December is the eve of the birthday of two Great Model Railroading Products. First, as we all now, Model Railroader is now officially a Senior Citizan at the Age of 70. The Next, is little know except to the guys at Model Railroader. The Longest running Model Locomotive turns 50 next year. The ATHEARN F7 turns 50. This is the Longest running model still in Production. From Unpowered Kits to the Genesis Line . The Athearn F7. The first Mass Produced Locomotive for Modelers is still in Production! This production run has outlasted even the SD40-2. (And Out numbers the SD40-2 10 to 1!) All I want to say is Happy Birthday Model Railroader, for you are Now the Oldest Model Railroading Trade Magazine, and the Athearn F7, for you turn Half a century old today
I almost hate to admit it, but I still have one of the original Athearn F7s, in Great Northern colours, still running on my layout[:D]! Does that date me? (oops).
Good company, good products
Well, since I just remotored a 30 year old Athearn F-7, what has been said here over and over must be true…EMDs never die, they just get re re re built and soldier on. [:)]
I guess this belongs on the model railroading section but what the heck.
Before there was the Athearn F7 there was the Globe F7 – the same tooling by the way but Globe sold it only unpowered for about 89 cents. At the time, early 1950s. nothing else around had that kind of detail. I think Milwaukee’s master machinist Carl Traub did some of the tool and die work (years later his exquisite live steam locomotives showed similar skills, and at an advanced age at that). As I recall the Globe “dummies” came painted gold. It took Athearn to put a power train under them although at the time you could use the Varney F3 chassis – the Blomberg trucks were I think too small in wheelbase but the overall effect was good.
Dave Nelson