What is it?

[Anonymous]

Recently I found a F3 made of a single piece of cast bronze which was more than 12 lbs. and about 18in. long. It appears to be "O' gauge. No coupler on the front, two six wheel trucks, driven by four wheels each, two motors, six screens each side, and a bulb protruding for the headlight. It has six access ladders and wire handrails, and five square ports on each side. It may have been originally gray at one time. What is this behemoth, who made it, and where does it belong in the scheme of things ? olds28

[jimrice4449]

Sounds more like an E unit. Severly sloped nose, E-3, 4 or 6. "Bulldog" nose (similar to an F unit), E-7. As to its provenence, I'm stumped. There were some HO offerings in photo etched bronze shortly after WWII, but I don't recall any O scale bronze castings of diesels although that was fairly common for steam engine boilers in that era such as the Bowser Mountain in HO.

[wjstix]

Ya, six wheels truck sounds more like an E-3 than an F-3. Any pics??

[wjstix]

p.s. I would maybe post this in the "Classic Toy Trains" and or Model Railroader Forums, bet someone would recognize what it is. I know several manufacturers made metal-bodied diesels in the forties and fifties, could be made by one of them (like All-Nation??).

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info. I will try to get a pic out.

[West Coast S]

O guage you say? Could be a vintage All National casting , these were sturdy enough to be used as battleship anchors! Though crude by today standards, they are well thought of in the O guage community and was about the best you could get in the fifties and sixties short of scratchbuilding.


Dave