The model FP45’s will not have stainless steel side panels since the real ones did not have stainless sides. They were painted silver panels and not stainess like the later passenger F3’s and the F7’s/.
A few years ago I made the decision to use mainly GE Genesis and EMD F7As as commuter power on my line. I made that deterimination after looking at the detail of the Athearn P42 against that of the FP45 directly. (I don’t particularly care for F40PHs so that’s why I largely skipped those) Had a higher quality FP45 been avalible back then, I might have chosen differently. They are huge and boy do they look great. Thier cousins, the F40Cs pull bi-levels around Chicago for METRA and are pretty incredible sprinters. But this begs the question, the F40C was purpose-built for commuter service on the Milwaukee Road, which also owned FP45s. So what was it about the FP45 that made it undesireable for the Chicago area commuter assignments? Cheers! ~METRO
Mustanggt, it sounds like the “one loco” you may be referring to is the SDP40f which Cmarchand and I refer to in the above posts. Though very different from the FP45, the body style is similar. Amtrak originally intended the F40 for use in short and medium distance runs, instead it became Amtrak’s primary power for most of its diesel powered trains after the problems with the SDP40fs derailing in certain situations became a public spectacle.
Metro, I hope this helps:
Remember, the FP45 was introduced in the late 1960s,
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Equipped with a 20 cylinder engine under that carbody…
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Produced 3,600 h.p (big muscle)
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Had an enourmous 5,000 gallon fuel tank.
She was designed for hauling long passenger trains (and fast freight) at high speeds over long stretches of track with few curves.
The F40C was a 1970s product, newer and more efficient.
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Equipped with a 16 cylinder engine (like her cousins the SDP40f and SD40-2)
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Was shorter in length
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Lighter in weight and more fuel efficient,
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Equipped with a smaller fuel tank.
Metra’s commuter trains were and still are light weight, start and stop frequently (rough on big locomotives), and travel relatively short distances. The F40C’s lighter weight and gear ratios allowed it to take off rather quickly from station stops, where the FP45s “higher end” gearing and heavier weight made it slower on the take off.
BigBoy, Guys…
I went to the Athearn website, clicked on various links but didn’t see any info on the updating of the F45/FP45 cowls.
Where can one go to view the info?
Appearantly this info came from the National Train Show.
cazypher, I’m not talking about the F45/FP45 but the F7s. I couldn’t give a rats a** about the F45/FP45s.
Ch
Thanks Csmith.
I’ll send Athearn an e-mail and ask if they can give some details.
Funny, I still remember back in 2004 the posts from one or two members ridiculing the thought of Athearn re-tooling the cowls…stating that it wasn’t a very good idea for Athearn as they likely wouldn’t sell well. Never mind that these cowl units had a unique body style and rich history (especially with the “Super Fleet” program).
The influence of their styling was quite visible when the EMD GP60s rolled out of the plant two decades after the F45/FP45s were introduced. That modified safety cab with the tear drop windshields looked very familiar!
He could also be reffering to the short-lived GE P30CH “Pooches” that eventually bowed to F40PH’s (as well as the first GE Genesis units).
a rat’s a**
[V]Charlie was that comment really necessary?? C’mon amigo, it’s not a cool sign of a thinking man.
4884BigBoy, interesting point. [8D]
The prototype GE P30s were rather few in number (I vaguely remember…I think Amtrak had less than 25). Here in Florida a group of P30s were assigned to handle the Auto Train for several years. A model was produced in HO scale back in the 80s. I forgot which company made it.
Easy tiger!!! We knew what you were talkin’ about. Give it a chance.
YES!!
Finally! An N scale FP45!!! Woohoo! I’ve been waiting for a good one of these ever since I started N scaling. Dreams do come true![:P] I just hope it is reasonably priced.
I’d like to see an N scale P30…They were awesome looking.
If you don’t want to wait for Athearn Genesis to come out with that N-Scale F45, you can buy a resin body shell kit (complete with etched metal detail parts) that will fit a Kato N-scale SD40 mechanism here:
http://southernalbertarail.com/index.php?page=navleft_2_col
Pretty darn good looking N-scale kit that is too!
Sorry for the confusion. The F7’s did look good in the yellow warbonnet scheme and the passenger units did retain the stainless panels without being painted.
The 347C is pictured in yellow warbonnet in the Santa Fe Diesel book. This unit was repainted back to the Red Warbonnet scheme and donated to the California State Museum in Sacramento along with an F3B in Warbonnet paint.
I also like the Yellowbonnets myself, but unfortunately they are a little too modern for my era.
Received a reply from Athearn after sending them an e-mail asking about the cowls.
7/19/06 - “Is true. Details will follow in several month. NO additional information at this time.”
I guess the rep is a man or woman of “few words” but still, it is welcome news.
At this stage I wonder if Athearn is still working the details out with the manufacturer or if the tooling/dies have already being produced. My guess is a late 2007-early 2008 release.
I hope I’m wrong, but based on these manufacturers’ track record it’s at least over one year away.
Guys, it might be a good idea for you to continue to give Athearn input on this. For example what versions will we see? There’s quite a few:
Santa Fe Warbonnet Red 1968 with Gyra-Lights. (100 series)
Santa Fe Warbonnet “Super Fleet” Red 1988. Gyra Light space plated over. (5,000 series, renumbered to 100 series, renumbered again to 90 series) - can drive a prototype modeler nuts!
Santa Fe Warbonnet Blue (5000 series)
Santa Fe Solid Blue
Milwaukee Road Yellow (with Gyra lights)
Milwaukee Road Orange
Wisonsin Central
AntonioFP45
Thanks for the update from Athearn. That list of FP45’s will be welcomed with a lot of sales ehen they are availble.
Let’s not forget the F45s, Antonio:
Santa Fe Blue w/ Yellow Details
Santa Fe Blue Bonnet
SF Kodachrome (FP45s too)
Burlington Northern
Santa Fe Blue Bonnet BNSF Patch
MKM
Wisconsin Southern
Wisconsin Central
Lets not forget the F45 that had steam lines as well. Have a noticable difference in the front plow
Ch
I doubt there will be steam lines on the FP-45s. Athearn has not added steam lines on it’s other passenger diesels. Of course who knows; we could get lucky, although Athearn has not released any of it’s passenger diesels with steam lines.