EMD "F3" Diesel Locomotives

Last revised: January 27, 2022

By: Adam Burns

The F3 was one of the most successful cab units the builder ever produced with upwards of 2,000 A and B units constructed by the time production had ended.

The locomotive could be found in use on virtually all of the major railroads at the time and helped extinguished the use of steam in standard freight service.

Visually, the F3 varied little from the FT except that it offered slightly more horsepower and upgraded internal components.  Interestingly, there were a number of different design changes to the F3 over the years.

However, while Electro Motive did not change the name of the model during this time railfans have come to identify these changes with the term phases (and the "F5" variant). 

Despite the fact that more than 1,800 F3's were constructed, today only around a dozen remain preserved.  Notable locations where survivors can be found include the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad (built as Clinchfield #800), Canadian Railway Museum (built as Grand Trunk Western #9013), and the Red River Museum (built as Missouri-Kansas-Texas #66-C).

The EMD F3 began production directly after the FT in July of 1945.  The primary difference between the two was the F3's D17B traction motors, which allowed it to produce 55,000 pounds of starting tractive effort and 40,000 pounds continuous.

The model still featured General Motors' 16-cylinder, 567B prime mover. Because the F3 was built from the same frame as the FT it retained the same length of just over 50 feet and weight, 115 tons.

The locomotive also kept the same gear ratio allowing it a (rated) top speed of 65 mph.  Externally, the easiest way to identify the FT and F3 is the number of portholes; the former had four very closely together that were centered on the long hood while the latter featured just two spaced several feet apart.

At the time of the F3's production the industry did not yet fully understand the benefits offered by six-axle (C-C trucks) locomotives in terms of the added tractive effort and adhesion they provided.

As such, during that era four-axle power was the rage and with the success of the FT and early E series designs sales for the F3 quickly took off.

Being one of the most successful diesel locomotive designs of that era the F3 was purchased by most of the largest Class Is at the time as well as a number of smaller lines.

Over its four year production run the model saw slight changes to its carbody five different times. However, for the most part it was identical to the F2 with its most distinguishing feature being the F3's large number boards.

As mentioned above, these changes were not directly denoted by EMD who simply kept track of serial numbers as new models rolled off the line.

For railfans there were five different phases; Phase I through Phase V (the latter is also referred to as the "F5"). All of these were extremely minor in nature, mostly involving slight changes to grill locations, radiator fans, portholes, etc. 

Specifically the variances include: 

• Built from July of 1945 the Phase I variant was essentially an F2 with upgraded electrical equipment and different number boards.


• The early Phase II model was manufactured from February of 1947 and including slight cosmetic changes including chicken wire used on the top-third of the carbody with wiring used between the two centered portholes


• The later Phase II went into production that December and sported new radiator fans with a "pan-topped" look.

The "Flying F3"

The incident which made Santa Fe F3A #19-L a celebrity, and luckily no one was seriously injured. A

t approximately 8:45 AM on the morning of January 25, 1948 train #17, the combined westbound "El Capitan"/"Super Chief" had just arrived at Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal.

Author Joe Lesser notes that four trains were scheduled to arrive at LAUPT that morning; Train #19 - "The Chief," Train #3 - "The California Limited," Train #1 - "The Scout," and Train #17 - listed only as "streamliner" on the timetable. 

As it turns out Train #21, "The El Capitan," and Train #17, "The Super Chief," were combined as Train #17 at that time into LAUPT.

Upon cutting off from his train, engineer Fred Hurst was following instructions from the herder (a trackman assigned to work station jobs) with his A-B-B-A set of F3's to ease towards the bumping post, prepare to reverse through the crossover, head to the release track, and finally make his way to the roundhouse at nearby Redondo Junction.

As an investigation later discovered, Hurst accidentally turned the F3's MU2A valve, which released air-brake control from the engines. 

At this point the locomotives effectively had no brakes and they slowly rolled forward, clipped through the bumper, passed over a 12-foot wide paved road, jumped the curb and sidewalk, and finally smashed through a one-foot thick concrete wall.

Lead locomotive #19-L finally came to rest on its battery case and fuel tank although its front truck dangled over Aliso Street with the unit's nose having snapped a utility pole.

Hurst had remained at the controls the entire time and gingerly made his way out of the back of the locomotive once it came to a stop. However, his fireman, Frank Rittenhouse, had bailed out as soon as he realized something was amiss.

Ultimately, Hurst was found at fault and permanently removed from service. Interestingly, #19-L's adventures did not end here.

