I remember a Lionel O-guage engine when I was a kid. It looked like it had an F-7 cab on each end and pantographs on top. It was orange, black and white in New Haven livery.
Did this engine ever really exist? And does anyone make them in HO?
One or two, at least. MR did an article on a New Haven layout not long ago called “New Haven Under Wire”. The EP5 or EF3 may be what you’re thinking of.
Something like this?
http://rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc4973ags.jpg
http://rr-fallenflags.org/nh/nh0370atd.jpg
This is a former NH EP5, classified as an “E40” on the Penn Central. PC used them in passenger service, until one went up in flames in Grand Central during rush hour in 1970. After that, PC put them into freight service…and then got rid of them. The second photo is really a PC engine, but it was never repainted from NH colors.
Among many, Lionel made a EP5 #2350. Is this it?
If that’s it, then sadly as far as I know it hasn’t been mass produced, but there are suppose to be some brass ones somewhere. Fred
Yeah, that’s the one! Too bad nobody’s making them, I guess.
Guys,
Didn’t you see David Telesha’s posts on this just a few months ago? It was a “For New Haven fans” type of thread.
Our resident New Haven gurus are: David, Paul3, and Rick Abramson. Sooner or later one of them will chime in with some really good info.
The EP5 is one of those locomotives that I’ve been hoping would be produced in plastic by LL or even Bachmann Spectrum. Unfortunately only two roads had these which were New Haven and later Penn Central. Even towards the end of their careers they could pull long passenger trains at high speeds with ease. The fans on them were loud and the units were nicknamed “Jets” as a result of the sound. There were electrical problems but seems like it was more due to poor maintenance by the bankrupt New Haven.
Yep, these engines did exist. Delivered in early 1955, these were the very first locos to be painted in the now famous “McGinnis” scheme of geometric shapes in black, white and red/orange.
4000 Hp (continuous) at a 58,000lb axle loading on C-C trucks geared for 105mph (even tho’ MAS was 70mph), the 11kvAC was changed to DC by 12 ignitron rectifier tubes when running under wire. These also had DC 3rd rail shoes and a small DC pan to permit operation into GCT from NYC’s Woodlawn. Numbered 370-379, they had Hancock air whistles (not horns), and very loud blowers that earned these locos the nickname of “Jets”. I’ve heard a sound recording of one of these locos, and it really does sound like a 707 on take-off.
The only real problem with these locos was that the car body was so tight inside that components were on top of each other. The car body was pressurized…too well. Rectangular vents were added quickly to these units on the sides in the orange stripe area to relieve the pressure. Supposedly, this solved the other problem in that the air itself would ionize inside the compartment leading to shorts and fires.
After these teething problems, the EP-5’s were very well thought of on the NH. The last of them were scrapped in 1979…none were saved. In fact, there are no orginal NH A.C. electrics left. There are two EF-4’s (aka E-33’s) built fo the VGN around, and there’s one D.C. motor for the NH in St. Louis. But there are no EP-1’s, EP-2’s, EP-3’s, EP-4’s, EP-5’s, EF-1’s, EF-2’s, EF-3’s, EY-1’s, EY-2’s or EY-3’s on this planet.
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven
Oh, and I should mention that HO EP-5 resin bodies on modified Athearn frames are available from Branford Hobbies in Branford, CT. I talked to the owner at the Springfield Show this winter and when I asked him what do I tell people who are online about your products, he said, “Tell them that I can still make shells and frames, but I can’t paint anything at this time.” (that’s paraphrasing there)
These are pretty good models, IMHO. Not the typical resin junk that seems to be the norm. Look him up on Yahoo!'s yellow pages…
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven
Paul,
Thanks so much for that update. I’m currently concentrating on buying DCC and DCC sound components for my HO locomotives. I hope to be able to buy one of these EP5s in the fall. I guess I’d have to whip out the airbrush for the scheme.
The fun part! The model paint manufacturers representation of the NH orange-red color seem to vary. I’m thinking of going with Modelflex’s version.