Nostalgia & History > F Unit Friday, Santa Fe Passenger Fs at Barstow, April 1967

Early Instmatic snap shot at Barstow long before all locomotives there were orange.
Regards, Jim Evans

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The only thing nicer than those Santa Fe F's were the SP black widows. 

I started out with an X-15, so no complaints here!

:^)

One unique feature of these Santa Fe F's was the giant lower headlight.
I think Evan Werkema told me once that the railroad installed them and they were not standard from EMD.
Regards, Jim Evans

FiveChime Wrote:
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> One unique feature of these Santa Fe F's was the
> giant lower headlight.
> I think Evan Werkema told me once that the
> railroad installed them and they were not standard
> from EMD.
> Regards, Jim Evans

Some of the early units that did not have oscillating headlights from the factory got Santa Fe's homemade headlights in their nose door. The FT's that were converted to passenger locomotives were some of these locomotives.
Most of the Passenger F's were built with oscillating headlights and had the standard EMD headlights in their nose doors.

Very nice, from another former Instamatic user!!

Looks like Overspray Otto reached all corners of the Santa Fe system.
 

PHall Wrote:

> Most of the Passenger F's were built with oscillating headlights and had the standard EMD headlights in their nose doors.

Have you ever come across a builder's photo of a Santa Fe passenger F at La Grange with the oscillating headlight installed and a fixed headlight in the nose door?  I keep looking but haven't found one yet.  I have a growing suspicion that Santa Fe ordered all their EMD E and F-units with single headlights and retrofitted the oscillating light and nose door headlight themselves. 

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/73087246045723690/filePointer/73087246046916416/fodoid/73087246046916408/imageType/LARGE/inlineImage/true/0960.jpg

Even as late as 1953, the last year Santa Fe acquired passenger E's and F's, photos show the E8m's coming from EMD with single headlights:

http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/sfl21.jpg

Late in life, a handful of Santa Fe F's do appear to have gotten EMD-style nose door headlights, likely due to Santa Fe buying replacement nose doors from EMD after the originals were damaged.  In this 1972 photo, 310L on the left has a Santa Fe-style nose door headlight, and 303L on the right has an EMD factory-style:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,5046175

Meanwhile, this 1953 photo of 303L shows it with a Santa Fe-style nose door headlight:

https://www.matlackimages.com/uploads/2/3/8/9/23891198/atsf-303-houston-tx-61053_orig.jpg

For what it's worth, any E or F units the EVER received any type of oscillating "head light", had to have the regular headlight located/relocated into the nose door. Those oscillating lights were so large and heavy they could not have been mounted in the nose door, as nobody would ever be able to open and close the nose door. Plus, the oscillating light assembly was so large, that the nose door could not have been opened all the way anyway.