I would prefer Daylight colors, but the black one works too. Does anyone know of a manufacturer that produces one? Looking for an A&B in DC.
and in the Black Widow scheme, but they're long out of production. I have an A-B-A set in E-L and they're okay, but they're not of excellent quality. Some Espees on eBay here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bachmann-T...=item33ff0133b5:g:67MAAOSwsRVcFYC6:rk:11:pf:0 Here's a photo of the B-Unit:
I do not think that B-mann issued the latest version of it Fs, DCC onboard, in Daylight. It might not have issued them in SPECTRUM, but I do not remember. It did issue them in PLUS. The shells will interchange among all three releases. Original Poster might have to buy a PLUS pair and transplant them onto either the SPECTRUM or latest issue with DCC onboard chassis. Life-Like sold black widow plastic frame FP-7s. They are still at shows or show up occasionally on FeePay. Life-Like did sell the same plastic frame F-7s in Daylight colors, but I have not seen one either at a show or on FeePay in some time. I do not ever recall seeing a Kato SP F-unit in any factory paint other than "bloody nose". Has Intermountain done any SP F-units? Con-Cor sold RoCo F-3s in "black widow". Other than SSW's one FP-7, were SP's FP-7s ever in Daylight colors? I can not ever recall seeing a photograph of any SP freight F-unit in Daylight colors. The B-mann F-7s are freight units. There was at least one western road and one grange road that had regular F-7s with steam generators, but I do not recall that SP was one of them.
As far as I know, no SP F units, to include passenger FP7s, were ever painted in the Daylight scheme. Most (all?) were delivered in Black Widow and then repainted to gray and scarlet in the late 1950s/early 1960s. FWIW, the opening minute or two of the Spencer Tracy movie "Bad Day at Black Rock" features a passenger train in Daylight colors pulled by an FP7 and F7B in Black Widow scheme. It's a great looking, fairly short train cruising through the desert. Black Widow painted EMDs also pull the President's train in a short scene in the Frank Sinatra film "Suddenly." Intermountain has done SP F units in both Black Widow and the Gray/Scarlet colors and, according to their website, has more forthcoming. Rick
Except for some of the steam power most of the power has been produced in diesel and this article gives you what was in Daylight colors. https://www.ncr-nmra.org/sites/ncr-nmra.org/files/clinics/SP-Daylights.pdf
I have a Kato F3 A and B in Black Widow. They have been my standard freight power for the last couple of years. I also have an F7A and B from Intermountain. But, I run the Kato. My only Daylight colors are on a PA and B from Kato. - Tonkphilip
Kato F3 units, in Black Widow, are still available on Ebay for a reasonable price. No prototype SP F units were painted in Daylight colors...
Couldn't agree more. I can assure you that SP never did have any Ft's, F3's or F7's in the daylight colors. They were of the Black Widow variety. Only the Black Widow B units had the Steam Generators. Or so I thought. I will refer to a video to watch here shortly. Now on the other hand the SSW or Cotton Belt had some F's painted up in the daylight livery howeve,r (something fell off the key board) they had a silver roof and Cotton Belt lettering. Use your google search and look up Southern Pacific Roster. There you will find descriptions and pictorials. Or check out the picture Russell Straw provided just above this post. I did an embarrassing search for the illusive F7 SP Daylight'r. I swore to everyone that crossed my path there was one. Some of you might remember that. Embarrassing to say the least. It wasn't until my dad and I went through some family photos and I found what I thought and remembered as the illusive F type in Daylight paint. For sure the nose looked like an F type unit. Yes, in daylight paint scheme. Parked in front of the Salinas SP Station. A check of it's number revealed and proved it was an E unit. Now my dad worked for the REA out of Mojave and Barstow, California. He remembers the Black Widow paint scheme pulling the San Joaquin Daylight. That's what he called the Daylight engine because it pulled the San Joaquin Daylight'r. Rational enough thinking. For proof watch Railfanning Southern California in the 50's put out by Pentrex. If you don't see it...you fell asleep. Like I have. Now I don't know how realistic you want to be. I and others have said, "If you look long enough you'll find a prototype for what you want to model on your model railroad". Dig it? Have fun, unless you don't want to.
It's confession time. I own two Life Like F7 types in the Daylight paint scheme. No they aren't for sale. I can assure you that both my dad (May he RIP) and I operated these on the front of our San Joaquin Daylight'r. The silver cars with the red stripes on top. Made for a rather striking and impressive train. My dad would say, "They had them but they were longer," referring I'm sure to the E units. So, what's to stop you from doing the same unless you are a purest. Which I tend to be and grimace now at what we did. You have to remember at the time and that was late 80's that was all we could get. Sigh! If they hang around long enough they will end up lettered for the Cotton Belt and have a silver roof. Someone asked me recently what is the one word you'd use to describe your experience as a life long model railroader. Like I was done, withered away and was going to die soon. Like they or I know that. Well, the one word that stands out in my mind is "Disappointed." The toy makers took way to long to get to where we are today. Now you can just about find everything you'd ever want in varying degrees of quality. "What took them so long?" I can answer that. If you are one of those who profess and believe model railroading is dieing. Think again. The reason we have such a wide variety of products available today, starting with 2000 to date, is because the hobby has grown and there are more interested model railroaders, more buying customers today then there was yesterday. Sit on that and rotate uhh...err think about it. Now what are we going to do to help our friend find his dream locomotives uhh...err diesel motors? My two cents and I take change.
I did know about SSW's FP-7's being in Daylight colors, as was its lone GP-7, which was a passenger unit. I had never seen photographs of FP-7s in Daylight colors other than the SSW unit. I had the LLs in N scale. I had one or two Athearn Blue Box in HO. I still have what is left of an LL (much later issue) in HO, but it does not run. I forget what happened to it, but, if I can find it, I will look. SSW 306 became SP 6462 and was packed off to California to work the SF Peninsula commuter trains, By the time that I was riding behind it, it was in "Bloody Nose" paint and was in pretty bad shape. It was the only SP FP-7 that AMTRAK did not take.
EMD F units AB preferred Daylight but Black okay - "DC"? My Apologies in advance if I misunderstood some aspect of this thread but I recently purchased BLI's EMD F AB SP Black (Bloody Nose A) Sound units that are from what I understand DC compatible too. I run DCC only so no idea how they also work in DC. 3530 EMD F7 Southern Pacific (Bloody Nose) #6268 (Equipped with Paragon3 Sound/DC/DCC) 3531 EMD F7 B-Unit, Southern Pacific #8141 (Equipped with Paragon3 Sound/DC/DCC)
Those F's should be dark grey not black. As the black widow scheme had silver and orange nose stripes. Bloody nose was dark grey with scarlet nose stripes. Then there were the Halloween unit's of black and orange nose no silver.
Just in case there was a question with my pictures attached above - it is poor cell phone pic - those units are dark grey and appear to be very similar to prototype. Imagine link "free view internet link" https://www.google.com/search?q=EMD...BAgCEBM&biw=1920&bih=938#imgrc=DGNPsWYq2q3-VM:
Sorry about the confusion Vince-I was trying to copy what yellow_cad was originally asking in case I was responding with errant info hence the word "black" I knew the primary black version was a different scheme (but I don't have that version to reference) BLI does make the Black-Orange as F3 AB. The problem is the upper grill is upside down from what I see - so I did not purchase it. [I Would have sent this as a conversation but yours is locked]
