F3s For Fridays

@MELGAR posted:

On last week’s Steamday Sunday (02/02/25) several members mentioned that they regret having sold their postwar Lionel trains when they were youngsters and having taken up HO scale model railroading instead. I’m one of them. My father bought me a Lionel Santa Fe F3 ABA diesel freight set (2207W) and we built a 4’-by-8’ layout that I converted to HO in the 1950s. The Lionel trains were given away or sold – I don’t know which.

I didn’t regret it for almost 40 years but I did after resuming O gauge model railroading 28 years ago. So, one of the first things I bought was an MTH Premier Santa Fe F3 ABA diesel locomotive set (20-2151-1) with PS1. The A-units are Santa Fe #20 and #21, and the B-unit doesn’t carry a road number. It isn’t my original set but it’s special to me. I learned my lesson and it’s not for sale. I keep it in a cabinet and have never run it. Some models were meant for display. Taking these photos and having a close look at the models reminded me why Santa Fe F3s are iconic. Lionel produced an exceptional product when it made them in the 1950s.

I’ve posted almost all of my models of cab-unit diesels on this thread and saved this set for last because I wasn’t sure I wanted to remove it from the cabinet for photos. I try to avoid repeating things so am also not sure what I will post next week although I have a Boston & Maine F3 ABA diesel set that resides in the cabinet with the Santa Fes. But, as I’ve already told Arnold, that’s it. It will be repeats after that… Different photos but the same models…

MELGAR

Mel, your Santa Fe locomotives are gorgeous and it’s good to hear that you have them to cherish. I’m in the same boat regarding repeating my F3 like engines in the videos I post here.

We can either continue repeating and/or take a break resurrecting this thread every Friday. We can also keep adding to our collections of F3 and F3 like engines, but not me because I already have too many trains and don’t want to spend more money buying new ones. Maybe us regulars on this thread can chime in on this. Arnold

Alco FAs and 1957 Lionel cataloged set 1575.......

Charles, let’s have a moment of silence for the late Marty Fitzhenry.  He was a passionate model railroader, willing to share his vast knowledge of the hobby with anyone that asked.  RIP, Marty.

John

@MELGAR posted:

I didn’t regret it for almost 40 years but I did after resuming O gauge model railroading 28 years ago. So, one of the first things I bought was an MTH Premier Santa Fe F3 ABA diesel locomotive set (20-2151-1) with PS1. The A-units are Santa Fe #20 and #21, and the B-unit doesn’t carry a road number. It isn’t my original set but it’s special to me. I learned my lesson and it’s not for sale. I keep it in a cabinet and have never run it. Some models were meant for display. Taking these photos and having a close look at the models reminded me why Santa Fe F3s are iconic. Lionel produced an exceptional product when it made them in the 1950s.

I’ve posted almost all of my models of cab-unit diesels on this thread and saved this set for last because I wasn’t sure I wanted to remove it from the cabinet for photos. I try to avoid repeating things so am also not sure what I will post next week although I have a Boston & Maine F3 ABA diesel set that resides in the cabinet with the Santa Fes. But, as I’ve already told Arnold, that’s it. It will be repeats after that… Different photos but the same models…

MELGAR

Mel, she’s a thing of beauty, thanks for sharing one of your special engines.

Gene

Arnold, I’m in the same boat.  I’ve gone through not only my collection of F3 like engines, but switchers and steam engines too.  Also, like you, I have too many trains and don’t plan on buying a lot of new engines.

I’m not bored yet with seeing your repeats.  Let’s continue with weekly posts.  We can exercise our imaginations by posing our engines with different trains, in a different location on the layout or at a different photo angle.  I’ll look forward to hearing what our Forum friends think.

John

Thanks Arnold for getting us rolling!  MELGAR - thanks for showing us those gorgeous Santa Fe  F units!! Wow ... such beauty!!!  Here are my Williams F units  on the move.  I've shown these units before, however these are fresh photos of them taken in a different location.  

Good morning all you F-body fans! Here is my latest addition, a 2001 Premier EMD ABA consist (only the A-A’s pictured). This set was bought for a conversion project, but alas, that did not pan out. They are still a good looking set IMO, pristine condition with only 0.3 miles on the DOD (a little more than that now).

And I agree with others; it’s OK to show repeats as much as we like, especially in different scenes with different consists. Yay!

Well I am a little pressed for time this morning, but I can't miss Friday's posts.  Here is my Marx E-7 Union Pacific AB unit.  This beauty was available new only one year, 1960 and came as an AB unit not an AA.  The matching #3900 UP caboose with the black stripes was a late comer, available 1974-1975, almost the end of Marx trains, but it matches perfectly so I use it gladly.

