EMD F7

EMD F7
A Great Northern Railway F7A locomotive in near-pristine condition.
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) General Motors Diesel (GMD, Canada)
Model	F7
Build date	February 1949 – December 1953
Total produced	2,366 A units, 1,483 B units
AAR wheel arr.	B-B
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Wheel diameter	40 in (1.016 m)
Length	A unit: 50 ft 8 in (15.44 m) B unit: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
Width	10 ft 7 in (3.23 m)
Prime mover	EMD 16-567B
Cylinders	V16
Power output	1,500 hp (1,100 kW)
Locale	North America

The EMD F7 was a 1,500 horsepower (1,100 kW) Diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD). It succeeded the F3 model in GM-EMD's F-unit sequence, and was replaced in turn by the F9. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant or GMD's London, Ontario facility. Although originally promoted as a freight-hauling unit by EMD, the F7 was also used in passenger service hauling such trains as the Santa Fe's Super Chief and El Capitan.

A total of 2,366 cab-equipped lead A-units and 1,483 cabless booster or B-units were built. The F7 was the fourth model in GM-EMD's successful line of F-unit locomotives, and by far the best-selling cab unit of all time. (Note: the B-unit is often referred to as an "F7B", whereas the A-unit is merely an "F7".)

Many F7s remained in service for decades, as railroads found them economical to operate and maintain. However the locomotive was not very popular with the yard crews who operated them in switching service because they were difficult to mount and dismount, and it was also nearly impossible for the engineer to see hand signals from his ground crew without leaning way outside the window. As most of these engines were bought and operated before two-way radio became standard on most American railroads, this was a major point of contention. In later years, with the advent of the “GP” type “road switchers”, Fs were primarily used in “through freight” and “unit train” service where there was very little or no switching to be done on line of road.

The F7 can be considered the zenith of the cab unit freight Diesel, as it was ubiquitous on North American railroads until the 1970s (even longer in Canada). It powered some of the most famous trains in North America.

The F7 replaced the F3, differing primarily in internal equipment (mostly electrical) and some external features. Its continuous tractive effort rating was 20% higher (e.g. 40000 lb for an F7 with 65 mph gearing, compared to 32500 lb for an F3 with the same gearing). The F7 was eventually succeeded by the more powerful but mechanically similar F9.

Contents 1 Identification 2 Phases 2.1 Phase I (early) 2.2 Phase I (late) 2.3 Phase II 3 Original buyers 3.1 Locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA 3.2 Locomotives built by General Motors Diesel, Canada 4 Preservation 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Identification

There are no easily identifiable differences between late F3 production and early F7 production; the major differences were all internal electrical system changes. However, no F7 had the “chicken wire” grilles of most F3s, and no F3s had the later F7 changes described below under Phases.

The EMD F9 is distinguishable from the late F7 by having five, rather than four, carbody center louver groups covering the carbody filters. The additional one is placed ahead of the first porthole, where F7s have no openings. The F9s greater power output, of course, cannot be seen from the outside.

Phases

The identification of locomotive “phases” is a creation of railfans. EMD used no such identification, and instead kept track of the marketing name (F7) and individual locomotives’ build numbers. During the production cycle of a model, EMD would often make detail changes that were not readily apparent to the casual observer. To keep better track of the variations of locomotives identified the same by the manufacturer, railfans began referring to phases (critical changes to a locomotive line).

Despite not being official designations, the phase description is useful. However, many of the changes described are cosmetic, easily changed features of a locomotive: e.g., roof fans, body panels, grilles and the like could be and sometimes were updated or swapped. Most of the phase differences on the F7 were concerned only with A units; B units varied far less. The following are normally identified as F7 phases:

Phase I (early)

Built from February 1949. Upper grille with horizontal openings. Four horizontal louvred openings on center body panel. 36-inch dynamic brake fan, if dynamic brakes fitted. Flush windshield gasket changed to raised in July 1949. Square cab door corners with kick plates on the steps beneath. Wing window short with square corners. Single drip strip over cab windows and door. Square end door window. Round sand filler cover. Rear overhang.

Phase I (late)

Built from March 1950. Upper grille started out horizontal, as in early Phase I; from March 1951, some locomotives were built with vertical-slotted "Farr-Air" grilles, and by October 1951, all had them. Cab doors became round-cornered, and the kick plates were deleted. The wing windows became larger, with round corners. Two drip strips; one over cab windows, second over door. The end door window became round after November 1950.

