I have developed quite the comprehensive plan for my layout roster. It’s quite expensive, to the degree I think it may be unattainable, but I’ll look at it optimistically.
One locomotive on the list is an EMD F7A for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. That leaves me two options–the Athearn Genesis model and the Bowser model. However, only Bowser’s is in the correct paint scheme. I need either #562 or #572 as they appeared in 1971. And I’ve found one at a reasonable price with DCC and Sound (ESU).
Is it a good model? How does it sound? Do any of you have video of it? I can’t find any video of it, aside from an old run-by with minimal sound showcasing and is low resolution.
EDIT: I decided to find a seller with a stock photo of the model. Here you go.
I owned the Bowser F 7 in Alaska Railroad guise and was very happy with it. The detail was spot on, the sound was great and it ran nicely. The paint job was acceptable, with the parting line between the blue part and the yellow part not always sharp.
I have a number of Stewart/Bowser FTs & F3s and really like them - especially their operation. The Buehler & Cannon motors are 2nd to none in smoothness. Not as keen on Athearn - even the Genesis locomotives.
If the paint is spot-on on the Bowser version, that would get my vote without hesitation. Big fan of Loksound decoders, as well.
Tom, unless you have owned the Genesis F units, I would not use experiances with other Athearn Genesis locos as a measure of the Genesis F unit. It is easily the best shell in terms of detail and accuracy, and it and the Intermountain F unit are easily 1st and 2nd in detail.
No question the original Stewart drive in the Bowser F unit is top notch, and has an edge over the others. But both the Genesis drive and the Intermountain drive are smooth, quiet and reliable.
In terms of bang for the buck, most runs of the Bowser/Stewart locos lack hand rails and other fine details, yet are similar in price to Genesis or Intermountain.
Regardless of brand, my many years both modeling and selling model trains has shown me time and again each product stands on its own merits, and the name on the box means little.
A Genesis SD70 may have issues, that has nothing to do how good or bad a Genesis F unit is.
All my Genesis F units are great locos, about 8 of them if I recall, same with my Intermountain F units.
But, the OP is looking for a specific roadname and color scheme, that would drive my choice because the overall quailty of ALL the current high end F units on the market is outstanding.
I am going to offer my thoughts on one additional aspect of your question - sound quality.
I would suggest there is no possible way to judge the sound quality without hearing the loco in person.
No Youtube video is going to be a fair representation.
This opinion comes from someone who designs HiFi speakers as one of my other hobbies, and who perosnally does not like ANY onboard sound in HO scale do to its overall low fidelity.
I understand that many people like onboard sound, but again, what quality of speakers would you be listening to if you watched a video? How good would the recording equipment or acoustics be for the making of any such video?
Too many variables.
The sound of a locomotive played thru 1" speakers is of no listening value to me…
You make a valid point about how a YT video can’t demonstrate sound quality. I more was referring to what the horn, bell, and prime mover sound like; not really the sound quality. It is important, but I don’t expect a 1" speaker to perform particularly well. I more want realism and accuracy, and I know what to expect from a standard speaker on an HO scale model.
I actually own a Genesis F3A-B and I still prefer the Stewarts - even if the detail isn’t quite as good. The new Executive Line Bowsers are quite nice and do have improved looks. And the older Fs can always be spruced up with the Cal Scale Superdetail sets. I also have an Intermountain F3A and agree that they run smoothly. That said, I’d still choose a Stewart - given the choice of my road name.
Anyhow, since the Stewart has the correct paint scheme for the OP, the Stewart is the better choice in this instance.
Tom, my preference for Genesis and Intermountain for F units is largely based in the fact that I am a freelance modeler.
Long before Bowser ever offered an Executive version of their F units, the Highliner shell kit that Athearn uses was available to build F units with a long list of specific detail options and that kit builds F2’s thru F9’s.
If I were you I would go for the Bowser unit for a few reasons.
One is that it will perform very well. I don’t think anyone will argue that.
The second is that it has your very specific livery. That saves a lot of paint work, even if you do have to add handrails.
Third is that Bowser’s customer service would appear to be excellent. I’m only basing that on the experience of one of my fellow club members so the following is limited proof. My friend bought a brand new Bowser SD40 and proceded to have it hit the floor before it had even gone half way around the club’s mainline the first time. Somebody left a track diagram across the rails. The front truck was jammed up inside the shell pretty good. Rather that attempting to repair the locomotive himself my friend sent it back to Bowser to be repaired. He sent it not knowing what the repair cost would be. He got the loco back in about three weeks and the bill was $0.00. They even paid the return postage IIRC. We are in Canada so the shipping wasn’t cheap.
You can’t go wrong with that kind of commitment to good service.
The ESU Loksound 567 prime mover sounds excellent. None are better in HO scale, IMO. One thing I notice about the V4.0/Seclect is a motor hum that can bleed through the sound at low speeds and low volume. I do a lot of switching under those conditions, so I am sensitive to the buzz. Many people can’t seem to hear it. New locos are starting to use the ESU Version 5, which has eliminated that problem. Don’t know if the loco you are looking at has the new V5 or the more common V4.
Motor control is excellent. Much better than the Tsunami 2 at slow speeds (Tsnami also sound great), but the F series is a road unit so I assume you’ll be running it at road speeds and not slow speeds so you should have no issues.
As has been suggested, you need to hear the loco in action.
I’ve been working on a Highliners F2A shell for my NYC roster (they had only 2) and the detailing is beautiful. I have it on a Stewart F3 chassis and the fit is spot-on. And, even though it’s not completed (i.e. it’s painted but no decals yet), it’s quickly become one of my favorite locomotives and operates as smooth as glass.
And I don’t deny that Athearn (and Intermountain) locomotive shells are very nicely detailed. I simply prefer the Stewart shells because they allow me “options” that pertain to my prototype - particularly when it comes to their older undecorated kits.
In either instance - it’s a nice problem to have. [:D]
I’m not sure if this was for me or not…I don’t know who Robert is, lol. My name’s Liam.
I do like F units, but Alco’s are my favorite. If nobody offered one of these models in my specific livery, I’d skip over it. F units were so rare on the Valley by '71-only 562 and 572 remained.
As per good service, glad to hear it. I’ll be rostering several other Bowsers, including a C628 and a DS 4-4-1000.
I just discovered where I got the name ‘Robert’ from. You have a quote at the bottom of your post by Robert A. Heinlein. I wasn’t reading carefully enough.
My grandpa has a pair of EDIT: Bowser F7s in the SP&S broadstrip scheme. They were pretty good locos, nice detail, sound was good. The only issue we had was that the two of them would not run well together out of the box, for some weird reason their speeds where way off! I don’t know why. We have yet to fix that issue so we don’t run them much, but I still think they are pretty good models!
