Model Railroading > New athearn stuff

Athearn had a fp9 sample at the the WGHS in Oaks. They also had an airslide hopper. They looked nice. I didn't get a chance to talk to them about a time line on the fp9 or if they have plans for a fp7.

Alec Herman

---

---

---

First photos I've seen. Awesome.

dh1205 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Athearn had a fp9 sample at the the WGHS in Oaks.
> They also had an airslide hopper. They looked
> nice. I didn't get a chance to talk to them about
> a time line on the fp9 or if they have plans for a
> fp7.
>

They do. Nice to finally see the FPs!

Elizabeth

Did anyone else notice the vandy tender in front of the FP? Did anyone get any shots of what was attatched to it?

Ed_Gyptian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Did anyone else notice the vandy tender in front
> of the FP? Did anyone get any shots of what was
> attatched to it?

They are not the best photos but here you go.

Alec Herman

---

---

---

Nice to see a more modern single bay airslide. I don't think there's
very many of the style Walthers did still running around.

I visited with one of the Athearn reps at the Oklahoma City show and saw the same FP7 shell. Athearn was conducting an informal survey - the shell was basically two F7A spliced to make the correct length. The survey part of it is there is a very small molding seam above the air intakes that the prototype didn't have, but was necessary in the molding process since they would have to combine two of the molds etc.

The seam was not noticeable to me until it was pointed out and still it wasn't that noticeable even with silver paint. On most F unit paint schemes (not all of them) the roof is a darker color so I don't this would be an issue at all.

That's FP-9 in the photo, not an FP-7. The FP-9 had a louver in front of the porthole like an F-9. Also I believe all the FP-9's had the vertical slit louvers but the FP-7's had one or the other like the F-7's. (The vertical slit louvers were later than the horizontal ones.) I believe I am correct.

Oh, if they come out with the PRR FP-7 there goes my budget as I would like an ABA set in PRR Brunswick Green. (The B unit in the set was just an F-7.)

Something interesting to note was that just a few of the PRR FP-7 sets were painted in the Tuscan red scheme. They were the only PRR F units in the Tuscan red scheme though I think they were repainted into Brunswick Green fairly quickly.

RailThunder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I visited with one of the Athearn reps at the
> Oklahoma City show and saw the same FP7 shell.
> Athearn was conducting an informal survey - the
>

RailThunder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I visited with one of the Athearn reps at the
> Oklahoma City show and saw the same FP7 shell.
> Athearn was conducting an informal survey - the
> shell was basically two F7A spliced to make the
> correct length.


So...this is a marketing mock-up?
The frame is the show stopper for a home-brew kit-bash. Would be interesting to bash a Highliner shell and a Genesis F, but then the frame. The marketing example probably follows the technique that's been around for quite a few years. The frame was the trick on those ones as well, eventually the Atlas Roco unit came out. Their frame is a little thick but still a nice runner. Some of the Genesis units have used a Roco drive, uh-oh...

Agree that the louvers are the spotting feature between 7's and 9's. The early F7 freight units had 36 inch dynamic brake fans but by the time the stretched FP's were built the design had moved to the 48 inch dag-nabbit brake fans. That's what my neurons say anyways.

You're right, the fans are a spotting feature too. I think the pilot model here doesn't have dynamic brakes?

Yeah, years ago there were articles in both MR and RMC on kitbashing Athearn F-7's into an FP-7. The RMC article featured an SP version and the modeler did some work on the windshields too to make them look better. IIRC the MR article was much earlier and featured a C&EI version. Making the frame longer was a little extra work.

I tried grafting the stewart cab to a Atlas FP-7 but there was quite a bit of difference in the height of the cabs. (I'm not sure who got it wrong but the Stewart shell was more than a scale foot heigher than the Atlas.) As you know the Atlas/Roco FP-7 has narrow "slanted eye" windshields.

If Athearn uses the Highliner shell tooling for the FP-7/FP-9's they'll be fantastic. (Why would they not?)

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>> Agree that the louvers are the spotting feature
> between 7's and 9's. The early F7 freight units
> had 36 inch dynamic brake fans but by the time the
> stretched FP's were built the design had moved to
> the 48 inch dag-nabbit brake fans. That's what my
> neurons say anyways.

csxt4617 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice to see a more modern single bay airslide. I
> don't think there's
> very many of the style Walthers did still running
> around.

This is the small airslide, maybe 2600 or so cubic feet. Walters made the big 4100 cubic car and the smaller 2600, both kinds still in service

Anybody know when the prototype for this airslide hopper would have ben built?

HighLiner has there FP7 and FP9 kits out now with the kit and a FA kit one can do a FP. I have a kit and plan on useing a Intermountain Railway FP under frame for power.
Ryan Ballard

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anybody know when the prototype for this airslide
> hopper would have ben built?

1955 - 1965

WAF Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is the small airslide, maybe 2600 or so cubic
> feet. Walters made the big 4100 cubic car and the
> smaller 2600, both kinds still in service

Yeah, I meant the smaller 2600 one. I rarely see any like
that, although I still see lots of the larger ones. The
smaller ones I see look more like the Athearn one pictured.

CNW, UP and BN had them for sugar use

At the first photo, the left is Eastern Car Works, and the right is Overland Models.
Which is the new Athearn model's style? Or, is it production after 1970?

---

---

---

Betsy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dh1205 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Athearn had a fp9 sample at the the WGHS in
> Oaks.
> > They also had an airslide hopper. They looked
> > nice. I didn't get a chance to talk to them
> about
> > a time line on the fp9 or if they have plans for
> a
> > fp7.
> >
>
> They do. Nice to finally see the FPs!
>
> Elizabeth



No one will agree more than me but I hope someone tells them about the pointed overhang being incorrect for the FP9. I am sure that disappeared in phase II F7's.

Rick

Great news - I can't wait to see both of these new models. This version of the airslide can be found right alongside the version than Walthers produced without the gaussets, but it's sure going to make the Walthers model look shabby in comparison. Hopefully Athearn will produce a model of the other prototype down the road also. I would LOVE to see them do a high quality 50' airslide also, in both the early and later versions. The Walthers model is decent but needs a lot of work to detail it up to current standards.

I'll have to figure what's going to be needed to build a Highliners FP7, since I doubt Athearn will be producing a CSX model (not enough prototype examples according to what I've heard about how they select paint schemes for their Genesis Fs). Great to see the Athearn model though!

Dave

drolsen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'll have to figure what's going to be needed to
> build a Highliners FP7, since I doubt Athearn will
> be producing a CSX model (not enough prototype
> examples according to what I've heard about how
> they select paint schemes for their Genesis Fs).
> Great to see the Athearn model though!

Working on 116-119? I've always wanted a good set of
accurate CSX F's :)