It was later involved in a derailment on October 30, 1949; while leading train #22, the eastbound "El Capitan" it struck a broken rail at-speed (60-70 mph) near Azusa, California, rolled over and caught fire. Thankfully, only one crew member and seventeen passengers were slightly injured.

The locomotive was later repaired and returned to service. It was then rebuilt during the CF7 program in the early 1970s and became #2622. In the 1980s it was sold to short line Louisiana & Delta and finally retired in June of 1987.

Many thanks to Joe Lesser's article, "The Case Of Santa Fe's Flying F3" from the March, 2000 issue of Trains Magazine for the historical background concerning this incident.

In 1948 the last three phases of the F3 were produced:

• In March, Phase III began rolling out of La Grange lacking the chicken wire between the centered port holes with louvres included on the four rectangular openings


• Phase IV was manufactured later that year in August sporting a full-length, stainless-steel grille which replaced the chicken wire at the top of the carbody and made the locomotive closely resemble the later F7.  


• Finally there was the "F5" (Phase V) which, again, was never cataloged as such by EMD; built between October of 1948 through February of 1949 the locomotive's notable feature was the new model D27C traction motor. While more rugged the F5 retained the same, overall tractive effort rating. 

EMD F3A Production Roster

Owner	Road Number(s)	Quantity	Date Built
Aberdeen & Rockfish Railroad	200-201	2	1947-1948
Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay Railway	1501	1	1947
Atlantic Coast Line	336-347	12	1948
Baltimore & Ohio	82-88, 82A-86A (Evens), 113-171, 113A-171A (Odds)	67	1947-1949
Bangor & Aroostook	500A-507A	8	1947-1948
Boston & Maine	4227A-4228A	2	1948
Burlington	116A-128A, 116D-129D, 130A-138A, 130D-138D, 160A-162A, 9960A-9962A, 9960D-9962D	54	1947-1949
Central Of Georgia	901-909	9	1947-1948
Central Railroad Of New Jersey	50-59	10	1947
Chicago & Eastern Illinois	1200-1205, 1400-1409	16	1948-1949
Chicago & North Western	4051C-4055C, 4055A-4066A, 4056C-4066C	28	1947
Chicago Great Western	101A-115A, 101C-115C, 150-152	33	1947-1949
Clinchfield Railroad	800-805	6	1948-1949
Denver & Rio Grande Western	552A-554A, 552D-554D	6	1946
Electro-Motive (Demo)	291A1-291A2, 754A1-754A2, 951	5	1945-1948
Erie Railroad	706A-710A, 706D-710D, 800A-806A, 800D-806D	24	1947-1949
Florida East Coast	501-508	8	1949
Georgia Railroad	1001	1	1948
Grand Trunk Western	9006-9027	22	1948
Great Northern	225-231, 259A-267A, 259B, 262B-265B, 275A, 275B-276B, 306A, 306C, 350A-358A, 350C-358C, 375C-376C, 430A-438A (Evens), 430D-438D (Evens)	56	1946-1948
Gulf, Mobile & Ohio	800A-811A, 800B-810B, 880A-885A, 880B-882B	32	1946-1947
Kansas City Southern	30A-31A, 50A-59A, 50D-58D	21	1947-1948
Lackawanna	605A-606A, 605C-606C, 621A-621C, 655A-662A, 801A-805A, 801C-805C	22	1946- 1947
Lehigh Valley	510-528 (Evens)	10	1948
Louisville & Nashville	2500-2501	2	1948
Maine Central	671A-672A, 681-686	8	1947-1948
Milwaukee Road	80A-83A, 80D-83D	8	1949
Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway	248A, 248C, 348A, 348C, 448A, 448C	6	1948
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (Katy)	201A-207A, 201C-207C	14	1947-1949
Missouri Pacific (Including Subsidiaries)	513-571, 576	60	1947-1948
Monon Railroad	51A-52A, 51B-52B, 61A-64A, 61B-64B, 81A-85A, 81B-85B	22	1946-1948
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis	800-808	9	1948-1949
New York, Ontario & Western	501-503, 821-822	5	1948
New York Central	1606-1635, 3500-3503	34	1947-1948
Northern Pacific	6500A-6506A, 6503C-6506C, 6011A-6017A, 6011D-6017D	25	1947-1948
Pennsylvania	9500A-9567A, 9677A-9689A	81	1947-1949
Reading	260A-265A	6	1948
Santa Fe	16L-36L, 16C-36C	42	1946-1949
Seaboard Air Line	4022-4032	11	1948
Soo Line	200A-204A, 200B-204B, 2200A-2200B (Wisconsin Central)	12	1947-1948
Southern Pacific	6100A-6139A, 6100D-6139D	280	1947-1949
Southern Railway (Including Subsidiaries)	4128-4206, 6106-6113, 6702-6713, 6804- 6806	100	1946-1949
Spokane, Portland & Seattle	800A1-800A2, 802	3	1947
St. Louis San Francisco Railway (Frisco)	5000-5017	18	1948
Toledo, Peoria & Western	100A	1	1945
Union Pacific	905-910, 964A-968A, 1400A-1441A, 1442-1463, 1550-1563	87	1947-1949
Western Maryland	51-52	2	1947
Western Pacific	801A-803A	3	1947
Western Railway Of Alabama	501	1	1948