Best Wishes, Don

Early morning pic at the Charles Street Yard for F3 Friday...

@Steam Crazy posted:

I’m not bored yet with seeing your repeats.  Let’s continue with weekly posts.  We can exercise our imaginations by posing our engines with different trains, in a different location on the layout or at a different photo angle.  I’ll look forward to hearing what our Forum friends think.

John

John, well said, this sounds like a good start.

Gene

I am on board with the ideas expressed by Genemed and SteamCrazy.  Lets just try for new scenes, even if they include the same trains.

Don

@BAR GP7 #63  I presume the photo backdrop comes right to the grass tufts. The water makes it appear there is more room behind the tracks than there is.  I'll have to remember that.  Love your photos.

@ScoutingDad posted:

@BAR GP7 #63  I presume the photo backdrop comes right to the grass tufts. The water makes it appear there is more room behind the tracks than there is.  I'll have to remember that.  Love your photos.

ScoutingDad,

Thank you. You are right. I think the background is a very important part of the whole. My backdrops are two sides and by turning the module 180 degrees, the landscape looks very different again. 🤝

Johan

Dad’s 2367

A pair of Santa Fe F3s that a friend gave me. Lionel 2383s

Williams Penn Central F3 A-B-B-A. Upgraded with ERR TMCC , some paint, decals and weathered:

Tom

Some custom painted Lionel F3's from Nostalgia Train Wks

Other misc F & E units

A few years ago, I had to buy these gorgeous F3s when I learned that they were available for sale from JR Junction Trains & Hobbies, one of our Forum Sponsors. Specifically, those F3s are the MTH PS3 B&O A (powered) and B (non-powered) units.

The 2 videos below show those B&O F3s hauling passenger cars (the Royal Blue) and freight cars on my layout:

I would love to see your F3s and F3 look a likes. Remember when you post photos and videos to comply with the Forum Terms of Service: post only photos and videos you have taken, like I do, or those in which you’ve obtained the owner’s written permission. Arnold

A pair of F3s. The Western Pacific is a repaint that I retained from my late friend's collection. It was painted by Andy Kriswallus (sp), from LI NY.

Hello, F3 fans!  Nice videos, Arnold!

Last Friday we talked about “the postwar trains that got away”.  MELGAR lamented about his 2207W set headed up by a Santa Fe F3 A-B-A combo, which reminded me I still have the 1952 2191W set which contained my 2343 Santa Fe F3 diesels.  I also realized I probably haven’t run this train as a set in 70 years, because I preferred to run the F3s with larger rolling stock.  It seems strange Lionel would offer O scale engines with O27 size cars; it must have been a cost consideration.

In addition to the F3s, the set contained a 6656 stock car, a 6456 Lehigh Valley hopper, a 6462 NYC gondola and a 6457 caboose.  You may notice I painted the caboose sometime in my misspent youth and I added brake wheels to the gondola.  The 1952 catalog I researched for this post shows pictures of the gondola with brake wheels, but none of the three examples of these cars I own came with the brake wheels.

While looking through the catalog I saw a fascinating page touting Lionel’s “masterpieces of engineering skill”.  It contained photos and descriptions of various components, including a “stripped down (F3) chassis”.  It occurred to me some of you may have never seen this chassis before, so I’m including a photo and video.  I think you’ll agree it is a “masterpiece”!

John

Thanks to Arnold for starting this thread!!

   Here are my F units for this fine Friday ... B&O and Reading.  B&O by Williams ... Reading is a hybrid model consisting of a K line shelll and MTH Proto 3 electronics.   The short video shows the B&O F units in action.

Boston & Maine #4228 is part of my MTH Premier ABA diesel set that includes B&M A-unit #4227 and a B-unit. The two A-units (20-2126) were priced at $485 and delivered in 1996 with Proto Sound. The powered unit is #4227. #4228 is unpowered. I removed only #4228 from my train cabinet for photos.

The real #4228 was built by EMD in October 1948. Its last service was in 1972.

MELGAR

Here is another favorite set. This is the RK version of the Texas Special ABA set which usually pulls a full 8 car set of Premier passenger cars. Sorry I have no video of that handy. MTH did a nice job on these for the price.

This pic is a comparison with the original PW 2245 set out in front. They look pretty good together, albeit the 70  year old white paint is not as bright as the RK’s!

Still they are all pretty sharp. Ya gotta love F units!

MELGAR, you need to run the B&M and Santa Fe F3s in your cabinet!