Phase II

Built from February 1952. All upper grilles vertical "Farr-Air" type. Center car body louvres became vertical-slotted. Sand filler now with a horizontal, rectangular pull handle. From June 1952, 48-inch dynamic brake fans began to be introduced; from October 1952, all dynamic-brake equipped locomotives had them. At that latter date, locomotives no longer had a rear overhang.

Original buyers

Locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA

Railroad	Quantity A units	Quantity B units	Road numbers A units	Road numbers B units	Notes
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrators)	2	—	801–802	—	to Great Northern 272A,B
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrator)	1	—	930	—	to Boston & Maine 4268
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrators)	2	—	1950A,B	—	to Louisville & Nashville 857–858
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrators)	2	2	459A,D	459B,C	to Union Pacific 1481–1482 (A units), 1496B,C (B units)
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrators)	1	—	5040		to Union Pacific 1483
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrators)	—	2	—	7002–7003	FP7-F7B-F7B demonstrators; to Soo Line (Wisconsin Central) 2500B–2501B
Electro-Motive Division (demonstrators)	—	2	—	9052–9053	FP7-F7B-F7B demonstrators; to Soo Line 500B–501B
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad	77	12	317, 348–423	392B–403B
Alaska Railroad	5	4	1500–1508 (even)	1501–1507 (odd)
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway	215	247	37,C–47,C, 202,C–280,C, 300–316, 306–314 (second), 336–344	37A,B–47A,B, 48A, 202A,B–280A,B, 300A,B–316A,B, 306A,B–314A,B (second), 336A,B–340A,B, 341A–344A	37–47 passenger, 202-280 freight, 300-344 dual service, 48A rebuilt by EMD from Santa Fe F3B 32A (1st), used by EMD as a demo for several years
Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad	28	26	701A–728A	701B–726B
Boston and Maine Railroad	3	4	4265–4267	4265B–4268B	EMD Demonstrator 930 to B&M 4268
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad	157	100	180,A–192,A (even), 231–237 (odd), 239,A–297,A (odd), 361,A–365,A (odd), 367–374, 929,A–973,A (odd), 975, 977,A–993,A (odd)	180X,AX–192A,AX (even), 153X–171Z (odd), 231X–237X (odd), 249X–297X (odd), 361X, 363X,AX, 365X,AX, 367X,AX–374X,AX (odd & even), 929X–961X (odd), 977X–993X (odd)
Charleston and Western Carolina Railway	6	-	900-905		to ACL 424A-429A
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad	10	3	163A–166A, 167A,C–169A,C	167B–169B
Chicago Great Western Railway	4	20	153–156	104B, 105D–112D, 113B,D–116B,D, 116E,F,G
Chicago and North Western Railway	72	22	4067A,C–4102A,C	4067B–4084B, 4091B–4094B
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway (“Omaha Road”)	12	—	6500A,C–6505A,C	—
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad	31	17	100–127, 675–677	100B–109B, 120B–123B, 675B–677B	675–677 passenger
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway	94	54	7000–7093	7515–7546, 8500–8506	8500s passenger (with FP7)
Clinchfield Railroad	15	11	806–820	853–863
Colorado and Southern Railway	6	6	700A,D–702A,D	700B,C–702B,C
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad	9	6	611A,C, 631A,C, 632A–636A	611B, 632B–636B
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad	43	40	5481, 5551/4, 5571/4–5761/4	5552/3, 5572/3–5742/3, 5752, 5762
Erie Railroad	6	6	711A,D–712A,D, 807A,D	711B,C–712B,C, 713C, 807B
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México	22	16	6310–6318, 6319A–6327A, 6335–6338	6319B–6334B
Fort Worth and Denver City Railway	6	6	750A,D–752A,D	750B,C–752B,C
