MTH Premier O 20-21581-1 F3 A-Unit Diesel Engine With Hi-Rail Wheels, Pennsylvania Railroad #9517

PROTO-SOUND 3.0 EQUIPPED MODEL

From 1942-1945, Electro Motive Division’s F-unit was the only road freight diesel built in America. While the War Production Board limited competitors Alco and Baldwin to diesel switcher and steam locomotive production during World War II, EMD’s 1,350 hp FT became a runaway best-seller. By war’s end, Electro Motive had a lead over its competitors that would last until they closed their doors.

With production restrictions lifted and the U.S. economy humming with pent-up demand, railroads clamored for new diesels to replace a steam fleet exhausted by wartime traffic. In July 1946, EMD introduced a new model F-unit, the F3. Horsepower was upgraded to 1,500 and lessons learned on the FT gave the F3 better reliability and lower maintenance. Under the hood throbbed an improved 567-series V-12 engine. With 567 inches of displacement per cylinder, this same engine would power virtually the entire first generation of EMD diesel locomotives.

The F3 hit the market in an era when almost every boy in America wanted toy trains for Christmas, and F3 models quickly became a hot topic in letters to Santa. Such was the desire of railroads for publicity that Lionel convinced the Santa Fe, the New York Central, and EMD to share the tooling costs for its top-of-the line F3. Even today, half a century later, the Santa Fe F-unit remains an icon of railroading to the American public.

Capture the excitement of the first-generation diesel era with this full-scale Premier model. With two flywheel-equipped motors, the M.T.H. F3 duplicates the bulldog tenacity of its prototype. Proto-Sound 3.0 offers authentic EMD 567 prime mover sounds, a first-generation diesel horn and bell, crew and station sounds, adjustable smoke volume, and the ability to maintain any speed down to 3 scale miles per hour. Our model features the see-through “chicken wire” screens and rectangular rooftop dynamic brake grilles that characterize most F3s, as well as a host of added-on details – including legible builder’s plates, grab irons, multiple-unit hoses, rooftop lift rings, see-through rooftop fans, steam generator exhaust stack (for passenger car heating), windshield wipers, and trucks with separately-applied spring hangers, brake cylinders, and air pipes.

Features:
Intricately Detailed Durable ABS Body
Die-Cast Truck Sides, Pilots and Fuel Tank
Metal Chassis
Metal Handrails and Horn
Moveable Roof Fans
Metal Body Side Grilles
(2) Handpainted Engineer Cab Figures
Authentic Paint Scheme
Metal Wheels, Axles and Gears
(2) Remote-Controlled Proto-Couplers
O Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting
Directionally Controlled Constant Voltage LED Headlights
Lighted LED Cab Interior Light
Illuminated LED Number Boards
Lighted LED Marker Lights
(2) Precision Flywheel-Equipped Motors
Operating ProtoSmoke Diesel Exhaust
Onboard DCC/DCS Decoder
Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments
Proto-Scale 3-2 3-Rail/2-Rail Conversion Capable
1:48 Scale Proportions
Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring Passenger Station Proto-Effects
Unit Measures: 13″ x 2 5/8″ x 3 3/4″
Operates On O-31 Curves

Diesel DCC Features:
F0 Head/Tail light
F1 Bell
F2 Horn
F3 Start-up/Shut-down
F4 PFA
F5 Lights (except head/tail)
F6 Master Volume
F7 Front Coupler
F8 Rear Coupler
F9 Forward Signal
F10 Reverse Signal
F11 Grade Crossing
F12 Smoke On/Off
F13 Smoke Volume
F14 Idle Sequence 3
F15 Idle Sequence 2
F16 Idle Sequence 1
F17 Extended Start-up
F18 Extended Shut-down
F19 Rev Up
F20 Rev Down
F21 One Shot Doppler
F22 Coupler Slack
F23 Coupler Close
F24 Single Horn Blast
F25 Engine Sounds
F26 Brake Sounds
F27 Cab Chatter
F28 Feature Reset