There are four EMD serial number skips that coincide with Cotton Belt diesel orders from 1949-1950. I believe these skips are a direct result of the accident at Aurich and the sending of four FTs back to EMD for rebuild. If you are interested check out EMD serial numbers 8751-8766 and 11625-11628. There is not one verifiable shred of evidence to back this up, but the numbers fit together nicely.
The latest research into Cotton Belt's FT locomotives has revealed another A unit was rebuilt on an F7 frame. So not one unique unit like the 921, but two of a kind. The Cotton Belt's #920 ABCD was on a southbound freight and struck a derailed Missouri Pacific train at Renault, Illinois. All four Cotton Belt FTs were sent to EMD for repair or rebuild. The 920D got rebuilt on a new F7 frame in the first quarter of 1949. There is a photo of the 920D at LaGrange, Illinois on page 48 of the November 1949 Trains magazine. It's part of David P. Morgan's Cotton Belt article titled "Fast Freight". The 920D was renumbered 923 in April 1949. I'm looking for FT B unit photos now to determine if any of them got a new identity.
Wednesday another stretched FT unit was discovered in consist at the Pine Bluff fuel rack. It was found in a Cotton Belt Public Relations photo dating from the early 1950s. This one doesn't have a visible number, but the dynamic brakes are centered above the four portholes on the side of the carbody. The trucks appear to be set evenly inboard from each end, with no visible frame overhang.
Would be interesting to see a view or two. Could any of these photos be posted without upsetting copyright?
The center B unit is the stretched one. Most of the good profile photos of these unique Cotton Belt units are copyrighted.
Cropped tighter, note how the dynamics are stacked over the center of the unit. The long air intake is where the 16-567A is located.
This is F7AM #923. Note the position of the lead journal under the nose, just like an F7. And the frame overhang at the back of the unit. The Cotton Belt 920 set was wrecked at Renault, Illinois. It appears that #920D was leading. This is the resulting rebuild. There is a Bob Milner photo of this rebuild on p.48 of the November 1949 Trains magazine.
The latest research on the Cotton Belt FTs reveals that the two boosters from the Renault wreck were not rebuilt stock. There is a photo at the top of page 28 in Fred Frailey's Blue Streak Merchandise. That photo was taken in Vanceville, Louisiana on March 15, 1950 by the late H. K. Vollrath. The photo shows three Cotton Belt "FTs" in Black Widow paint. These are the three FTs rebuilt at EMD on F7 underframes in the first quarter of 1949. There is another photo of this "FT" set on a Pine Bluff street dated July 28, 1949. That photo is in the September 1949 Cotton Belt News. It is highly likely that these three units were grouped as a set because they were identical electrically. It is my thought that they were rebuilt with automatic transition. An EMD kit to retrofit automatic transition to FTs was not offered until 1952, according to its inventor. The Vanceville photo was validated by comparing the position of the 5th porthole on the booster units to the stock EMD as-built drawings. They don't match! When the units were rebuilt at EMD the 5th porthole swapped sides and ends on the booster unit. Another photo of this unusual booster unit is at the bottom of page 166 in Cotton Belt Locomotives.
I noticed in the Winter 2016 S•P Trainline that there is an article on the Cotton Belt FTs "Under Development". Are you involved in that?
I wrote an article on Cotton Belt FTs several years ago and sent it to John Signor. Recent research has found additional information about the FT rebuilds that was unknown. The wrecks and the rebuilding at EMD of the Cotton Belt FTs is complicated and little known before I stuck them under a microscope. I expect the article to be heavily edited and rewritten a time or two.
Yes, I was meaning to complement you on that. Quite an informative article. Lots of mystery concerning the rebuilds after all the wrecks.
It appears you've answered your own question. Can't be anything wrong with that. What little I remember as a having been a youngster at the time. I heard stories of how many of the FT's that were still around in the early 50's were shopped by the various railroad shops and knuckle couplers added on. It didn't make sense to pull both units from operations when for example the B unit is the only one down. Also, many of the B units as well as the cab units were rebuilt in to F3's or F7's. Doc., Cynthia Priest documents much of this in here various books on several different railroads. Worth a read if you get the chance.
Thank you both. The story of Cotton Belt's FT diesels should have been simple to tell. All you would have to do is document the history of the first 20 F units, 10 cabs and 10 boosters. That would be over their 16 or 17 year careers from 1944 to 1961. But there were complications, two major wrecks, factory rebuilds, unknowns under the carbody shell, shop rebuilds, longer frames, a backwards booster, and added 5th portholes. This all got quite complicated when these units were put under the microscope. New undocumented historical information was discovered. A historian's job is never done. Those Cotton Belt FT stealth units remained obscure for more than six decades-why? Because they looked like something else. Gibbs Rule #3 Don't believe what you are told-Double Check. Gibbs Rule #8 Never take anything for granted. Ed Cooper Shelbyville, KY
Had to smile when I read your name. I'm sure you are not related, but there is a famous boat racing family not that far from you, near Evansville, Indiana. (yes. i am a fan of their team. ) Father, son and grandson all named Ed Cooper.
