General Motor's F Series of Locomotives, 1939 to 1960, Documentary.

The history of one of the best known American locomotives.
Videos featuring the244:
The alco PA:
Alco's old guard:
EMD's E Series Of locomotives

Picture links:
Maine eastern FL9

Pioneer Zephy rWinton 8-201A diesel engine.

Picture licenses:

[henrivanbemmel]

For me, these F units are the best looking locomotives ever.

[anthonyiannone]

I worked as an electrician on metro north's fleet of FL9's from 1985 to 87. During that time they were transiting from steam heat for the coaches to HEP (head end power)
The back section of the FL9's where the steam boiler was located was gutted and a cummins 6 cylinder gen set was installed in its place. The new (at the time ) bombardier coaches used 3 phase 480v power for heating and A/C. The bombardier coaches were well lit and comfortable compared to the old pullman coaches with there axle generators for lighting power and steam heat only.

[alanpecherer]

Interesting how the FRA mandate of having the walkway around the engine for switching safety pretty much permanently changed the entire loco design to GP-style.

[CorvetteBob]

The Galveston Railroad Museum has two beautiful F-units that run today, very nice to visit when going on cruise boats next door!

[billbright]

Easily the best looking engines ever made.

[thaddeusthudpucker]

Excellent video, nice summary of the history of the F units!

[glencrandall]

I had the privilege of being engineer on a 1950 EMD F-7, from 1999 to 2021. It was quite an experience.🙂🙂

[KTnc-fz]

Great documentary- especially for those like myself who were too young to see F units in service

[briansmith]

Thank for the video about these locomotives. I did hear "turbo-charger" mentioned, which none of the F units had. Being two cycle engines they needed the roots blowers to function at all. The first EMDs with turbo changers added in addition to the roots blowers were the GP-20 and SD-24. Also, I heard about "increased displacement" of a new model. They all had 16 cylinders with 567 cubic inches per cylinder so they all had the same displacement. You don't see much about F units on Youtube so thanks for this presentation.

[traindude]

Note the FRA did not exist at that time. The correct agency is the ICC

[dougmasters]

My favorite diesels ever are the Alco Pa and The EMD F unit diesels. Most notably the Santa Fe F7s used for passenger service.
You Sir do a fantastic job, in your history and description of these diesels. My hat is off to you! Thank you for doing such a thorough job in research and description of our great American Diesel Heritage.

[jagc]

Great video. A pleasure to watch these magnificent locomotives. Thanks for sharing.

[turkfiles]

Enjoyed seeing all those older EMC/EMD engines, and all of the historical info you added. Thank you!

[danmathers]

Other than the commentary seeming somewhat rushed, It was very informative and seemed very knowledgeable. I enjoyed the video since F units were my favorite engine growing up.

[krystalstarrett]

Thank you for the documentary, F series a favorite of mine. Cab looks like a B 17 bomber, those deisles always pull so well. It is a favorite on my HO railroad. 😊

[georgewoodget]

Excellent Presentation on the history Development and usage of the F / GP Series Engines.

[timdodd]

Face it, it's a beautiful engine. A classic.

[tucorameriz]

Great video but one minor correction. Dynamic brakes do not work by reversing the current as you explained but rather it works by disconnecting the traction motors in the trucks from the generator, this essentially makes the traction motors themselves generators whose output is fed into a large variable resister grid creating resistance to the wheels turning. In most modern transit systems this is further enhanced by feeding the generated power back into the overhead system instead of just turning it into heat in a resister grid. Again very nice video!

[prestongivens]

Ah, so many child-7hood memories of GP-7s and GP-9s on the C&O, but an enduring love of the E's and F's. Wonderful video, good work!

[jeffkellyb]

I enjoyed the video, the first of yours I have watched. I would suggest slowing down a little! I like to think about what I am hearing, and there isn’t enough time!