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad	4	10	811B, 812A,B, 813A	B65–B74
Great Northern Railway	63	49	268A–270A, 271A,B, 273A,B–275A,B, 280A–281A, 307A,C–309A,C, 311A,C–317A,C, 350A, 360A, 364A,C–365A,C, 444A,D–456A,D (even), 460A,D, 462A,D–468A,D (even)	268B–270B, 280B–281B, 307B–309B, 311B–317B, 350B, 360B, 364B–365B, 444B,C–456B,C (even), 458C, 460B,C, 462B,C–468B,C (even), 500B–504B	350–365, 500s passenger
Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway	4	2	751–754	755B–756B
Kansas City Southern Railway	11	14	59D (twice), 70A,C–71A,C, 72A,D–73A,D, 74A	33B, 59B,C, 70B–71B, 72B,C–75B,C, 78C (second)
Kansas City Southern (Louisiana and Arkansas Railway)	7	8	32A–33A, 74D, 75A,D–76A,D	32B, 76B,C–78B,C, 79B
Louisville and Nashville Railroad	67	17	800–856, 844–849, 900–903	703–716, 900–902
Lehigh Valley Railroad	8	6	560–574 (even)	561–571 (odd)
Mexican Ministry of Communications and Public Works (“SCOP”)	2	—	23037–23038	—
Milwaukee Road	68	50	48A,C–50A,C, 68A,C–79A,C, 84A,D–85A,D, 86A, 87A,C–89A,C, 106A–108A, 109A,C–111A,C, 113A,C–121A,C	48B–50B, 68B–79B, 84B,C–85B,C, 87B–105B, 109B–111B, 113B–121B	90B–105B passenger (with FP7)
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad	16	8	208A,C–211A,C, 226A,C–229A,C	208B–211B, 121B–124B
Missouri Pacific Railroad	26	10	577–594, 619–626	587B–594B, 629B–630B
Missouri Pacific Railroad (International-Great Northern Railroad)	14	2	595–606, 617–618	595B–596B
Missouri Pacific Railroad (St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway)	10	—	607–616	—
Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway	8	—	150A,C, 250A,C, 350A,C, 151A,C	—
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway	23	8	809–831	912–919
Northern Pacific Railway	45	34	6007A,D–6020A,D, 6500C -6502C, 6507A,C–6513A,C	6007B,C–6020B,C, 6050B, 6510B–6513B, 6550	6000s freight, 6500s passenger
New York Central Railroad	238	56	1636–1873	2420–2474, 2446 (second)
Pennsylvania Railroad	123	76	9640A–9676A, 9690A–9699A, 9764A–9831A, 9872A–9879A	9547B–9555B (odd), 9640B–9647B, 9648B–9660B (even), 9667B–9676B, 9764B–9818B (even), 9832B–9858B (even), 9872B–9878B (even)
Reading Company	18	6	266–283	266B–271B
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad	10	10	1101–1110	1151–1160
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway	22	22	5018–5039	5118–5139
Soo Line	6	2	212A,B–214A,B	502B, 503B	500s passenger (with FP7)
Soo Line (Wisconsin Central Railway	20	4	2201A,B–2203A,B, 2224A,B–2230A,B	2201C–2204C
Southern Railway	63	44	4207–4269	4385–4428
Southern Railway (Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway)	7	24	6114–6120	6160–6183
Southern Railway (Alabama Great Southern Railroad)	6	3	6714–6719	6756–6758
Southern Pacific Company	250	220	6140A,D–6169A,D, 6240–6423, 6440–6445	6140B,C–6169B,C, 8140–8285, 8290–8303
Southern Pacific (Texas and New Orleans Railroad)	44	16	338–381	538–553
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway	4	—	803–806	—	to BN 9754,9756,9758,9760
St. Louis Southwestern Railway (“Cotton Belt”)	26	17	925–975 (odd)	926–958 (even)
Texas Mexican Railway	2	—	800A,B	—
Texas and Pacific Railway	83	35	1500–1582	1500B–1534B
Union Pacific Railroad	18	36	1464–1465, 1466 (twice), 1467–1480	1464B,C, 1466B,C (twice), 1468B,C–1494B,C (even), 910B,C	910B,C with FP7
Wabash Railroad	96	9	1100,A–1108,A, 1140,A–1154,A, 1165,A–1188,A	1100B–1108B
Western Maryland Railway	26	14	53–66	53B–65B (odd), 231B–243B (odd)
Western Pacific Railroad	24	26	913A,D–924A,D	804B–805B, 913B,C–924B,C	800s passenger (with FP7)
Totals	2285	1432

