Dear Bram:
Thanks much. You've gone a long way to helping me out. The other detail
stuff such as numbering, whistles, etc... I can lay my hands on.
Well done!
Bruce
bram.bailey@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Bruce & fellow list members,
The FA1 was introduced in January 1946 as a 1500 HP unit. By march of
1950, they had upgraded the unit to 1600 HP. In competing with the GM F3
and later F7s, the GM units could be configured with a steam generator. In
the case of the FA1, there was no space in the A-unit to accommodate the
S/G. Proposals requiring a Steam Generator were answered by the offer of
placing the S/G in the front of the B-Unit, where the cab would be if the
unit were an A. To my knowledge, no FB1's were shipped with S/G's because
GM got the orders by configuring their Funits with S/G's or later offering
the FP7 with its extra water capacity.
The FA2 was designed in an effort to get some of the business that was
being lost to GM. The body was stretched enough to allow the mounting of a
S/G behind the radiator. Any FA2 delivered with a S/G was designated an
FPA2 (or FPB2). The FA2 freight units simply did not use that space. The
FPA2/FPB2's built in Canada went to the CN and CP (I beleive the units that
went to Mexico were built in the US). The CN's were later retrofitted with
251B prime movers and reclassified as FPA4's. The prime mover was still
the same basic 244 that was supplied in the late model FA1's. The FA2's
went into production in October 1950 and were built until June 1956.
Besides the additional length of the FA2, the spotting features are
that the FA1 had air reservoirs visible under the carbody behind the fuel
tank. The FA2 has the air reservoirs mounted internally, so it is all fuel
tank between the trucks. The FPA2's had a much larger tank assembly that
accommodated both diesel fuel and water tanks. The radiators on the FA1 go
almost to the rear of the unit. On the FA2 there is a noticable distance
between the radiator and the rear of the unit (~8'). Check the Second
Diesel Spotter's Guide on page ALCO 269, they have a photo showing an FA1
and FA2 back to back and the difference is obvious. Spotting features on
the B-units are the same as the A-units. One note of interest is that when
FPB2's were delivered, the S/G's were located in the front of the unit,
just as they had originally proposed with the FB1's.
Hope this helps.
Bram Bailey, Vermilion, OH
Bruce & Lynn Blackadder <blackadder@xxxxxxxxxxxx> on 06/26/2001 09:26:34 AM
Please respond to cpsig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: cpsig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
cc:
Subject: [cpsig] Difference in Units
Could someone out there give me a run down on the difference between
an FA1 and an FA2, and between FB1s and FB2s? Seems to me that the FA
and B 1s were shorter than the 2s, but after that......
I'm going to be modelling a few of these in the upcoming months, and
I'd like to get it straight. I've tried to find some photos to compare
them, but with no success to date.
Thanks in advance for any assistance that can be provided.
Bruce Blackadder
blackadder@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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