John

All excellent posts so far. Hopefully, we can continue rolling down the line.

@MELGAR posted:

Boston & Maine #4228 is part of my MTH Premier ABA diesel set that includes B&M A-unit #4227 and a B-unit. The two A-units (20-2126) were priced at $485 and delivered in 1996 with Proto Sound. The powered unit is #4227. #4228 is unpowered. I removed only #4228 from my train cabinet for photos.

The real #4228 was built by EMD in October 1948. Its last service was in 1972.

MELGAR

MELGAR; really like the B & M’s. Nice pics. I especially like the trestlework it is sitting on. Can you tell us a bit about it; did you build it? Custom built? Its the perfect size for a medium or even large layout. Wish I had done something like that!

@Steam Crazy posted:

Hello, F3 fans!  Nice videos, Arnold!

Last Friday we talked about “the postwar trains that got away”.  MELGAR lamented about his 2207W set headed up by a Santa Fe F3 A-B-A combo, which reminded me I still have the 1952 2191W set which contained my 2343 Santa Fe F3 diesels.  I also realized I probably haven’t run this train as a set in 70 years, because I preferred to run the F3s with larger rolling stock.  It seems strange Lionel would offer O scale engines with O27 size cars; it must have been a cost consideration.

In addition to the F3s, the set contained a 6656 stock car, a 6456 Lehigh Valley hopper, a 6462 NYC gondola and a 6457 caboose.  You may notice I painted the caboose sometime in my misspent youth and I added brake wheels to the gondola.  The 1952 catalog I researched for this post shows pictures of the gondola with brake wheels, but none of the three examples of these cars I own came with the brake wheels.

While looking through the catalog I saw a fascinating page touting Lionel’s “masterpieces of engineering skill”.  It contained photos and descriptions of various components, including a “stripped down (F3) chassis”.  It occurred to me some of you may have never seen this chassis before, so I’m including a photo and video.  I think you’ll agree it is a “masterpiece”!

John

@Steam Crazy,

Very nice, John.

The chassis design and layout of the two motors and e-unit is very neat. Now, you've got me thinking about looking for a 2207W set like I used to have. I can hardly imagine what it would cost today.

MELGAR

Well lot's of Santa Fe's this morning so I thought I would get in on the action.  OBTW @Steam Crazy thanks for the pictures of the "inside" of your dual motor pw loco, I admit I had not seen that view before.  Pictured below is my Lionel Alco FA Santa Fe A-B-A # 212.  The set came originally as a AA only and the B unit was produced 1 or 2 years later and I believe its number is 218.

.

Best Wishes, Hope you have a great weekend.

Don

Santa Fe F3 getting the call for service while the PA idles for the day...

@Rod Stewart posted:

MELGAR; really like the B & M’s. Nice pics. I especially like the trestlework it is sitting on. Can you tell us a bit about it; did you build it? Custom built? Its the perfect size for a medium or even large layout. Wish I had done something like that!

Rod,

I designed and built the trestle the from scratch - 24 inches in length from basswood. I had originally planned for a two-span girder bridge when I designed the layout but decided on the trestle when it came to construction because it looked more dramatic... The 24-inch truss bridge at the rear of the layout is also scratch-built from basswood. Second photo shows the fixture that I used to make the trestle bents. Third photo shows B&M #4228 atop the trestle.

MELGAR

Boston & Maine EMD E7 #3805.

Mel, my 2191W set, received Christmas 1955, was $70.00 in the 1952 catalog.  I also got a ZW transformer ($27.95) with the set.  Even though it came from a local discount retailer (has anyone heard of "Spag's"?), it must have been a sacrifice for my parents, because they didn't have a lot of money.  If they were alive, I'm sure they'd be glad to know their son still appreciates it.

John

Williams New Haven A B A

Williams Wabash AA

It occurred to me my original post would have been enhanced with some photos from the 1952 Lionel catalog.  The 1952 cover has to be one of Lionel’s best; who wouldn’t want a Lionel train after seeing that cover?

John

Alco hood units waiting for an assignment......

Peter

On my wish list! In fact, I am looking at one on the Bay right now. BUT I also just purchased a sewing machine there and need to slow down on the spending. I will mull it over for the next 24 hours. This online shopping is dangerous stuff!

Mikki

Williams NH AA F-3, with Williams Aluminum NH Passenger Set

Ray

The hard-working crew of the Great Northeastern Railway's engine service facility gives the "go ahead" to the B&O, A-B-A, F-3's to proceed to pick up its next train and move on down the line.

A custom painted A-B set of F3s with F7 grilles, making them imitation F7s.