This could be, yet, another tweak to the F series body styles!...IF so, I find it really nice that Kato is actually making the effort to produce different phases of EMD's classic F unit. !Bruce
"This could be, yet, another tweak to the F series body styles!...IF so, I find it really nice that Kato is actually making the effort to produce different phases of EMD's classic F unit." Not as much a matter of a "tweak" as it is a resurrection... these models were offered many years ago but unlike the other phases has not been repeated for many, many years. A welcome return to the Kato roster that some will find to be very valuable to finally be able to purchase once again. Its worth noting that the F2A was as much a unit built to match the earlier FT units with several roads buying them in order that one FT A-B-B-A set could be turned into two A-B-A sets with the addition of a new cab unit. Likewise with some of the earliest F3As. The "Q", Rock Island and Atlantic Coast Line all bought these units so as to split up FT sets into more usable consists, as did a number of other lines that are not covered by this new release.
As with the RDC, major F2 owner B&M seems to have been relegated to the second production run. Either that or Kato has lost the recipe for making F-units with only one headlight.
I hope they haven't.... I'd love a new run of single headlight F7's, on the new, DCC-ready mechanism, in ATSF freight colors, among others. Given their practice of fairly regular, small releases, reruns, etc...it's entirely possible....i NEVER expected them to produce a mold for a thrd variation of F3's, as they did for the last ATSF warbonnet release...and, then, yellowbonnets. Granted, Santa Fe sells...but look at these releases....interesting. ~Bruce
Well I am happy, I have been hoping a major manufacturer would put an F2 (or early F3) out. Kato's Phase I F3, of many years ago, was essentially the same deal but with one headlight. It took me a few years to track down a Southern unit to repaint into a B&M F2 (not accomplished yet). If Kato doesn't end up making a single headlight version of this locomotive I will still buy one or two for repaints (I can file off and fill a second headlight a lot more easily than tracking down another early production Phase I). Now another question... if Kato does release one in B&M would it be Minute Man or the later McGinnis black, white, and blue passenger scheme? Either way I would be happy, but I am not confident... Kato likes major western roads and dual headlights. The ACL units are something of a surprise to me.
"Might as well ask, what are the differences between a FT, F2, and Phase 1 F3?" None between the F2s and the first F3s, which were built at the same time. The F2 was offered as a cheaper option, which got some roads to buy them. The differences between the earlier FTs and the F2/F3 are easily shown in the drawings linked to below, at Railfan.net's Paintshop website... EMD FTA-FTB EMD F2A EMD F3A One problem in the F3A drawing is that it shows the later angled numberboards but this was an option for a railroad to choose and not necessarily the way all were originally built. Many, but not all, roads that had the earlier E-unit numberboards often chose to replace them... ACL being one of the only ones who didn't... http://rr-fallenflags.org/acl/acl325awc.jpg http://rr-fallenflags.org/acl/acl325acz.jpg http://rr-fallenflags.org/acl/acl0333dsa.jpg Here are a couple of examples of the original numberboards that were offered... on EMD F3As... Aberdeen & Rockfish 200 Toledo Peoria & Western 100 (ex-EMD demos)
To be fair, there were internal differences between the F2 and F3 dealing with belt versus electrical drive for accesory fans, traction motors, etc. The final F3 phase (IV I believe) actually resembled an F7 with the exception of the dynamic brakes and a few other minor details (B&M's F3s were the late style). http://www.trainpage.com/Rail_Archive/Index.php?path=Ba/b&m 4228 mcginnis paint.jpg&action=resize
I've been waiting for something like this for quite awhile! Maybe too late for Christmas but my birthday is coming. When will they become available?
Wow, Rock Island and Chicago North Western?! If they'd thrown in M&StL I would've hit the trifecta Cheers, -Mark
A release that makes me double happy. They should be out in time for Galesburg RR Days and I hope to have the modular CB&Q project done and running this year. These Q F's would look great running on the layout. For the home layout, I have to get one of these for B&M. Technically to early for my era, but I have wanted to do the B&M #4225A in the McGinnis paint ever since I first saw one painted up in HO back in the mid 1980's. Too bad the four F7's the road had didn't get the same treatment in the paint shop, by my era 1975, all four were blue dips. I might even pick up some extra to sell in McGinnis paint.
The F2 was more of a stop gap loco as the upgrades found in the F3 where not ready to go. That is so few of them were built.
