F3s For Fridays

Good morning, F3 people!  The Steam Crazy Lines President, you may recall, is fond of making proclamations.  With a nod to MELGAR, he’s designated this weekend as New Haven RR Weekend.  All locomotives shown today, on SwSat and StDaySun will be NH power.

Arnold has graciously allowed a wide definition of a F3 look-alike, so the President has chosen an electric locomotive that looks like an F3 today.  New Haven’s fleet of ten GE EP5’s have to be among the most “drop dead” gorgeous engines ever produced!  I picked up my K-line model at York around 2010.  It has run reliably ever since and has shown no indication of the dreaded zinc pest that has infected the pilots of some of these locomotives.  No. 379 is shown with a matching MTH streamlined passenger set, making it my best looking train by a wide margin!

John

A variety of F units with a lone E8 slipped in for grins

My diesel cab units for this week are MTH Premier New Haven Railroad Alco PAs #0760 and #0764. These models were delivered as part of an ABA set (20-2324-1) in December 2001 with PS2 at MSRP $699.95. However, the New Haven Railroad did not have Alco PA B-units so mine is packed away and has never been removed from the set box.

The photograph, taken by the bridges on my 12’-by-8’ layout, shows the classic Alco nose for which these locomotives are admired.

The first ten New Haven PAs (#0760 to #0769) were delivered in 1948. Seventeen more (#0770 to #0786) followed in 1949. Each unit was powered by a 16-cylinder Alco 244 diesel engine with 2000 horsepower and geared for 80 mile-per-hour passenger service. In 1953 they were regeared for 90 miles-per-hour and in 1955 the red-white-black McGinnis livery came along. With the arrival of New Haven’s EMD FL9 diesel locomotives in 1956 and 1960, PAs were assigned to freight service. By 1963 only 18 were still running and the last ones were retired in 1965.

Note that the original McGinnis paint scheme had the white band at the bottom, black in the middle, and red on top. However, the lower white band quickly got dirty so the red band was moved to the bottom and the white band was moved to the top – as on these models.

MELGAR

'Thanks for getting us going Arnold!   Here are some pics of my K line F3 which I bought used in 2019.  It comes with a powered B unit.  While not a slow runner ( no creeping along with this locomotive ) the A-B combo looks great pulling an express passenger train.  The horn, however, sounds like a door bell buzzer .. lol!  I think  K line captured the details well.  Perhaps one day I'll have this locomotive upgraded.   I used to see these locomotives racing along the Washington Branch of the B&O when I was a kid.

They say: beauty is in the eye of the beholder,

and I say:

Beauty is in the eye of the F3 owner.

My submission for today is this handsome violet/silver set of Premier ACL E8's from 2001. I usually run them with the full set of Premier matching streamliners including a vista dome car.

Rod

A Lionel ABBA set of F3s in the striking Great Northern livery hauls a consist of matching Great Northern Empire Builder passenger cars also from Lionel on the Shenandoah Short line.   The engines and passenger cars were manufactured circa 1990.

Good morning fellow F3 lovers and welcome back to F3s for Fridays. This is the place to post photos and videos of F3s and F3 look a likes. When you do, please comply with the Forum Terms of Service including posting only photos and videos you have taken or those in which you’ve obtained the written permission of the owner to post.

I will start us off with this conventional running set of modern Lionel NY Central lightning stripe Alco diesel A units (one powered and the other non-powered):

Here they are hauling MTH NY Central lightning stripe passenger cars through town:

Now, let’s see your F3s and F3 look a likes that you would like to share today. Arnold

Running my New York Central FTs with TMCC/RS from 20+ years ago........

Happy Friday, folks!

Peter

Good morning, F3 fans!  Taking a cue from Arnold, I’m posting some classic postwar Lionel F3s; my 2343 Santa Fe A-B-A combo with MTH Railking streamlined passenger cars.  These classics will never go out of style!

John

Photos show my MTH model (20-2438-1) of New Haven Alco DL109 #0722 – The Cranberry. It was listed in the 2003 Volume 3 catalog.

#0722 was delivered to the New Haven Railroad in 1944 and pulled The Cranberry, a passenger train that ran between Boston and Hyannis, Massachusetts from 1949 to 1953. It  was the only New Haven locomotive painted in this bright red and white color scheme. At one time, the trucks were painted silver.

MELGAR

Maine Central F3 #683.

Here's my F3s for this week.  These are Williams B&O A Units.

A New Haven FA set along with an RS3 heads a revenue freight toward Cedar Hill Yard on the New Haven section of my layout. All are first generation Weaver units.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nVhYy7efpdpSVJZ28

All beautiful engines so far, love them all. Keep them coming!

Here is another of my favs, the 1999 MTH DAP CP 2373 ABBA set. The set came with two powered A-units and 4 aluminum cars; 3 domes and one observation. The two B units were separate purchase items. It looks really good with a long string of Premier CP passenger cars.

Sadly this set just missed the cutover to PS-2 electronics by a few months, so it's conventional only. It is slated for upgrade to PS-2 this coming spring though, including the addition of smoke. Just can't leave them sitting in boxes any longer!!

Rod

Here is one of my favorites.  I really like the black basic color and the bright yellow stripes and outline to the "ERIE" name.  This of course is the Lionel #2032 Erie Alco FA from 1952-1954.  I know that the Erie is long gone, although in my boyhood days it ran right into Jersey City New Jersey not too far from where I lived from birth to about age 22 although it became the Erie Lackawana in 1960 and then part of Conrail in 1976.  However I was in the neighborhood from 1944 (really just an infant at that time, no railfanning ) to 1966 so saw the Erie to Erie Lackawana transition.  I rode Erie passenger trains with my Dad , even behind some late steam.

