Has anybody finished their own f-unit?? Looking for guidance

[makinsmoke]

The Santa Fe Historical and Modeling Society webpage(s) from where much of the information above came from:
http://atsfrr.net/resources/funits/index.htm

I have an old Railroad Supply catalog listing the F units, but there are no photos just a drawing.

If accurate, it appears the radiator openings along the top can be modified to represent any unit from and F3 to and F7 in several configurations. The FT's cannot properly be done as they were similar from several feet away but quite a bit different once one begins to look. It also appears there were two portholes in the fiberglass A unit body, as well as three louvers in between as molded. Chooch you can confirm.

I would assume the top mounted fan areas are left open to mount whatever fan configuration is desired. I know their GP and SD fiberglass bodies have cast fans bolted into the roof.

If one decides to model an F3, all had two long rectangular screened vents on top nearest the front of the unit for the dynamic brakes versus a round fan like later F7 units. They would be easy to replicate. They you'd only need two fans for the rear. Note also, earlier F3 units had taller 36" fans, whereas the F7's had shorter fans. Sometimes the 36" fans were replaced by 48" fans, but this would have been a repair/replacement.

One more bit of trivia. The Santa Fe's first F7 units were numbered in the 200 series, or 200 Class as Santa Fe referred to all of their deliveries of locomotives in whatever configurations by their number class. The later 4-6-4's were referred to 3460 Class engines. The very first 200 Class units delivered to Santa Fe were actually the only F3's delivered for freight service. Other than these two four unit sets for freight all deliveries of F3's to Santa Fe were for passenger service in red and silver warbonnet paint to enable dieselizing their passenger fleet.

The 4 unit 200 and 201 sets of F3's were nearly identical in appearance to the F7 freight units, with two portholes and louvers, and stainless steel grills. They did however, retain their two long, rectangular screened vents on the top front for the dynamic brakes versus a single fan as on all of the later F7 units.

If Chooch confirms, it looks like you can build and F3 or and F7 depending on how you finish the radiator grille areas and the fans/dynamic brake area on the roof. The chicken wire grilles were an original F3 item, except for the two F3 units delivered for freight. All later F7 units had one of two types of stainless grilles.

Have fun, and please post your progress. I have not seen one of these built by an individual in a while.

Brian

[steve tune]

I just put a few pics up on my second post ,

[Hudson Honey]

Steve check PM

Pamela

[FLtenwheeler]

Hi

The Chicago North Western Historical Society did an article on detailing F7s.

http://www.cnwhs.org/cnwhs_modeler/Modeler_2_3.pdf

Tim

[chooch]

Re: F-7 Discussion.
chooch.
Here is what I have for an F-7 body, with the straight bottom line except the Nose that would go on the frame.
Nose and Cab.--One headlight, 1 small louver each side just over the pilot beam. Slanted number boards, no running lights, 2 slightly recessed front windows.

Cab Side--door and kick plates, one square window and one with square end, other end with slope to a Point.

Body side--2 side portholes,4 small horizontal louvered panels, approx. 2" square,4 top of side grill openings approx. 4 x 11-11-3/8". I do not have any grill work, will make my own. Misc. small doors.

Roof--1 round solid cast Finned vent, a cluster of four round the same with 2 small 1x2 raised items, might be for Exhaust stacks??

Back end--Roof overhang, each side of rear door, 12 slightly raised objects 3 x 3/16" ribs ??
------------------
That's about the main features on My 1-1/2 scale F-body. Note: this is just the Body, still sitting on the original shipping platform. If I ever get to build the loco it will be finished Freelance with what I can find that will look good or make something myself.

Looking at a couple HO and one G scale (Charles Ro) B and M models they are ALL different.

As Brian says--"it looks like you can build and F3 or and F7 depending on how you finish the radiator grille areas and the fans/dynamic brake area on the roof. The chicken wire grilles were an original F3 item, except for the two F3 units delivered for freight. All later F7 units had one of two types of stainless grilles.

Have fun, and please post your progress. I have not seen one of these built by an individual in a while.

Brian"

chooch

[Bob Snippe]

If you want to use a model to hold in your hand, P&D Hobby Shop in Fraser Michigan has the most detail options for F units I have ever seen. All in O scale. I bought the F-3 phase 4 & F-7 phase 1 early body kit. All the parts, and the instruction book are beyond words.
Bob

[chooch]

What are you doing with little hand models. I thought you were playing with BIG toys.
But serious, No doubt you can get a lot of detail ideas And scale of the model measurements for use on a persons own build. One diesel loco builder has the small model right there to look at as he is building the Big one--shows on his Facebook web site. (westbendrailcarshops.com)
Thanks.
chooch
Correction and Better. https://www.facebook.com/WBRCS

If you want to use a model to hold in your hand, P&D Hobby Shop in Fraser Michigan has the most detail options for F units I have ever seen. All in O scale. I bought the F-3 phase 4 & F-7 phase 1 early body kit. All the parts, and the instruction book are beyond words.
Bob

[Bob Snippe]

I grew up watching my Dad either working from full size, or a model building live steamers, and cars. Here are a couple things I have done to carry the torch in the last 54 years. The crane is what I grew up watching based out of the C&O yard in Grand Rapids. The model was quite a task, built 5 of them with another guy. Then an HO scale model of an ES-44, both the 1.6" scale models are at Largo now. Line drawings and pictures work, but nothing like a real one or a model to hold in your hands while figuring out what everything looks like.
Bob