Though the BlueLine locomotives from Broadway Limited Imports don’t have Digital Command Control (DCC) installed, they do have a sound system. The engine features synchronized motor sounds with operation, and with an optional control module, operators can trigger more effects.
A postwar classic. Electro-Motive Division’s F series engines were the most prevalent road freight diesels on the rails during and in the decade after World War II. The F7s, 1,500-hp haulers were introduced in February 1949 and differed only slightly from the F3s they replaced.
The BlueLine model captures the F unit’s iconic looks. Our sample came decorated for the Pennsylvania RR, in the single-stripe Brunswick green freight scheme. The gold lettering and trim line were crisply printed and positioned properly on the body, according to prototype photos. Even the smallest letters, like the fuel filler label and the tiny “F” on the side of the nose, were sharp, straight, and legible.
Metal details make this a good-looking model, including the shiny etched-metal grills, the lift rings on the roof, and the wire grab irons. As a Pennsy fan, I was pleased to see the metal train-phone antenna atop the A unit was included.
The model picks up power from all eight of the A unit’s blackened-metal wheels, and all those wheels are driven. There are no pickups on the booster’s free-rolling wheels, since the dummy B unit has no lights or other accessories. All the wheels on both units conformed to the National Model Railroad Association’s RP-25 wheel contour and were in gauge. The magnetic knuckle couplers were likewise all mounted at the correct height.
All the locomotive’s dimensions matched those printed in the Model Railroader Cyclopedia Vol. 2: Diesel Locomotives (Kalmbach Publishing, out of print).
Other sound effects, including a bell, horn, air compressor, and dynamic brakes can be activated by the DCMaster module (available from Broadway Limited or Precision Craft Models for $39.99). This module, which connects between the power pack and the track, also allows the user to mute and control the volume of the locomotive’s sound, as well as to program sound configuration variables (CVs).
Under the shell. Removing the plastic body was simply a matter of unscrewing the draft boxes at front and rear. The friction-fit shell then slid off.
Inside, a can motor with dual flywheels sits in the center of the black-painted cast-metal frame. Above it is the sound decoder, with its eight-pin Digital Command Control socket. The 1-inch-diameter speaker is mounted in the back of the chassis, pointing down over the rear truck. In front is a gray molded cab with engineer and fireman figures.
The direct-current drive control board occupies the eight-pin socket on the sound board; installing a DCC decoder simply requires replacing that thumbnail-sized printed-circuit board.
Straight out of the box, the locomotive started moving hesitantly at 7.2 volts. But after a minute or two of operation, the F7 would start and run at that voltage, ambling along at a realistically slow 3.5 scale mph. At 7.4 volts, the locomotive rolled at a steady and sure 8 scale mph.
Its top speed of 100.6 mph at 12 volts was within the limits of one of the prototype’s gear ratios, though F units designated for freight service were usually geared lower to maximize their pulling power. Eleven volts produced a more appropriate speed of 75 mph.
What post-World War II Class 1 railroad is complete without an
F unit on the roster? Though BLI’s new F7s are for now available decorated in only five road names, an undecorated set is available for those modeling other lines.
Broadway Limited has done a great job of packing a lot of desirable features into an attractive package.
Price: Powered A unit, $169.99; powered B unit, $159.99; powered A with dummy B set, $269.99
Manufacturer:
Broadway Limited Imports
4 Signal Ave. Suite C
Ormond Beach, FL 32174
Road names: Pennsylvania (Brunswick Green, single stripe); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (red-silver passenger warbonnet scheme); Milwaukee Road (orange and maroon); New York Central (lighning stripe); Union Pacific (Armour yellow); undecorated
Blackened nickel-silver RP-25 contour wheels (in gauge)
Drawbar pull: 3.8 ounces, equivalent to 53 40-foot HO scale boxcars on straight and level track
Eight-pin Digital Command Control socket.
Factory-installed sound system
Five-pole skew-wound motor with dual brass flywheels
Illuminated cab interior with engineer and fireman figures
Lighted number boxes and classification lights
Magnetic knuckle couplers (at correct height)
See-through etched-metal grills
Separately applied wire and etched-metal details
Sprung diaphrams
Weight: A unit, 17 ounces; B unit, 5.25 ounces
