Another design question

[latonyco]

Can anyone tell why EMD did not apply the curved glass number boards to any of the "F" series A units as they did with the E8A and E9A? All of the F units that I have observed, built from 1950 on and including the FL9, still had the number boards protruding at forty five degree angles on either side of the unit's nose. It seems like a standardization in this design practice would have had a positive effect on production costs.

[trainiac]

Let's flip it around--why not have angled number boards on the E-units? The angled number boards are easier to read and I would think that, both in terms of manufacturing and in terms of maintenance/spare parts, they would be cheaper. The rounded number boards on the E-units were aesthetic--they were, after all, designed with passenger service in mind--and not necessary on F-units, which mainly saw freight service.