Locomotives built by General Motors Diesel, Canada

Railroad	Quantity A units	Quantity B units	Road numbers A units	Road numbers B units	Notes
Canadian National Railways	58	18	9028–9142 (even)	9029–9063 (odd)
Canadian Pacific Railway	—	29	—	4424–4448, 4459–4462	Ordered with FP7
Wabash Railroad	22	—	1155,A–1164,A, 1189,A	—	Ordered for service in Canada
Totals	80	47

Preservation

• The Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad (as of October 2011) operates an F7A (#600) in main line freight service. The unit is the former Milwaukee Road #96A, frame number 3073-A1 built January 1951.
• The Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, CA rosters two former Western Pacific Railroad F7As: WP 917-D and 921-D. These engines are part of the museum's popular "Run a locomotive" program. Their roster also includes an FP7 passenger version, WP 805-A.
• The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA has the former Western Pacific F7A 913. This engine is operational.
• The Grafton and Upton Railroad in Grafton, Massachusetts operates one F7A as a daily switcher, #1501.
• The Fillmore and Western Railway in Fillmore, CA has two F7As that are operational.
• The Monticello Railway Museum in Monticello, IL allows guests to operate their Wabash Railroad F7A #1189 for a donation through the "Throttle Time" program.
• The North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer, NC, has former Southern Railway FP-7 6133 in operating condition, with Southern colors.
• The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, Baltimore, MD, has former Western Maryland Railway F7A 236 in operating condition.
• The Boston & Maine Railroad had 4 F7A's with accompanying B units, numbered 4265-4268 (A & B). #4267A was demolished in a derailment. #4266 survives at this writing, at the Conway Scenic RR in North Conway NH, where it is rostered as a spare unit and operated frequently. It is owned by the 470 RR Club of Portland ME and operated under a lease agreement with CSRR. #4268 is also owned by the 470 Club, and is on static display (exterior only) at CSRR. The prime mover has been removed. #4265 is on static display at the Gorham Historical Society at the former Grand Trunk RR depot in Gorham, NH. It is also inoperable but is being converted into a movie theater/picture gallery with access to the cab.
• The Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth, MN owns a Milwaukee Road F7 Booster unit, 71B. It was used to power a snow plow.
• The Mining Machinery Museum & Park, Port Hedland at Port Hedland has a former Western Pacific Railroad F7A: 923A. This was sold to Mt. Newman Mining and operated as lococmotive 5451 before being transferred to Port Hedland Shire Council[1][2]. This is a static display. The prime mover has been removed.
• The Minnesota Transportation Museum owns Great Northern Railway F7A 454-A, which is painted in Northern Pacific Railway colors, unrestored, and lacking its internal machinery. They also have steam heat car 16, which the Great Northern constructed from F7B 458-B, originally 306-B.
• The Galveston Railroad Museum owns Texas Limited #100 (ex-Entertainment Trains, Inc., exx-Louisiana & North West, exxx-Southern Pacific #6379) and #200 (ex-Entertainment Trains, Inc., exx-Louisiana & North West, exxx-Wellsville, Addison & Gales, exxxx-Pinsley shortline, exxxxx-Southern Pacific #6309) are both F7A (with cabs) units built by General Motors' Electro-motive Division. #100 bears builder's number 3112B2F and #200 bears number 3039A14. This duo heads the Texas Limited passenger train which made runs to and from Houston until track speed restrictions and liability insurance costs ended operations. The engines are back to back, allowing the engines to run around the consist when a destination is reached and have a cab end facing forward for the return trip. The engines can also be separated and operate in a push-pull mode, with one engine on each end of the train. There is an odd history about #100. The frame number (stamped in the metal below the air hoses on the back end of each unit), #3112B2F, is supposed to have been Chicago & Northwestern F7B (without cab) #4092, built in July 1952, not a Southern Pacific A unit. It is speculated that the frames were mixed up at the factory before assembly. CNW 4092B was scrapped in 1976. Both F7A units were scrapped in 2011, after extensive damage resulting from being submerged in saltwater after Hurricane Ike.
• The Indiana Transportation Museum owns two former Milwaukee Road F7A's & one F7B, #83A which operates in the Monon Railroad livery at the museum, #83C that is being restored to Nickel Plate Road #72, & B-Unit #68 which sits there waiting for restoration.
• The United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey owns two former C&NW F7As that were acquired from New Jersey Transit upon their retirement in 1991. The Units were leased to the Metro North Commuter Railroad on the condition that they would be returned at the end of their lease in operating condition. Both units are operable and currently painted for Lehigh Valley (#578 and #576). #578 is equipped with Head End Power while #576 does not appear to be Passenger Equipped. Both units are operated by the Cape May Seashore Lines and stored in Tuckahoe, NJ.

See also

• List of GM-EMD locomotives
• List of GMD Locomotives

References

• Fuhrman, Jim. EMD F7 & F9 phases. Retrieved on January 2, 2005.
• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Milwaukee, WI. ISBN 0-89024-026-4. 
• The Western Pacific Surviving Locomotive List [3].
• PRESERVED DIESEL AND ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES, John Cleverdon [4].

External links

• Preserved EMD F-Units

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Diesel cab and cowl locomotives built by GM-EMD Cab units (F- & E-units) FT F2 F3 F7 FP7 F9 FP9 FL9 TA EA/EB E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 AA AB6 Cowl units F45 FP45 F40C F40PH F40PH-2 F40PH-2C F40PH-2M SDP40F SD40-2F SD50F F59PH F59PHI SD60F F69PHAC DE30AC, DM30AC See also: List of GM-EMD locomotives