Is the silver and red Santa Fe F unit - is it an F3 or F7? - the most ubiquitous locomotive in model railroading history? It is everywhere, all scales, all brands. When I go to a train show, they are all over the place, from five bucks to hundreds of dollars. I cannot think of a locomotive from any era that I see more than this one. Does this reflect your experience?
Yes it is. So much so that people that know nothing of trains still recognize it.
.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Santa Fe all the way.
Russell
It is the model train equivalent of Whipped Cream and Other Delights by Herb Alpert. (I am also an LP collector!) ;)
Shock ControlI cannot think of a locomotive from any era that I see more than this one. Does this reflect your experience?
Maybe because the red, yellow, silver, and black stand out more than other schemes. Course, if they were REALLY popular...you wouldn't see them "all over the place".
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
tstageCourse, if they were REALLY popular...you wouldn't see them "all over the place".
Is that like saying "They were a lot more popular before EVERYBODY started buying them?"
tstage Course, if they were REALLY popular...you wouldn't see them "all over the place".
Well, see my Herb Alpert analogy above. That album was huge, but it is still readily available at a thrift store near you!
To answer the question, quite possibly, but the really strong challenger would have to be the 4-4-0 or 4-6-0 on various roads, the one with the beehive stack and lots of brass...or bling...on it.
selector To answer the question, quite possibly, but the really strong challenger would have to be the 4-4-0 or 4-6-0 on various roads, the one with the beehive stack and lots of brass...or bling...on it.
Can you post a pic? I am more a of a diesel guy, so I may have overlooked this.
Shock Control selector To answer the question, quite possibly, but the really strong challenger would have to be the 4-4-0 or 4-6-0 on various roads, the one with the beehive stack and lots of brass...or bling...on it. Can you post a pic? I am more a of a diesel guy, so I may have overlooked this.
I think the one with all the bling he's talking about is made by Hallmark or somebody. It's advertised on the back of magazines and in the Sunday paper glossy insert, along with the silver dollars and buffalo nickels.
LINK to SNSR Blog
What I had in mind was something like this example on the auction site, not necessarily this very Rivarossi model:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/HO-Scale-AHM-Rivarossi-4-4-0-K-C-ST-L-C-Old-Time-Steam-Locomotive-/202087124779?hash=item2f0d54cf2b
It appears in popular train sets, the kind mom 'n pop will smile at under the Christmas tree.
Definitely iconic, if not ubiquitous.
Actually my 1st HO train set had a red/silver warbonnet ATSF F7 in it, but the engine didn't run so it went back to the shop. It was my almost Santa Fe F7 - never did get any in all the years after that.
Ok, we've solved that mystery. Put a fork in it!
Next topic... /topic
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
selectorWhat I had in mind was something like this example on the auction site...
Oh, those...
Lionel was the first to make it starting with the post war ones. It was a huge seller then. Probably why it is still so recognized today
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Lionel for sure played a big role in making it so popular (and since EMD and Santa Fe helped pay for the tooling I guess you'd have to say they played a role as well). There were so many Lionel layouts in store windows and inside stores at Christmas time; hard to describe if you weren't around at the time. And not infrequently the Santa Fe F unit (an F3 I think for Lionel) was heading the train.
I think there was even an episode of the then-popular Jack Benny program that revolved around Jack wanting one for Christmas in a season when they were so popular they were known to be in short supply.
The Athearn Sante Fe F7 was also extremely popular back in the 1950s. Other makes of F units had them as well; it was one road name they all had to have.
And remember the Santa Fe itself while a hugely popular "western" railroad also had a presence well into the midwest including Kansas and Illinois. So those locomotives and the trains they pulled were known and enjoyed in some very populated areas of the country, and areas where model railroading was very popular as well.
Dave Nelson
Will everyone who doesn't/didn't have a Warbonnet F unit please raise their hand?
(Thought so!)
I had to raise mine because you asked for '...a warbonnet..." I have two.
selector I had to raise mine because you asked for '...a warbonnet..." I have two.
I have an A-B-A consist. Does that count as one, two, or three? I'll raise just one hand for now.
Robert
LensCapOnWill everyone who doesn't/didn't have a Warbonnet F unit please raise their hand?
