The first freight units on the Southern Pacific system were 5 four unit sets of FT Locomotive built for Cotton Belt. Does anyone have builders photos of the second delivery of these locomotives or early in-service photos? This would be the #915 or #920 set delivered in July 1945. I am trying to establish when coupler modifications were done to these units. The Extra 2200 South roster states the units were delivered with the traditional cab-booster drawbars. These Cotton Belt units were renumbered in 4/49 according to Joe Strapac's Cotton Belt Locomotives.
Richard Percy's site comments on the FTs being "undrawbarred" and that is why I am looking for photos of the units. The site has a builders photo of the 905 set which was built in 1944. I am looking for photos of the units that were built in 1945.
I have Cotton Belt Folio 725 pages showing that the 1945-built FTs were type FTS. Also have EMD Master Built records that show the 1945-built units with couplers. Did EMD get it wrong? I don't think so. What this means is that the Cotton Belt 1945 units were built with couplers. I've emailed Richard Percy and John Signor offering to do an article and have received no reply from them. Also note that the 1945 built units have the fifth hostler's porthole just like the Santa Fe FTs they were patterned after. All Santa Fe FTs were built with couplers, we just settled that on the Santa Fe Listserve. There is also a difference in the handrails and stirrup steps between the 1944 and 1945 built SSW FT units. The 1945-built units have factory applied handrails and stirrup steps, the 1944 built units appear to have home built stirrup steps.
The data on this website is inaccurate. The Cotton Belt Folio 725 sheets are definitive. These Folio sheets show the FTs as classes Z13.5, Z27, and Z54 depending on configuration. The Folio sheets also show a distinction between the 1944 and 1945 built units as type FT for the 1944-built units and type FTS for the 1945-built units. Further information is in a Railroad Magazine Cotton Belt locomotive roster. The August 1953 edition of Railroad has a locomoteve roster supplied by the Cotton Belt Public Relations Director. The 1944-built units are Class Z27 and the 1945-built units are Class Z13.5. I'm wondering if Dr. Davis will give me a few minutes at the Symposium to present this? Ed in Kentucky
There is a 16 inch length difference between a four unit set of 1944-built set of FTs and a four unit 1945-built set of FTs. The difference is identified on the Folio 725 sheets as between the A and B units. An extra 8 inches is shown between the A & B units of the 1945-built units, when compared to the 1944-built unit Folio sheet. The 1945-built units are shown with couplers on the drawings. The 1944-built units only shows couplers between the AB pairs.
EMD Manual 248 REV A EMD historian Preston Cook sent me an extract of EMD Manual 248 REV A. This is EMD's Master File document for the St. Louis Southwestern Ry Co. 5400 H. P. Diesel Freight Locomotive No. 900, 905, 910, 915, 920. EMD Order Numbers E-581, E-582, and E-663. Preston sent me the drawings applicable to the general arrangement of each Cotton Belt order. EMD General Arrangement drawing #3762 for the SSW 900, 905, and 910 shows drawbars between the A & B units. EMD General Arrangement drawing #3506 for the SSW 915 and 920 shows couplers between the A & B units.
Thanks for the great info Ed. I think the question still remains though, when did the 1944 drawbarred units get couplers?
John it appears that the 1944 FT units were equipped with couplers in the early 1950s. The latest dated photo I could find with a drawbar equipped AB set was early 1951. I have received a complete set of Cotton Belt Folio 725 (locomotive) scans from the Dean Hale Collection at the Railroaders and Heritage Museum at Temple, Texas. As stated above the 1944-built units are shown as type FT and the 1945-built units are shown as type FTS. The Folio 725 drawings were from the Office of the Superintendent Pine Bluff, AR. There is mention in Cotton Belt Locomotives page 167 that the FT locomotives were modified electrically to operate with the later F7 units. Pine Bluff was not able to do the first overhauls on the FT locomotives and they were sent back to LaGrange for that work. Also it is very likely that an AB pair of FTs was sent to LaGrange for heavy rebuilding after the Aurich, AR wreck of 11/29/1949. Ed in Kentucky
Here is a scan of a January 1, 1945 Cotton Belt Folio 725 diagram of a 4 unit FT set. The delivered class was Z-54. It is questionable if the Z-13.5 and Z-27 class designation were used before the delivery of the F7s in 1950.
Thanks for posting that. Very interesting information. I remember years ago that a big controversy erupted over the original color that these units were painted. Dean Hale claimed to have a color slide showing that they were in Robins Egg Blue instead of the accepted Confederate Gray. He never would show anyone the photo, but many folks think that if it really existed that the color must have shifted or maybe reflected the sky to appear blue. As far as I know, the photo never showed up in his collection after he passed away and the material was donated to the Heritage Museum in Temple. He did show me a slide of a Baldwin Centercab DT-6-6-2000 Diesel once that did appear sort of blue. But I thought that it was not a true color rendering due to the possible effects listed above.
