Older Models w/fixed pilots & Kadee's

Very nice!  What's the "C" on the number for?

I was running trains earlier and I'm still amazed by the ease in which O-scale Kadees couple.  What's so cool is I can back into a car to couple it and not even move the car when the couplers close.  I don't remember being able to do that when I was in HO.

"C" makes it the third unit of a three locomotive set bearing the same number:  4070A, 4070B, 4070C  with the "A" and "C" being A-units and the "B" the B-unit. Many railroads used this numbering scheme.  If this locomotive were a 4 unit set, they would be 4070A, 4070B, 4070C, 4070D.

Initially, a 3 or 4 unit carbody locomotive set was considered as one locomotive, sometimes connected by drawbar and carried one number.  The inflexibility of not being able to separate units (and if I recall correctly, some union pushback) resulted in the alpha suffix being added and also generally on future A-A, A-B, A-B-A, and A-B-B-A locomotive orders.

Tidbit 1: Chicago Great Western ordered more B-units than A's and had suffixes E,F and G!

Tidbit 2: Sante Fe used "L" for the lead locomotive, so for example, an A-B-B-A set of passenger F3's was numbered 16L, 16A, 16B, 16C.

Rusty

Many railroads ordered their "F" units in A-B-A three unit sets, thus the lead unit would be #4070-A, the middle B unit would be #4070-B, and the trailing A unit would be #4070-C.

Then there was the Santa Fe, who ordered 4-unit sets, A-B-B-A, and they designated the first A unit as an "L" (Lead), the B unit as "A", the second B unit as "B", and the trailing A unit as "C". As a side note, when the Santa Fe began trading in old F units to EMD for newer GP20s, GP30s, GP35s, and GP40s there was great confusion at Pielot Brothers Scrap Yard since EVERYBODY just KNEW that "A units" had cabs, yet all the Santa Fe "A units" didn't had cabs. What went WRONG there???? After a lengthy history explanation to the various Inspectors as to what an "A unit" was versus an "L unit" was pertaining to Santa Fe trade-ins, things became more clear.  

You are right on Jack. Great Northern number there "F" units if two units (AA) in the 200 series. A 400 series would be (ABBA), after  time as the "set" were broken up, shop crews when crazzy.

Thanks guys!

I don't think that's something Seaboard ever did.

Very well done!

Looks great. Getting ready to do my CNW FT's and install drawbars between the A&B units per your earlier assistance. Did you have to cut off the tab on the F-unit pilots that connects them to the truck?

Matt,

Yes the tab has to be removed. As I get older (64) my eyesight isn't as good and I find that drilling holes and cutting out the plastic spacer was troblesome.

Thank you all for the kind words.

George