MOVED: EMD F Unit Builder Photos--Most Recent Update 1/18

Except for trying to match the colors from those 60 year old color prints. The various historical societies usually have the styling & painting diagrams, which provide the correct paint code numbers, in order to duplicate this colors CORRECTLY today. For example, that was exactly how the Norfolk Southern Mechanical Department was able to accurately paint all their Heritage Diesel Locomotives, with the correct ORIGINAL Dupont colors.

Mine too. Starting with the 2343's, I have loved them ever since. Just can't have too many F units.

Great photos.  I also am a big fan of the F units and have been collecting them for many years....  Thank you for posting..

Very beautiful looking locomotives indeed.

Pete

I really want a set of MONON freight F-units.

They can also be found with a little Googling around:

And yes Virginia, there was a prototype for the Lionel model:

Rusty

Rusty, keep on googling around and posting your finds; they're GREAT!!!

Also, you are a far better googler than I; tried using "EMD builder photo images" and similar and came up with zip; plenty of model pictures and the like; but, nothing like you found, Rusty.

Great Pics, keep them coming!

Why didn't you post this to the Real Trains forum?

A couple still around today, at Steamtown, Scranton, PA.  Bangor and Aroostook F3's became Jersey Central, which became Lackawanna.   Don't know the heritage of the Reading F7's

I usually find them when I'm looking for something else.

Rusty

Keep on posting, I'm a sucker for 'cab' units myself.  Their lines just lend themselves to the great paint schemes. 

Several reasons:  1)  Most Forum participants are here in the Hi Rail forum, and they operate LIONEL, MTH, Williams, and other F unit vendors' products so posting here gives them a chance to compare their F's to the prototypes; 2) many in the Hi Rail forum add O scale details and repaint/re-letter their F's to better emulate the prototype so posting here gives them photos of what they may be trying to achieve; and, 3)  Given the short shelf life of "new" threads on the homepage, there's a good chance the Hi Railers will check that specific forum.

Did I consider starting this thread in Real Trains?  Yes, but posted it in Hi Rail for the reasons given. 

EDIT:  I started a thread on EMD E units yesterday, but mistakenly posted it in Real Trains.  Figuring the moderators are busy, I'll ask them to move it to Hi Rail after the holiday.

Mike CT, thanks for the photos from Steamtown.

Have you seen the other thread running on "More F units in color photos"?:

https://ogrforum.com/t...unit-photos-in-color

I'm with you, Bob.  I love steam engines, but these F units just sported such an amazing variety of beautiful color schemes.

Fellas, check-out the currently running thread on F-units in color linked here:

https://ogrforum.com/t...unit-photos-in-color

The photos in the link aren't EMD builder photos, but they are really, really good.  AND, there are 14 more ready to post Friday. 

Hope viewers will see one or more of their F unit prototype favorites and chime in, especially with new photos.

Here's an EMD F, in EMD paint, but at deaths door in Pielet Bros scrap yard.

So that's what it looks like at "death's door" for an F unit?

Thanks for posting.

Living in Erie, Pa it is almost treason to have any EMD on a layout, but I just had to sneak a P&D F7 done up in PRR garb onto "The Renovo Division" amidst the ALCO's...

If readers use the forum as I do, they just open up "All Topics" on the "Forums" header, giving them everything to see and choose from.  Anyway, I like this thread!  

Found a couple more:

Thanks, Pingman, for posting the Monon F3 photo.  I have seen photos of this unit before, and always figured that it had been modified in the home road shop.  I had been under the impression that all of Monon's F3's were delivered as Phase-I, with 3 portholes on the cab units and equipped with a Mars figure-8 oscillating headlight.

This pair lacks the Mars headlight and is of a later production phase -- and it is obviously factory-built, not a wreck repair from the Monon shop (which is what I had always believed).

You get a tip of my hat for clearing up my previous misunderstanding.

Tom,

The photo is attributed to EMD and was taken in 1947.

Here's one from the RRpictureArchive...

There's always been something great to me about those Santa Fe Warbonnets, and the photo in this thread only reinforces my love for them.

Very nice find, CF1976; lots of C&NW fans on the forum.

Very familiar with 153.  Used its photo in Jeff Wilson's F Units book to model this one using a Lionel 2243 as the donor units.  Got the side-mount number boards and high fan shrouds from P&D as well as the scale windows; even drilled the third portholes and eliminated the vents in the LIONEL B unit between the portholes.

To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the FT model's initial departure on a demonstration run for 20 railroads on Nov. 25, 1939, GM staged an open house at its La Grange, IL plant.  GM also made available a calendar with a B&W photo in different railroad liveries each month.  The photos below are from that calendar.

Regrettably, trying to capture an image on a home scanner from a page roughly 12" x 20" exceeded my skill level.  Nevertheless, the photos are those supplied by GM as part of their celebration of "The Diesel That Did It."

There are two more images to add to the calendar post of FT's.  Be back after a brief break.

EDIT:  So the break is over, and the last two pictures from the calendar have been added.  While some of the photos are "in service" pictures, they were included in the GM commemorative calendar and are included in this thread.

Texas & Pacific F7 EMD Photo

The T&P owned 81 F7 A units and 31 B units. They never owned any other type of F unit. A few were painted in the passenger scheme like the E7's and E8's they had that matched the Missouri Pacific passenger diesels.

EMD designers had proposed a black/orange scheme for the F7's but they went with the same scheme as the Missouri Pacific F units, cream&blue. (The T&P geeps and switchers were black/orange with their Swamp Holly Orange scheme) 

 Dan

Kansas Oklahoma & Gulf F7, bought for the run-through service between the Missouri Pacific from Kansas City to The Texas & Pacific to Ft. Worth. Still an important route for todays UP.  The KO&G owned 4 A units and 2 B units. All the carriers had the same scheme on the F units, MP, KO&G and T&P. Dan

EMD photos

Missouri Pacific F7, only the Texas & Pacific had a Mars light on the nose. The MP and KO&G F 7's just had the herald on the nose.  The Missouri Pacific owned a lot of F Units, FT's F3's and F7's (Also Alco FA's and Baldwin Baby Face cab units.)

Dan

A lot of cool F Units on this post. "WOW!"

EMD FP7 ABA demonstrator:

 Here are not quite builders photos, but taken soon after arrival on railroad property. The Atlantic and East Carolina ran between Goldsboro and Morehead City, NC. They were one of the first short line railroads to purchase an F unit, in this case 2 F2s for passenger service. They ended their service on the Southern Railway in the early 60s. There color scheme was similar to early M&St.L F units in green, yellow and red. These were obtained from the collection of J. Marvin Black years ago.

The color view is a duplicate slide in service, photographer unknown.