Opinions on 2Rail MTH F-3s and F-7s

The 2 rail version of the MTH F7 was reviewed in O Scale Trains by John Sethian several months back.  In a subsequent issue he described the upgrades he made to improve it's fidelity to PRR F7's.  Hopefully John will see this thread and share his insight.  John is a DCS operator and was very pleased with their performance and value.  The newer releases with PS3 also support 2 rail DCC.

   You may also want to consider the upcoming Sunset 3rd Rail F7.  They will be doing a D&RGW version (not WP or CB&Q).  Sunset 2 rail diesels feature fixed pilots and  smooth running single motor horizontal drives. Their 2 rail versions use QSI Titian decoder supporting DCC or DC.  Locating the large can motor in the center of the car body enables Sunset to fully detail A unit cab interiors - something not possible  with twin motor "China drives" used by MTH and AtlasO in their F units. 

Ed

Yes but three units for the sunset f7 will be about $2200.  The MTH are about 700 for aba.  Huge difference here.

I'm right there with Dave.

 

I like them, but I wouldn't get another set. Too much work. Here are some shots of my NYC F7 ABA, while I am not anywhere near John Sethian's work, I have put several hours of work on these units.

 

 

 

For what it's worth, like yourself I am collecting the atlas zephyr cars, and I decided that the only engine I would buy next year would be an ABBA Rio Grande F7 set from 3rd rail. While it seems like a big compromise, I'm confident that in the end I will be more pleased.

 

 

More like $1800, 3rd rail has them listed for $600 per unit.

Also, here is a video I made recently of my NYC F7's if you wanna check it out.

 

The units run well, but there are some compromises MTH made in the construction as the locomotive is essentially a 2-rail version of a 3-rail engine. The most immediate is that the truck side frames sit out farther than they need to because the truck was designed around wider hi-rail wheel sets. Then there are issues of road-specific details which you [usually] won't see in an MTH locomotive, though that seems to be changing with the new tooling -- case in point the C40-8W's which had gull-wing cabs on the ATSF and BNSF units. The F-units are from older tooling, and though the pilots have improved, there are still some errors like F3 pilots on FT's. In my case I count some rivets, but not enough for this to bother me...at least for now.

 

Another issue for some is the tether. The scale units have truck-mounted couplers in-between supporting the tethers. A better alternative would be running the tethers through the doors and having Kadee pads on the backs of the A-units and on both ends of the B-units. At some point I'll make that modification to my F7's. My FT's are going to get the A-B drawbar treatment.

 

The new releases have Proto-3 which also has a DCC decoder. Now if only MTH would do a scale-wheeled set of E8's.

I have a set of the NYC F7's. They run very well on my two rail DCS powered by DC. They sound correct and the horn is prototypical. The lettering, class designation, and labels are also all correct. The one thing that I wish they would reconsider would be to route the plugs through the diaphragms instead of under the couplers. I agree that the truck side frames are a little wide, and they do ride a little high off the trucks, but at the price there is nothing else even close. As an A-B-A set, dead track and dead frogs are no problem at all. They also pull very well.

I was going to also buy the F3's but on the NYC they have "chicken wire" between the A unit portal windows, and MTH did not model this. I probably would have bought a set anyway if MTH had modeled the earlier "truncated" lightning stripe with no stripe on the "B" unit, but the striping that was released is the same as on my F7's, so I passed.

Did they get the truck wheelbase correct?  Everything else can be fixed.

 

Since this is the 2-rail forum, do not forget the lowly All Nation units.  I am quite sure an ABA can be had for under $700 with all units double-powered.

 

So would anyone else be in for a run of CBQ/RG/WP of F-3 in a future MTH catalog?

 

I still don't have anything to pull my CZ when I get the end observation car (in 2015?).  I may email MTH a request.

You mean you didn't purchase the Sunset/3rd Rail/GGD CB&Q E7 units for your CZ train? They would be the most correct for that train between Chicago and Denver.

Correct, Hot Water. 

 

Maybe I should...

So what about bob2's question quoted below?

 

"Did they get the truck wheelbase correct?  Everything else can be fixed."

 

So what about bob2's question quoted below?

 

"Did they get the truck wheelbase correct?  Everything else can be fixed."

 

Yes

 

The 3/2 Blomberg trucks with interchangeable axles have the correct wheelbase.

 

Moving the side frames in makes a significant improvement with a modest amount of work. 

 

Out of the box they are good pullers, smooth at all speeds over 2-3 smph and have excellent sound decoders installed and under warranty.  For $700 what is not to like?

 

The GN F units below are fresh out of the box in this photo save for the Kadees.

 

 

Thanks, Ted.

 

How about the other wheelbase,  -- distance between the centers of the front and rear trucks.  And while at it how about the same two "wheelbases" for the MTH PA's.

 

 

The contour of the nose does not look correct to me, particularly where they start to curve down into the sides. There appears to be a bit of a sharp break there, rather than a smooth curve. I would rate the Atlas/P&D body as better with only their dead straight vertical headlight being incorrect for F2 through F7 (correct for F9).

 

Simon