Hi

We have two nice Bachmann engines....a red and sliver Santa Fe diesel #307 and a green and silver Burlington Northern diesel #9710.  They look to be the same diesels....but we don't know what model they are.  EMD or what?  Would welcome some help. 

EMD F7A units. The fan closest to the front is the dynamic brake cooling fan. The four behind it are for engine cooling. On these models the forth fan has a "winterization hatch" over it. This is to divert warm air back into the engine compartment to keep the water used as coolant from freezing during cold weather.

Len

Those are EMD F9s. The giveaways are the air vent on the side of the locomotive between the cab door and the first porthole window. On an F7 the location of the vent and the porthole would be reversed. Another spotting feature, unique to the Bachmann model, is the angular cutout in the fuel tank skirt.

Oops! I was so focused on the roof I missed that detail.  Since some roads never used them, I still find it strange the winterization hatch is molded on, instead of provided as a seperate piece.

Len

Thanks so much guys!  EMD F9's.   Now I can order some coupling adapters.

Reuben

We don't have winter down here on the Gulf Coast. I had no idea what a winterization hatch is until Jeffrey told us.

You guys are fantastic.  So here's one I've been curious about but didn't think I'd be able to find any details on.  I have the three F7's pictured below, neither of them are the same.  When I bought the "Digital Commander set" way back when, it came with the 4 circular window F7.  I already had the 2 circular window version and the no window version. 

We all know that they are all F7's but is there any additional details you could provide regarding each of these, such as, their different year manufactured or why the windows were added or removed, or due to what the different railroad companies specified, etc.



The info you provide will support my museum on the layout.   And yes, my museum is still under construction, which I might add these locos to it.

The 4 closely spaced portholes beneath the wire screening over the radiator openings would normally identify the first unit as an 'FT-A', not an 'F7A'. The middle unit, with two portholes, was the most common porthole configuration for the F3, F7, and F9 A-units. Early F3A units had three portholes, as did most 'B' units for all, except the 'FT's. Later F3A's eliminated the middle porthole and used a similar configuration to the F7A and F9A. The last loco louver configuration looks more like a modern 'F40' configuration than an F7A unit.

Len

As Len has observed, the three are EMD FTa, F7a and F40PH. The first two were transition era with the FT being the original F unit, the one that proved the diesel's superiority to steam in everyday operating conditions. The F7 was an evolution from the FT that happened to be in production when the bulk of the diesel orders to replace steam were placed. Thus it is by far the most common F unit variant in the real world. The F40PH came about much later, and was used by Amtrak and many commuter railroads to replace the original E series units. It has a semi stramlines cowl body, but underneath the hood it is a freight GP40-2 with modifications made for passenger service (high speed gearing, ability to provide power to passenger cars, etc.) To be honest, there is no era where all three models coexisted in actual service, as the FTs were mostly traded in on new power a decade or more before the first F40PHs were built.

Thanks for the details on these locomotives.  As old as I am, I guess I'm still young to have witness these locomotives in operation.  So, can I say that these F?'s and F40PH are no longer in operation, except for tourism, if any?  The reason behind this query is, my HO museum is for "out of service" locomotives and a museum means historical and not for loco's that are still in operation (in use).

The F40PH units Amtrak had are all off the roster, and at least one of them went to a museum. They were the backbone of Amtrak's fleet for about 20 years from the late 1970s to the late 1990s. However, they are still very much in use on commuter trains for Metra (Chicago) and MBTA (Boston.)

The EMD FT was so early that most of them were retired and traded in to EMD on new locomotives before people started concentrating on saving old diesels instead of steam. Very few of them have been preserved, fortunately one of the ones saved is the original demonstrator unit that proved the diesel's worth in all services.

The F7 is the F unit most of us remember. They outnumbered all other variants combined, and ran on many railroads until around 1980. There may be a cou0le hanging out on a shortline somewhere, but the mainline railroads haven't used them in general service for decades. Many are in museums.


Honestly, all 3 models are historically significant.