Strictly speaking, the cab section of these locomotives are fabricated. For example, the cab sections of E and F units were built at the EMD sub-assembly plant in Pullman, IL and shipped to LaGrange by flatcar.

In contrast, the Alco cab was a combination of fabricated components and one item that was cast.
The cast section is the the section that contains the windshields. This is not noticable until you strip out the inside of the cab.

I would suspect that the construction of the FM cab was derived from EMD practice-as many people on the FM engineering staff were "borrowed" from EMD.

Although I don't have my notes handy, I believe that the EMD nose contour was developed by the fitting of individual sheets of steel (perhaps 1/8" thick) to the fabricated nose structure.
Somebody did a book on Australian EMD cab units that shows this to great advantage. In any event, a very slow, laborious and expensive process.

In the case of Alco, the sides of the nose are 1/4" plate, probably rolled to suit on existing machinery in what used to be the boiler shop.
There is some heavy C channel around the inside perimeter of the vertical side sheets which serves as reinforcement. The top section is somewhat lighter plate-also with some interior reinforcement in the way of formed flat stock.
If I find my photos, I will put them up on a web site for all to see.

BTW, I saw a photo in TRAINS many years that seemed to have said it all. A PA powered passenger train hit a freight train powered by a GP-7. Don't
recall the details but-the Alco rode up onto the frame of the GP and basically wiped the frame clean. The Alco went on to run again...and the GP was scrapped.

To answer your other question, I doubt the "lengthening" of a freight unit into a loner passenger unit would be possible-for many reasons. If you check the thread on "Diesel Replicas", I wrote a little something on that subject.

> Is the frame on a cab unit (E,F, FA, PA)
> cast or fabricated? I understand the carbody
> itself is an integral part of the structure.
> Say someone wanted to replicate a PA carbody
> Would it be theoretically possible (money
> and preservation considerations being no
> object) to 'stretch' an FA or FPA by
> sectioning the carbody and inserting new
> fabricated structural components? Just
> curious-


74471.3045@compuserve.com

Much modification ?????

No foolin'!!!!!

Wait until he tries to fit the motors up :-)

> Doyle purchased the three remaining pairs of
> trucks, and two pair are under the PAs. Yes,
> they did require much bolster modification
> to fit on the PA.


74471.3045@compuserve.com