5 - there is a F/R/electronic orientation error on my loco, and I suspect on
all of them, judging by the photo on the front of the instruction booklet.
(It is a photo of the rear, prototypically.)
The "Front" of the loco as defined by initial start-up and Aux +0 and "F" coupler
and clear/red class/marker lights is incorrect; the "Front" is the end with the big
white "F" on the body, but this loco thinks that the #2 end with the steam generator/Run/Prog switch cover is the Front. It is not. When my "F/R"
couplers fire, the wrong coupler(s) open, as defined by the actual locomotive.
The end with "2" on it is the Rear, and should have the red markers, and other
features of the #2 end.
This is irritating, but not deadly. It has to matter to somebody, and I guess that
I'm That Guy. Changeable? Yes. Will I? Dunno.
D500,
As I mentioned in the other "T" thread, they all seem to be that way. However, one of the big advantages of the double-ended electrics was that operation from either end was possible without worrying about turning of locos at the end of a run.
In the prototype photos I've checked, it seems to be 50-50 as to which end is in the lead. If the #2 cab is in the lead, the front/rear coupler commands are correct relative to the direction of motion. The engineer is sitting in the correct end of the loco for startup in this direction.
The little "F" on the end of the loco is likely to be more important to modelers than to anyone who actually operated the prototype engine.
Skip,
You're going to love it! 
Jim
it.