Believe it or not, the only one I have is a Hallmark Christmas tree ornament. Does that count?
LensCapOn Will everyone who doesn't/didn't have a Warbonnet F unit please raise their hand? (Thought so!)
Been in this hobby since 1968, never owned any locomotive that said Santa Fe, in any paint scheme.
And don't have any interest in owning any.......
Sheldon
I have a Kato N scale decoder equipped A-B-A set, They are the power for my officer special train.
Ira
I would have predicted that Sheldon would chime in, and he did not disappoint. My modeling focus is actually on the Santa Fe, and I own 13 F3/F7 and one FT in Warbonnet livery (just counting A units), all with different road numbers. However, I have also a similar number of F3/F7/FT in freight paint schemes and GP7/GP9 in black with Zebra stripes.
JW
Life Like F7 anybody?
DrW I would have predicted that Sheldon would chime in, and he did not disappoint. My modeling focus is actually on the Santa Fe, and I own 13 F3/F7 and one FT in Warbonnet livery (just counting A units). However, I have also a similar number of F3/F7/FT in freight paint schemes and GP7/GP9 in black with Zebra stripes. JW
I would have predicted that Sheldon would chime in, and he did not disappoint. My modeling focus is actually on the Santa Fe, and I own 13 F3/F7 and one FT in Warbonnet livery (just counting A units). However, I have also a similar number of F3/F7/FT in freight paint schemes and GP7/GP9 in black with Zebra stripes.
There is nothing wrong with the Santa Fe, I just don't buy stuff that does fit the theme of my layout. I don't "collect" trains, I only buy what I'm going to run.
And I will not be offended if you don't own any B&O, C&O or WESTERN MARYLAND F units, I do.......
But don't feel singled out, I don't own a UP BIG BOY, SP GS-4, PRR anything, NYC Hudson, or any one of a number of other "famous" locomotives.
Most of my 140 locos are lettered for my freelanced ATLANTIC CENTRAL, the rest represent the three roads listed above that interchange with the ATLANTIC CENTRAL at the division point represented by the layout.
Santa Fe passenger F units are beautiful, but again, it's just not what I model.
The ATLANTIC CENTRAL pulls lots of passenger trains with F units and has a nice fleet of FP7's and F7B units for passenger service, as well as a set of steam heat equiped F3's.
I have a pair of the Atlas O scale F9 SanteFe locomotives from the 70's. Saw them at a train show for a good price and could not resist. They don't fit my scale or shortline, but hey this is a hobby. And I'm willing to admit to being a collector. They still run great.
Paul
The SF Warbonnett isn’t ubiquitous because someone decided to ram that particular train set down our throats, it is locked into American psyche simply because it is brilliant graphic design. It is literally an icon, and people gravitate towards it because it looks cool. Same thing with an NYC Hudson with the “gladiator” thing on the front. Doesnt matter if you love it or hate it. It’s an icon of industrial design. I have several Santa Fe F-unit consists, no business being on my layout other than nostalgia. Can’t look at them without remembering being kid running them around the Christmas tree. And that’s prototypical enough for me.
In my personal opinion, the reason why this is so popular, is because it came with the cheapest set in the market for almost every brand, locomotive, two cars and the red caboose, under 20 bucks in the 70's, people used to buy them for Christmas and Birthday gifts! By the 90's I saw the same set for 25 bucks! I'm not a collector, I love them as toys and I play with my kids and grand kids all the time! Even now these are the chepest diesels on eBay because there are so many of them!
Well, Big Bad Al, you went and revived a 7 to 8 year old thread for your first post, but I am going to let you get away with it because I love the Santa Fe Warbonnets. What's not to like? I have two ABBA consists of F7's, and why not, because I model Dearborn Station, the Santa Fe terminus in Chicago.
Welcome to the forum!
Rich
Alton Junction
The Warbonnet paint job was used on more than just models of F units..it was used on GP40s, Sharknoses, and even an electric locomotive.
I never have owned a warbonnet to the best of my knowledge. Closest I came was a UP F7 was my first HO engine as an eight grader. All my Fs are either protolanced schemes or else BN (freight) and ex-NP units.