Santa Fe FT Locomotives
Assignments
The following assignments have been submitted in addition to those referenced elsewhere on this website.
Diesels assigned to Gulf Lines Jan. 6, 1948, John Moore,
Albuquerque
- 105 LAB
- 173 LAB
- 174 LAC
- 175 LAC
- 176 LAC
- 177 LAC
- 178 LAB
- 179 LAB
- 183 LAB
- 184 LAB
- 185 L
Here are the FTs that came in and out of the LA Division in 1953 with dates:
120LA went to the Eastern Division 12/19
125LAC to Los Angeles 6/14, to Eastern Division 7/24
137LA to Eastern Division 12/19
139LA to Eastern Division 12/19
141LAB to Los Angeles 6/14, to Easter Division 7/8
144 LAC to Eastern Division 12/4
145LAB to Eastern Division 12/16
146LAC to Eastern Division 12/17
147LAB to Eastern Division 12/13
150LAC to Los Angeles 6/17, to Eastern Division 7/12
153LA to Los Angeles 6/14, to Eastern Division 7/13
155LA to Los Angeles6/15, to Eastern Division 7/13
169LA to Los Angeles 6/14, to Northern Division 8/3
170LABC to Eastern Division 12/19
184LA to Los Angeles 6/14, to Northern Division 8/3
186LA to Los Angeles 6/15, to Northern 8/3
The only 400-numbered FT, 415LA spent the entire year on the Los Angeles Division, used on trains 70-75, the San Diego-LA passenger local. In fact, the 415LA remained on the LA Division on trains 70-75 until the discontinuation of that service in 1956.
You can see that most of the FTs above were only on the division for a month and most were the two-unit sets, called "bobtails" by the crews. The FT AB sets weren't used solely as helpers on Cajon. They were known as "bob-tails" and were used in freight service all over the Los Angeles division. The Frank Post timebooks posted on the SFRHMS website show several instances of them in freight service.
Crews didn't particularly care for them when they had to switch in local freight service.
This is the assignment information dated
January, 1952, concerning RWB painted 414 and 168.. There are
subsequent notes in the list showing 168LA going from the LA to the
Albuquerque Division, and the 415LA going from the Albuquerque to the LA
Division. That would mean the 168LA wound up on the Albuquerque Division
sometime in 1952. I presume it stayed there at least until 1953, as other
notations in the list show some Diesel making 3 or 4 division swaps. There are pictures of both on the Surf Line in 1952, all in
Warbonnet paint. By the way, the 415LA were the 168BC when it was part of the four unit set. The splitting/renumbering was done in 1951.
Delivery of sufficient numbers of GP7s pushed the FT bob-tails eastward to
other parts of the system in 1951-1952.
Keith Jordan
