonder if the GREAT NORTHERN drawbar connected FT A-B-B-A units had the "FTSB" booster units in the center.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
The FT B carbody "looks" like it is extended at one end but keep in mind that the truck bolster centers were only 26' 6" on the B unit with 11' 9" on the coupler end and 8' 6" on the drawbar end. The added space by moving the truck forward was needed for draft grar.
The later F B units were somewhat standardized to fifty feet over pulling faces and truck bolster centers at thirty feet.
Pretty sure some of the Santa Fe FTs and Some built for G-N, Rio Grande and a few others had steam generators in the B units.
The majority of FTs were built as A-B sets but there were a few A-B-A FTs made. I'm not aware of any drawbar-connected A-B-B-A sets.
(edit) I stand corrected. G-N DID have A-B-B-A drawbar connected sets
I can't pinpoint exactly how much shorter the "FTSB" used in drawbar-connected A-B-A sets other than mention of "a few feet" in several books (Northern Pacific and M&StL, DL&W, bought these) but since the B unit had drawbars on both ends the frame length could be shortened.
On FT locomotives in A-B and A-B-B-A configurations, the B unit was extra long. In A-B-A configuration, the B unit was shorter.
What was in that extended area in the rear of the long B units in A-B configuration?
Were any of them equipped with steam generators for passenger service?