| UP FA1 1632 built September 1948 (c/n 76003) retired February 1965, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, November 1962, photographer unknown, Chuck Zeiler collection. It is pictured with Farr Aire grills, a railroad modification. Farr Aire grills were superior in keeping rain and snow out of the engine room. The UP acquired FA1's and FB1's in three batches in 1947-48, for a total of 44 FA1's and 44 FB1's, making the UP the largest single owner of that model, 15% of Alco's production run. The UP primarily operated its fleet on the Los Angeles and Salt Lake line, and as a result Alco was able to advertise that the UP had assigned the highest tractive effort ratings to the FA/FB's over its severe 2.2% grades over Cajon Pass of any of its road freight power. The ratings for four-unit 6000 horsepower locomotives were 3000 tons eastbound and 4000 tons westbound. Unfortunatley, a welding defect in the engine block assembly struck the UP's FA/FB fleet, necessitating a 100% warranty replacement, and as a result, these 88 FA/FB's were the UP's last big acquisition from Alco. The problem was later found to be a process defect in the weldment between the saddle and block. The first indication of a cracked block was the failure of the crankshaft due to induced bearing misalignment. This problem resulted in the replacement of blocks and crankshafts in all 88 of UP's FA1's and FB1's. All told about 600 blocks had to be replaced before process improvements eliminated this problem. |