Best Wishes,  Don

F3s for Fridays micro edition:

I saw these Z scale F units running on a modular layout at the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium MD a couple years ago.

Bob

I painted these 30+ years ago in Chicagoland in the basement of a well-known painter, Richard Sherry, who was featured in T-M "Toy Train Revue" VHS tapes. Met Richard at a train show and expressed interest in learning to paint Lionel F units (MTH and Williams had not yet hit the market) in road names Lionel didn't offer, and he showed me some basics.

(Richard's T-M video material is, I just now discovered, on YouTube. (Included is a "how to" segment on repainting LIONEL PW F-3 unit))

At the time, Richard was well-established as a tinplate restorer and PW LIONEL F unit painter of road names not offered by LIONEL; e.g. Rock Island, MONON, Burlington, GM&O and others. On Wednesday evenings each week he'd gather a number of train guys for popcorn and soft drinks to talk, run, and paint trains.

These GM&O units are refurbished PW SF 2343 AB units. They've held up well over the years.

F3-like MTH Premiere Alco PA units heading up the California Zephyr on my home layout.

Bob

A classic...

MTH Premier from 2010.  Great smoker.

@Markmad3 posted:

A classic...

MTH Premier from 2010.  Great smoker.

That certainly is a handsome set Mark - 15 years old now and it has the beautiful stainless 'plating' of the prototype. Too bad MTH didn't have better images of their diesels (steamers too) in their catalogs as the plating needs to be seen to be appreciated.  It was many years later that I saw one in person and had been unaware of the feature until I picked up a set of their 'Yellowbonnets' in HO scale at a show.  MTH was way ahead of the competition with this!

I also posted these F3's in "Buy anything cool lately".

Purchased these Lionel pw f3's 2333 Santa Fe which I added a 2343C B-unit, also 2333 NYC had a 2344C B-unit.

Both units appeared to be unmolested.  The Santa Fe's are the early ones produced in 1949 w/rubber stamped lettering. NYC's needed the front coupler rebuilt.

I now have all 5 pw Santa Fe F3 sets and all 3 pw NYC F3 sets.

Welcome back to F3s for Fridays.

This morning I have videos showing smooth running scale size Williams NY Central F3s hauling scale size box cars including a Lionel NY Central box car with sounds (the orange one right behind the locomotives):

Now let’s see the F3 and F3 look a likes that you would like to share today. When you do, please remember to post only photos and videos you have taken, or those in which you have obtained the written permission of the owner to post, and otherwise fully comply with the Forum Terms of Service. Arnold

Hello, covered wagon fans!  Arnold, your Williams diesels are Alco FAs.  The nose is more square than a F3 and they have the “grill” around the headlights.  Put one side by side with an F3; you’ll see the difference.

My offering today, from the archives, is my MTH Railking PRR EMD E8 pair.  E8s, designed for passenger service, have a nose like an F3 but a longer body to house two prime movers.  They also can be distinguished from F3s by their six wheel trucks.

John

Rock Island FAs.....my modular group colleague, Paul, got these from MrMuffin. They are lLegacy and they look, run and sound great......I believe MrMuffin has a few more if anyone is interested.....

Peter

New Haven Alco FA diesel locomotives #0409, #468 and #0422 are an MTH Premier ABA set (20-2238-1) delivered in 2000 at MSRP $599.95 with PS2. Both A-units are powered and the B-unit is not.

MELGAR

Menard's F7s with a Dallee revers unit replacing the Menard's board.

Know your noses.

Baldwin Freight Shark and Passenger Shark. (Lionel Freight Shark).

Baldwin DR-4-4-15 "Babyface" and Centipede (Lionel Centipede).

EMD E (7 or later) and F. (3rd Rail F3)

ALCO PA and FA (Lionel PA)

FM Erie-Built (AtlasO)

A pair of Lionel E7’s from 2021…

And here’s a short video of the 2021 E7’s pulling consists of Lionel 15” aluminum passenger cars from the late 70’s - early 80’s…

A couple of F3's about to pull a few empties from the local brewery...

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Welcome back to F3s for Fridays.

This morning I have videos showing smooth running scale size Williams NY Central F3s hauling scale size box cars including a Lionel NY Central box car with sounds (the orange one right behind the locomotives

Arnold

Arnold,

As you know, I like to keep things simple on my railroads - such as running conventionally. Boxcars with sounds have not been on my acquisition list but I must say that the track sounds as that orange car runs definitely add something to the scene. It also sounds like the rate of clickety-clacking increases as the train speed increases. Very nice but probably too expensive for me. Is that car a recent purchase?

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

Arnold,

As you know, I like to keep things simple on my railroads - such as running conventionally. Boxcars with sounds have not been on my acquisition list but I must say that the track sounds as that orange car runs definitely add something to the scene. It also sounds like the rate of clickety-clacking increases as the train speed increases. Very nice but probably too expensive for me. Is that car a recent purchase?

MELGAR

I bought it about 1 year ago from a LHS, may paid $125 for it. I only have 2 Lionel boxcars with freight sounds: 1 is the orange NY Central and the other is a blue and gray B & O.

Arnold

Kansas City Southern F3 AAs  and their accompanying consist of Kansas City Southern  sleek passenger cars glides the Hi-Rails on the Shenandoah Short Line.  The F3s are TMCC .  Both the motive power and the passenger cars were manufactured by Lionel in the early to mid 1990s.  Thirty years later still a very handsome set.😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

Here is a little Alco FA, the Lionel #221 D&RG A unit from 1963-1964.  Not much to her, not even a headlight or a horn assembly but she still works fine after 60 years!! 

Best Wishes  Don