Monon F3 B-Units

[Robert Bowman]

Hello Again,

Was it Monon's standard practice to run freight F3 A-B consists such that the roof fans of the B-unit were towards the head end, or the other way around? Or did it matter?  (Or, do B-units have a dedicated front or rear?)

Thank you.

[Mark Johnson]

F-Series B units do indeed have a 'front' end...like all other EMD locomotives, they had an 'F' on the designated front end. It's usually hard to see, especially since there are not that many good close-up photos of Monon B units. I don't know, but I would 'assume' that the hostler controls used to move uncoupled B's are located in the 'front' end.

That said, I don't know if Monon paid any attention to 'front' orientation when they coupled up B-Units. I never thought to look that closely at any photographs.

Mark J
Columbia MO

[George Lortz]

It is rare hard to find photos of the Monon "B units that were numbered #61C - #65C and later #301 - #305.  The road numbers and "F" and hard to read even if you can find a photo.  I've been in an F3B unit and the hostler controls looked very hard to use and almost no visability for the operator.

George L.

[Robert Bowman]

Thanks for the replies to my question. On the Athearn Genesis F3 A/B set, the B-unit "F" is painted on the end where the sand filler is closest to the end of the car body. Also, in the Dozalls' book, the photo spread on pp. 162-163, shows the B-unit is running in that orientation, where the leading end is the one with the sand filler closest to the end.

[Robert Bowman]

Come to think of it, it makes sense the B-unit would be run so its sand fillers were ahead of the trucks. Doh!

[George Lortz]

This photo appeared on the MRHTS website today.  Not a very close shot, but it looks like an early A-B-B-A lashup on a freight train somewhere in southern Indiana.  The yellow paint color on the steps, etc. might indicate that it was taken shortly after the delivery of the F3s.

Still can't find many F3B photos.  I asked Ron Marquardt why that might be and, in his opinion, photographers just weren't interested in those units.  Not much glamor or something.  The MRHTS Photo Archives contains only a few shots of the F3Bs.

George L.

[Robert Bowman]

Great photo, thanks for sharing. It's hard to see, but the B-unit directly behind the leading F3-A is running with the end where the porthole is closer to the ladder in the forward position.  This would be opposite to the end where the "F" indication is located.