Intermountain Santa Fe FT's

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I was about to order a set of these then I remembered Santa Fe ordered theres with hostler controls in the B unit with an extra porthole on the left side. I m guessing Intermountain did not model this? Does anyone have any of their Santa Fe sets to confirm?

Thanks You

SB

2

The Stewart FTs offer this option IIRC. Would think that IM would have to keep up to that standard, but don’t know. Anyway, Stewart is an option for those needing the 5th porthole.

3

My Intermountain ATSF passenger FT B has the extra porthole, just like Stewart and is a better model because the handrails are already installed. Crappier packaging, however.

4

In searching images online I found something odd in MB Kines pictures of sold out Intermountain FT’s in N and HO. The N scale Santa Fe freight version show it there but the HO version does not have it.

I may just have to give Intermountain a call.

Thanks

SB

5

SB,

I’ve noticed that sometimes M.B Klein will use a non-specifc photo for a particular locomotive release. So, even though an NYC FTA might show #1610 in the photo, it could also include #1617, #1620, or #1623. The description is the important thing and I’ve never had M.B Klein pull a bait 'n switch on me.

Even so, for the hostler port hole, it’s worth verifying that with them via phone or email.

Tom

6

All Intermountain Santa Fe FT units have the fifth porthole in the B unit. However, the fifth porthole is on the right side (in steam terms, the engineer’s side), and all Intermountain promotional pics show the left (Fireman’s) side. Having the fifth porthole on the engineer’s side is prototypical.

As an aside, I like the Intermountain Santa Fe FT’s very much. My major complaint is that you have to install the windscreen wipers yourself, and, at least in the units I got, there was no pre-drilled hole. When I tried to drill a hole, the paint turned out to be rather brittle…

7

Thanks for the reply guy’s. I will go ahead and order some. I do have a set of the Cotton Belt and the Mopacs and they are very nice. I did use different windshield wipers as the stainless ones that came with them left a lot to be desired. I have always used the DA wipers but the Aline are very nice to.

Thanks

SB

8

Yes, it is not unsual for one side of a piece of rolling stock (engine, freight car or passenger car, even caboose) to be different on on side vs. the other. If it is photographed from the wrong side, it is hard to verify what you are looking for. I saw this even with Trainworx new 40’ Trailers. There is a curbside door on some of them but not all, but if the trailer is photographed from the other side, you cannot tell which have the curbside door or not.

9

The photos of real ATSF FTs I found online seem to match the Intermountain model pic on their website.

https://www.intermountain-railway.com/ho/html/49201.htm

It can be a little confusing to talk about the front and back with FT B units of course. As designed the FT was a back to back A-B set, so the overhang on the A unit was the front (where the cab was) and the overhang on the B unit (where the cab would have been if it was an A-unit - also where the steam boiler and water tanks were on a passenger unit) was towards the rear.

In that configuration, with the overhanging ends facing away from each other, the Santa Fe’s B units had the extra portal on the ‘right’ or engineer’s side of the A-B set.

https://swrails.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/atsf-127-ft.jpg

However, since ATSF had couplers on both ends of their FT B units, I guess it would depend on which end they considered the ‘front’ to say which side the portal was on.

10

Thanks for posting this pic. It is actually very interesting as it shows the second B unit facing in the “wrong” direction, with the overhang toward the rear A unit. In this set-up, both B unit portholes are on the same side.