In 1930 the Västra Stambanan line between Stockholm and Göteborg was improved so the top speed was increased to 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). At the time SJ did not have locomotives that could reach that speed, so an intensive work was initiated to construct a fast locomotive in cooperation with ASEA. The alternatives were traditional wheel construction or the newer bogie technology. SJ chose the latter with wheel arrangement 1′Do1′, with four powered axles. Exterior wise the F series was very similar to the D-series.
The three test engines delivered in 1942 had different configurations of power transmission. After testing an additional 21 locomotives were delivered during the 1940s. They differed by only having two instead of three front windows, though the first three were later rebuilt.
The F-series was put into fast express trains on the lines between Malmö and Stockholm, between Malmö and Göteborg, between Stockholm and Göteborg, and between Stockholmn and Oslo, Norway. When the Rc series came in the late 1960s and during the 1970s the majority of the F series was moved to Ostkustbanan and the line between Göteborg and Kalmar. Most of the F series were retired between 1978 and 1983. The last regular traffic with the series was in the Stockholm area. During this last period the top speed was reduced from 135 km/h (84 mph) to 100 km/h (62 mph). Three of the locomotives have been preserved.
