Locomotive antennas in the mid 1950s (Santa Fe)?

I have some newer Santa Fe caboose models that are “radio equipped”. So now I need to add an antenna to the locos that pull them.

Doing some online research, I found a great YouTube video from the early 1950s that at 7:09 happens to include footage of a wagon wheel antenna on the lead units of an F7 ABBA. Here’s a screen capture:

I also found a nice image from the Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society website that shows a similar wagon wheel on an ABBA F7 lashup:

So it appears the freight ABBA units had wagon wheels. But I can’t find any photos showing antennas on the passenger locos during this time period (1950s).

Question 1 (passenger loco radio?)

Did Santa Fe passenger F units have radio antennas to communicate with the crew back in the passenger cars? I’m not sure how the conductor would communicate back. Obviously this is before the time of widespread use of hand held walkie talkies. Perhaps a radio in the dorm car? I’ve never seen a wagon wheel on the passenger units. But in later years (starting in the 1960s) I have seen firecracker type antennas, similar to what was used on the caboose.

Question 2 (HO detail manufacturers?)

Does any detail manufacturer make a wagon wheel antenna in HO scale that looks like the ones shown above?

I’ve seen the Details Associates wagon wheel but it doesn’t exactly match the ones shown above. The Detail Associates wagon wheel look more like a caboose mountin

Hi Matt,

The “firecracker” style antenna was the most common on Santa Fe passenger Fs. They were mounted at the rear of the roof on the center line of the carbody. Some in the 325 class had ground-plane antennas (“nail on a square plate”) offset to the left side at the rear. See Lee Berglund’s article on Santa Fe Fs in the Online Resources section at the Santa Fe Ry. Historical & Modeling Society Website, atsfrr.net.

To match the wagon-wheel antennas used on freight units, use the etched wheel from the Detail Associates kit but mount it on a length of brass or steel rod of appropriate diameter. (This is also a form of ground plane antenna, with the open wheel forming the reflective plane.)

Good luck with your models,

Andy

Thanks for the info Andy.