This was forwarded to me from another site:

DECEMBER 2, 1939 - General Motors Electro Motive Division last month kicked off an 11- railroad cross-country working tour for its new FT locomotive. The "F" stood for "freight" and the "T" for 2,700 hp with a two-unit set. All told 555 cab-equipped A units were built, along with 541 cabless B units. "A" and "B" units were typically joined semi-permanently with drawbars, to qualify as one unit under union contracts. It was the first model in EMD's very successful F-unit series of cab unit freight diesels, and was the locomotive that convinced many U.S. railroads that the diesel-electric freight locomotive was the future. Santa Fe Railroad was one of the largest buyers, and used them first in the dry southwestern deserts to reduce the expense of hauling scarce water for steam locomotives.

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Going from memory, but isn't there an ex-Northern Pacific FT A-unit in some railroad museum in Mexico?

Les

Just for the record, the B-unit in St. Louis is not the original pair to the A-unit.

There are several FT-Bs from the Southern still around. St. Louis (Roanoke), Atlanta, NCTM(?), not sure who else. These are all heater cars. The Southern also use FT-Bs as scale cars and Radio receivers for slaves.