The archivist at Heritage Museum in Temple made a CD of the Cotton Belt Folio sheets from the acquired Dean Hale collection. I'm not sure if they are still available but contact the archivist if interested. Some of the new information on Cotton Belt FTs originated from these Folio sheets. It appears that Dean Hale was in contact with Cotton Belt historian Jim Bennett as there are references to Bennett in marginal notes on the pages. The scan of the 1944 built FTs is from another source. As these older Cotton Belt primary sources are identified new information is coming to light.
Dr. Jason Davis has given me an hour at the next Symposium to present the Cotton Belt FTs. Everything explained on this discussion thread and more with photos and diagrams will be presented. The presentation will last about 45 minutes with 15 minutes for questions and answers. See http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/jdavis/railroad/symposium/symposium/default.htm I have a 1954 Cotton Belt Special Instructions that shows the 1944-built units as unit pairs. It is quite possible that the units were not seperated until rebuilding in 1955-56.
Going a bit further out on the limb it appears that all 1944-built FTs were "undrawbarred" between December 1955 and December 1956. The Folio Z-27 document I have shows "OUT" and "12-56" on the left hand side. I take that to mean that class Z-27 no longer existed after that date. Cotton Belt 903 and 904 were rebuilt 9/56 and 12/56 respectively.
Cotton Belt 921 the lead unit in the Aurich wreck was rebuilt on an F7 frame by EMD. There is a photo of the rebuild on pages 40-41 of Steve Goen's Cotton Belt Color Pictorial. Note the position of the trucks under the rebuilt 921. They are both forward of the normal position found on an FT A unit.
Cotton Belt 921:2 appears to be an F7AM. This particular unit was built as the 920A on EMD Order #663-A. It was renumbered to the 921 by Cotton Belt in April 1949. On a foggy November 29, 1949 morning the 921 led a northbound freight into the Aurich, Arkansas siding and a head on collision with an L1 powered southbound. That was the end of the first 921. The remains of 921 were cut up and sent to Pine Bluff Shops for survey and then sent to LaGrange for either trade in or rebuild. I'm not really sure what transpired between Cotton Belt and EMD. A brand new 921:2 was delivered to the Cotton Belt sometime in 1950, I don't have an exact date. There is an R. S. Plummer photo of 921:2 on pages 40-41 of Steve Goen's Cotton Belt Color Pictorial. The photo shows 921:2 leading a northbound freight through Texarkana on June 3, 1959. I had corresponded some years ago with A. J. Kristopans about the Aurich wreck. It was his belief that Cotton Belt 921 was one of the undocumented EMD Repair Orders in the 7000-7004 sequence. Author Joe Strapac concurred that the Pine Bluff Shops did not have the ability in 1949 to do an extensive diesel rebuild. There was also an unidentified FTB unit that was damaged in the Aurich wreck, that was also likely sent to EMD. The photo of 921:2 shows what appears at first glance to be an FTA. On closer inspection and with the use of an as-built template from Preston Cook it is not a stock unit. Both trucks are mounted forward of the normal position on an FTA. Comments?
R. Craig Rutherford and I exchanged emails about this unit this past weekend. The Cotton Belt roster is now updated to reflect the rebuilt 921. http://www.thedieselshop.us/SSW.HTML If anyone has additional photos or documents of this uniquely rebuilt unit contact me or Joe Strapac. Ed in Kentucky
I was just scanning over the roster information on the page linked above. It appears SD40T-2s 8322-8326 and 8372-8376 are listed under 4 axle power instead of 6 axle.
The latest detail on the Cotton Belt FT saga is that unit 921 or possibly 920A its former identity was wrecked and then rebuilt by EMD in late 1948 or early 1949. This hard luck unit was the one destroyed in the Aurich, AR wreck on November 29, 1949. In summary SSW 920A/921 wrecked twice and rebuilt twice by EMD in about a years time. I bet Steve Goen would have liked to have known this before he wrote the caption on page 40 of his Cotton Belt Color Pictorial.
Additional research with "new" Aurich photos posted on Facebook reveal that the likely consist of the FT diesel was 921-922-924-923/A-B-B-A. And that all four units were returned to EMD for rebuild. There is an H K Vollrath photo in my possession that shows the recently rebuilt 923 leading two 1945-built booster units. I believe that they are the 922 and 924. The Vollrath photo is dated March 1950.
