In O gauge, would anyone happen to know how a Williams FB1 "B unit" compares in size to a Williams F7 "B unit"?I've looked numerous places but can't seem to find the dimensions of the FB1 "B unit".
I have the Willams, Santa Fe, F7 "A" units and can't seem to find a Williams F7 "B" unit to go with them. Was hoping the FB1 might be a suitable alternative.
Any ideas/suggestions?
Thanks!
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Both of these units are built to a nominal 1:48 scale; they are properly sized for O (especially the FB1). In the real world, the EMD F7B and the Alco FB1 would be approximately the same length as the F7B. Real railroads ran them together (Alco/EMD/FM) when called for and if they owned them.
The Wms FA/FB locos, from later tooling, are better models than the Wms F7A/B.
I believe that the Wms F7A/B is a bit lower than the Alco FA/B.
Weaver also has offered an Alco FA2 and FB2. The FA/FB2 - the real locos - were about 4 feet longer than the Alco FA/FA1. That's 1 inch in O.
Thanks so much for your reply! I'm still doing my homework on this and it seems the height difference may only be 1/8". The Alco, in a 2008 catalog, is listed as 4" high whereas my F7 measures 3 7/8" to the highest point on the cab.
About 4 years ago I had purchased a new Williams Santa Fee A-A diesel and they looked and ran great. I did constant checking for a matching B-unit which are hard to find. One mail order place (Mario's Trains?) responded to my search with the missing b Unit. It wasn't exactly cheap but the results are a long and sleek ABA Santa Fe pulling a half a dozen Williams Santa Fe Aluminum passenger cars. The ABA Santa Fe with 6 cars take up quite a length of track on my 12' by 9' layout.
My suggestion is to literally call around to various vendors and they will keep an eye for what you are looking for.
John
Maybe consider a Lionel F3 B unit or MTH F3 B "scaleking" unit would be a better fit.
The Alco FB-1 is 50 feet and change making it about a foot shorter than the FA-1. The Alcos are slightly longer than the EMD F7s except for the FP7A/9s which are about a foot longer than the FA-2s. But approximately because sources vary, some measure the car body and others over the couplers, it seems, when comparing prototypes to replicas.. I run an F7B behind an FPA-2 and I think they look okay. Something to keep in mind, I'm pretty sure that the older Williams F7s use F7 car bodies on F3 chassis/trucks.
Thanks to all for your responses. I guess I'll hang in there and keep looking.
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