played only the engine number in the boards (except on locomotives in Penin- sula commute service). For practical purposes (as we model- ers don’t have the ability to change the boards easily), the La Mesa Club has adopted post-1967 practice even though we model a period before then. This is a personal choice, but for flexi- bility I suggest you insert the engine number so the unit can be assigned to any train, scheduled or extra. If you choose to leave the boards blank, you may want to add simulated bulbs by drilling three countersunk holes in the board base, adding flush “bulbs” made of fused optic fiber, and putting on the clear cover. (See my model of No. 6458.) Athearn’s models with snowplow pi-
The color of Miniatronics’ Yeloglo white LED’s is excellent for representing the headlights on a diesel locomotive. They require a 470r resistor (yellow/violet/brown) soldered in series to the longer lead on the LED. The wire here came from the Athearn headlight bulbs.
your model, you will also have to elimi- nate the m.u. cable door on the nose and the pilot hoses because these did not appear on any F-units until after 1952. After that, the SP added them when the units were shopped, so they could appear at any time after 1952. The lifting lugs on the nose and rear diaphragm frame should be treated similarly for your model’s time frame. To be completely accurate, you could also add an m.u. receptacle on the rear of the unit, inside the upper left side of the diaphragm buffer above the door.
Icicle breakers About 1958 Southern Pacific installed
icicle breakers on many of their passen- ger carbody (E and F) locomotives to clear icicles hanging from snow sheds and tunnel portals, as these could dam- age a dome car. Even when obsolete, SP insisted on having an FP7 lead all pas- senger trains, including Amtrak trains, over Donner Pass for this reason. HO scale icicle breakers are not available commercially (yet), but they could be made with some brass or phosphor- bronze strips and sheet stock soldered together. For now, however, I will wait for the commercial parts. Finally, you may want to add wind de- flectors to both sides of the cab win- dows. These are available as very deli- cate, etched brass parts (note that the mirror portion goes on top), but I find them too delicate, so I don’t bother with them. You could also place sun visors in the cab. These, too, are available com- mercially. Kick plates may be added on the cab ladders and side doors, as well. (Why they are not on the FP7 is a mys-
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
tery since the Athearn F7 has them.) For early radio installations, which were an afterthought, SP ran the anten- na cable externally down the window mullion to the base of the windshield. Apparently they later ran the cable in- ternally, but it is hard to tell from the photos. You can simulate the cable with a piece of soft iron wire pressed into place to match the nose contours. Some units were stenciled RADIO EQUIPPED, but this was not universal and did not last long. The Athearn unit simulates EMD’s 1,500-gallon tank quite well, so no modi- fications are needed here. However, us- ing a No. 11 blade, carefully scrape off the parting lines on the fuel tank. Going on to the water filler at the
middle of the lower panel on the car- body, you have probably noticed in pro- totype photos that the water filler hatch cover is generally missing. I sus- pect this was just a matter of conven- ience, and the covers probably got dis- carded because they were in the way. This “upgrade” may be modeled by drilling and carving out the cover, backing the hole with styrene, and adding a filler cap.
The number boards on SP models are
tricky, as up until 1967 the company used them to display train numbers, not the engine number. As the FP7’s were dual service, they were generally as- signed to passenger service (coupled to B-units having steam generators), and the number boards on the lead unit would display the train number while a rear-facing unit would have blank num- ber boards. An extra displayed the extra number (not always the engine number) preceded by an “X-.” After 1967 SP dis-
lots have a gap in the center that is ac- curate to simulate the unit with the pi- lot cover absent (removed on trailing units to permit connection of the steam pipe). This also prevents interference with an adjacent Kadee coupler if the pins are retained. Athearn does not make the pilot cover, so you are on your own here. Refer to prototype photos and gather up some thin styrene. I will probably make a cover later unless some enterprising after-marketeer beats me to it. SP’s shops eventually just cut the bottom six inches off the pi- lot cover to permit access to the steam hose without removing the cover itself.
Configuring the CV’s
What follows are my settings. Basic configuration starts by setting CV29 to accept the extended address with 28/128 speed steps, using speed steps and in normal direction (CV29 = 50). Set a pre- set straight line speed table (CV25 = 2), and program the unit’s address. For the starting speed, be sure there is no momentum set (CV3 and CV4 = 0). Start with VStart (CV2). Set it to start the loco moving at step 1 and to continue moving at step 2 or step 3. This will probably be around a value of 10 to 15. For the running speed, I program all my locomotives to run 25 m.p.h. at step 14 and 50 m.p.h. at step 28. This en- ables them to run together with little bucking. Use CV66 (forward trim) and CV95 (reverse trim) to reach these speeds. For Athearn Genesis units, these values will be around 45-50. Now, let’s get the lights working. The following will turn both headlights on with the F0 button. The upper will sim- ulate a Mars or Gyralite, and the lower one will simply come on and dim with the F7 button (Rule 17 operation). Setting CV33 to 3 makes the head-
light turn on with F0, and setting CV34 to 3 will make the backup light turn on with F0. For dimming the up-
67
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100