Santa Fe

With a fleet of over 450 EMD F7’s Santa Fe had one of the largest fleets of this iconic EMD locomotive. Beginning in 1959 the railroad began modernizing these units with several federally mandated appliances which changed their appearance. The company also began installing inertial air filters in order to improve their reliability. This release of our Genesis F-series Santa Fe freight service F-7’s depicts them in their 1960’s to early 1970’s appearance. While they served system wide for many years as the sixties progressed, they were found most often in Texas and on the eastern lines of the railroad.

 

ATSF FEATURES:

• F7 Phase 1

• Leslie A-200 Horns

• Cut/removed skirts

• Dynamic Brakes w/ 36” fans

• Can Radio Antenna

 

EMD F3A + F3B Diesel Locomotive

Florida East Coast

In 1949, FEC purchased 8 F3A’s and 4 F3B’s from EMD. Delivered in their bright red and yellow scheme, they were used in many types of service. By 1959, FEC had become completely dieselized with their locomotive fleet. The vibrant red/yellow paint was eventually replaced by a solid blue scheme. After their use was no longer needed, the whole fleet of F3’s were sold to CNW.

 

FEC FEATURES:

• Late F3 w/ FARR grilles

• Standard Freight Pilots (A units)

• FWD Gryalite w/ Emergency Red warning light

• Cut skirts

• No Dynamics

• M5 Horn

 

EMD F9A +F9B Diesel Locomotive

Rock Island

In 1958 UP contracted with EMD to rebuild / upgrade F3 units with F9 mechanical components utilizing anything serviceable from the F3s. In February 1972, the UP F’s were destined for trade-in but a deal was struck with power-short CRIP (Rock Island) and their F units were substituted in exchange for the UP Fs. CRIP immediately pressed them into service still in UP colors.

 

CRIP FEATURES:

• Ex-UP with Faded colors

• Dynamic Brakes w/48” Fans

• Front Gyralight (A units)

• Firecracker Antenna

• Full Skirts

• Road number specific details

 

 

PROTOTYPE AND BACKGROUND INFO:

EMD F-units were a line of diesel-electric locomotives produced between November 1939 and November 1960 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors-Diesel Division. Final assembly for all F-units was at the GM-EMD plant at La Grange, Illinois and the GMDD plant in London, Ontario, Canada. They were sold to railroads throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Structurally, the locomotive was a carbody unit, with the body as the main load-bearing structure, designed like a bridge truss and covered with cosmetic panels. The so-called bulldog nose was a distinguishing feature of the locomotive’s appearance, and made a lasting impression in the mind of the traveling public.

The F-units were the most successful “first generation” road (main line) diesel locomotives in North America, and were largely responsible for superseding steam locomotives in road freight service. Before this, diesel units were mostly only built as switcher locomotives, and only used in rail yards.

F-units were sometimes known as “covered wagons”, due to the similarity in appearance of the roof of an F-unit to the canvas roof of a Conestoga wagon, an animal-drawn wagon used in the westward expansion of the United States during the late 18th and 19th centuries. When a train’s locomotive consist included only F-units, the train would then be called a “wagon train”. These two usages are still popular with the railfan community.

 

F-Unit SERIES LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:

• Coupler cut levers

• Windshield wipers

• Wire grab irons

• Trainline and MU hoses

• Lift rings

• Sanding lines

• Lit signal lights and/or beacons, if equipped

• Bell placement & type per prototype

• Directional constant lighting

• Separately-applied photo-etched metal and injection molded detail parts

• Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, breather pipes & retention tanks

• Speed recorder unless noted

• See-through cab windows and full cab interior

• Etched metal fan grilles

• Body-mounted McHenry scale knuckle couplers - Kadee compatible

• DCC-ready features Quick Plug plug-and-play technology with 21-pin NEM connector

• Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more

• Accurately painted and printed paint schemes

• Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain

• All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth & quiet operation

• All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow

• Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track

• LED Lighting for realistic appearance

• Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power

• Packaging securely holds for the model for safe storage

• Minimum radius: 18” — Recommended radius: 22”

 

SOUND-EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE

• Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound

• Dual cube speakers for optimal sound quality

• Sound units operate in both DC and DCC

• Individual sound boards installed in both A and B units (sound units only)

• Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC

• Some functions are limited in DC

• All functions NMRA-compatible in DCC mode

• Excellent low-speed operation

• Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn, bell, and lights

• Lighting effects such as beacons, Gyralight where prototypically accurate

• Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes

• CV chart included in the box

 

PRIMED FOR GRIME MODELS FEATURE

• Duplicated look and feel of “In Service” equipment

• Faded base colors matched to the prototype

• Perfect starting point for adding grime and rust

 

 

Order Due Date: May 24, 2024

Anticipated Delivery Date: October 2025

Looking for more Athearn F-Unit Series Diesel Locomotives? Click here!

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