SHOW ME YOUR F3 COLLECTION

Here are a couple F units.

Art

I only have 3 sets of F units. I haven't seen anyone else post them yet, so here they are.

New MTH F7's with PS/3 

K-Line (The MTH set was purchased to replace these, but I haven't sold them yet)  

Here is a shot with an MTH E-8, an MTH F-3, and a Lionel semi-scale F3 from about 1999-2000. I took the shot to illustrate the incorrect paint job on the MTH F-unit. It's painted in passenger colors, and the stripes should meet at a point at the center of the windshield. The Lionel paint job is not perfect, but much closer to correct than the MTH. I've since sold the MTH F-units.  

Love Milwaukee F units or covered wagons.  Love them new looking and especially love them weathered.

Art

Some F3s and a couple of E8s.

Lew Schneider

Carl,

  While the units came with grab rails by the front and rear doors, below the headlight and at the extreme end of the body, these were simply in black.  Pretty much anything CP painted in the tuscan and grey scheme had the contrasting yellow railing.  I added the grab irons on either side below the number boards as prototypically found on CP's FP7 #1400.  I discovered that CP never had F3's in their roster so I just went with what might have been.  Bent some flat bar stock brass to simulate wind vents on the side glass and added wipers.  A bit of silver and red paint around the fuel filler area,  yellow striping on the air grills by the cab doors and painted the horns grey.  That's it.

Bruce

Somehow, I forgot to include the Santa Fe freight units in my previous post, so this is to make up for that omission.....These are all Lionel Legacy units.

Bruce, thanks for the details.  The engine is a beauty out of the box; you made it better!

IMHO, the F3's offered are closer to the prototype F7 than they are to an F3.

Carl

That all depends on you're definition of F3 and when:

All part of Santa Fe's 16 Class F3's.

Rusty

Probably because the vast majority of the photos posted above, are NOT actually F3 units. Many posters just assumed any and all "F" model units would comply with the original poster's request.

Not sure how it got to be this crazy but....

I've got about 16 F3s in HO, N, and O. Road names vary from Santa Fe, Christmas, B&O, NYC, Conrail, etc. I've always liked F units...but I SWEAR I didn't get to 16 on purpose!

Hot Water, my quoted comment was directed at the manufacturers, especially Lionel since they have been at it longer than the others, and not at anyone posting a picture of an engine marketed as an F7, if that was the point of your reply.

Carl 

Here is one of mine doing it's first runs through my 2014 Christmas village ... it's from my MTH RTR set.

Here's some pesky S Scale F3's:

And, just to satisfy the O Gauge content, some PWC and Archive:

Rusty

Rusty, the pictures are great.  My opinion was based on pictures in my train books which showed many roads operating F3's with three portholes per side and tall roof fan shrouds--those are the most noticeable differences with Lionel's F3.  Some of your pictures depict those features.  You raise a valid point that not all F3's are identical.

Carl

For a timeline of ATSF's acquisitions of F units and there numbers here's a link:

http://trainweb.org/jfuhrtrain...frames/Timeline.html

It's included in this apparently exhaustive review of SF's F unit history:

http://trainweb.org/jfuhrtrain...frames/Timeline.html

Without reading the information in detail, basically an F unit with a three digit number is an F7 or F9, and those with two digit numbers are F3's--there are exceptions to this generalization.  Checkout the links above for more detailed information.

I only found these links in the past few minutes because I was curious about what Lionel was using as the prototype for the postwar units. FWIW, the first F7 was delivered to SF in 1949 and the first F3 in 1946 .

Carl

Here's a few of mine, not all F3's, but:

Top to bottom,

MTH, F3, MP515 Premier

Atlas, F3, MP515 with MTH GP7, Railking

MTH, FT, MP501 Premier 

In the nose view you can really see the difference in the MTH and Atlas pilots, MTH are more toy like, much like the Lionel F3 pilot of old.

Dan 

 PS: (I am looking for the Atlas MP  B Unit!)

Two pages of great pics guys.  Wouldn't you like to see MARSHELANGELO'S F3's since he started the thread? 

I'll post pics of mine once I get a battery for my camera or I'll just use the phone--I'm not looking forward to getting them out of their containers while I wait for paint and carpeting to be done.

My "collection" consists of:  (1)   2356 Southern AA postwar (my childhood set in OB's and carton); and repainted SF basket cases in Burlington (red stripe), NP North Coast Limited, and GM&O The Alton Route/Abraham Lincoln that I did a while ago.

Carl 

i would say john sethian's Pennsy f units are almost perfect. only problem he owns them and i don't. i definitely have a case of f unit envy!!!!

This is off thread but do you own a 69 nickey camaro??

Thanks, marshelangelo, for starting this great thread. here's mine: back in history, on the road, and at home.

jim pastorius yes bought it new 11/27/68 427 L88 m22 4 speed 5.13 rear. dusk blue black interior. also has a set of aluminum heads done by larry buelteman the engine builder for the chi-town hustler funny car. almost as good an investment as the 773 hudson i bought new in 1966??? 

I had a 69 Z28  Bought new.

i also have a 69 z burnished brown crossram 4 wheel disc brakes  factory headers and 1 of 180 cars built with the traction spray option. love those z's. sorry about the off thread.

M I N I A T U R E !!!!!!!!!!!

!!ARE WE HAVING FUN TONIGHT!!

I think the grey horn added at the rear is a bit out of scale, I would of went with something similar to the front horns.

I don't have any F3s in my collection.  I have FTs, FP7s, FL9s, F7s soon and several E units, but not F3s yet.  I'd like a set of CNJ ones in the green and yellow scheme someday.

RS5 with the special anti theft option.

Bruce

Santa Fe F3's and a CNW F7, the second pic is an Athern HO F7.

I was wondering if MTH have ever offered a PS3 version of a SF yellow or blue bonnet ... I'd really like to get one.  

Atlas Master MKT f3.

Thanks everyone for you photos and input.  My Wabash was my first train when I was 2, and it was what had brought me back to Model railroading.  It was a toss up between trains and my HO Aurora racing cars but the trains won and I've been creating my collection for 2 years now.  Here are my F3's cars and thanks again - MARSHELANGELO

Excellent thread; enjoyed everyone's pictures.  F3's/F7's are my favorites.

Marsh, thanks for posting a picture of your fleet.

Carl

Who made this?

Marsh- looks like Spencer !!

MTH made these Chicago & Northwestern F7 beauties ��

Interesting. I do have MTH C&NW F3 ABA units with same paint scheme as your, I noticed they put "Employee Owned" on ball and bar logo on your while mine has "Chicago System".  "Employee Owned" didnt start til 1972. 

My NYC.