Patrick McGinnis, the last CEO of the New Haven RR was not shy in taking chances and had very strong ideas on what would work. One of his ideas was to make a commuter train of RDCs. Thus came about the "Roger Williams." Shown here are three of the original six cars. They have been completely restored to be fully operational and have been "blue carded." The blue card indicates a loco or self-powered unit is certified, by the FRA, for operation on any railroad connecting with the national system. It is unclear to me why McGinnis chose to equip two of the RDCs, 140 and 141, with cabs resembling F-units. The Roger Williams is presently at the Danbury Railway Museum.
It might just be that they thought an "SFE*" was needed... (*In modern MU design over here, they talk about adding a Sexy Front End, or SFE, to give something like the railroad equivalent of "curb appeal"...) Wether it worked in this case is maybe open to discussion?
I haven't heard that term before, but I like it. Besides, you came close to my guess. I am not sure just how many self propelled coaches came before the RDC, but my guess is that Mcinnis wanted the public to be assured that this new contraption actually has power.