EMD F3B Production Roster

Owner	Road Number(s)	Quantity	Date Built
Baltimore & Ohio	82x-88x, 82Ax-86Ax (Evens)	7	1947
Bangor & Aroostook	600B-6003B	4	1947-1948
Boston & Maine	4227B-4228B	2	1948
Burlington	116B-138B, 116C-138C, 160B-162B, 160C-162C, 9960B-9962B	55	1947-1949
Central Railroad Of New Jersey (CNJ)	A-E	5	1947
Chicago & Eastern Illinois	1300-1301, 1500-1504	7	1948
Chicago & North Western	4055B-4066B	12	1947
Chicago Great Western	101B-112B, 101D-104D	16	1947-1949
Clinchfield Railroad	850-852	3	1948-1949
Denver & Rio Grande Western	552B-554B, 552C-554C	6	1946
Electro-Motive (Demo)	291B1-291B2	2	1945
Erie Railroad	706B-710B, 706C-710C, 800B-806B	17	1947-1949
Florida East Coast	551-554	4	1949
Great Northern	260B-261B, 267B, 306B, 350B-358B, 430B-438B (Evens), 430C-438C (Evens)	23	1948
Gulf, Mobile & Ohio	B60-B64, B80-B82	8	1947
Kansas City Southern	30B-31B, 50B-58B, 50C-58C	20	1947-1948
Lackawanna	605B-606B, 621B, 655B-662B, 801B-805B	15	1946-1947
Lehigh Valley	511-529 (Odds)	10	1948
Louisville & Nashville	2550-2552	3	1948
Maine Central	671B-672B	2	1947
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (Katy)	201B-206B	6	1949
Missouri Pacific	513B-518B, 525B-526B, 553B-556B, 561B-570B	22	1947-1948
Monon Railroad	61C-65C, 64C (2nd)	6	1946-1947
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis	900-911	12	1948-1949
New York, Ontario & Western	821B-822B	2	1948
New York Central	2404-2419, 3600-3601	18	1947-1948
Northern Pacific	6500B-6506B, 6500C-6506C, 6011B-6015B, 6011C-6015C	24	1947
Pennsylvania	9500B-9528B, 9540B-9554B	44	1947-1949
Reading	260B-265B	6	1948
Santa Fe	16A-36A, 16B-36B	42	1946-1949
Southern Pacific	6100B-6139B, 6100C-6139C	280	1947-1949
Southern Railway (Including Subsidiaries)	4320-4384, 6156-6159, 6750-6755, 6829	76	1946- 1949
St. Louis San Francisco Railway (Frisco)	65100-5117	18	1948
Toledo, Peoria & Western	100B	1	1945
Union Pacific	905B-909B (Odds), 905C-909C (Odds), 969B-978B, 1430B-1458B (Evens), 1430C-1458C (Evens), 1442B-1471B, 1550B-1562B (Evens), 1550C-1562C (Evens)	92	1947-1949
Western Pacific	801B-803B, 801C-803C	6	1947

In the end, when production had closed on the F3 in early 1949 some 1,111 F3As and 696 F3Bs had been manufactured for dozens of railroads.

Many of these models remained in regular freight service for decades with some still in use through the 1990s.   Electro-Motive's F3 was the first to see buyers from Canada when the Canadian National purchased 4 As and 2 Bs.

Additionally, Grand Trunk Western bought 22 A units. American lines to purchase the F3 ranged widely from the Aberdeen & Rockfish, Atlantic Coast Line, Baltimore & Ohio, Boston & Maine, Milwaukee Road, Erie, and Great Northern to the Burlington, Union Pacific (who purchased the most, 89 As and 90 Bs), Western Maryland, Southern Pacific, Soo Line, Southern, Pennsylvania, Missouri Pacific, Katy, and Lehigh Valley. 

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