Features: O-42 operation, two can-style motors and smoke units in each A unit, coil couplers on A units, decorated cab interiors, MTH DCS sound and control system
Current production road names: Baltimore & Ohio, Florida East Coast, Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific
So when railroads began running streamlined trains that held the promise of making Miami a mere 24 hours away – people couldn’t pack their bags fast enough!
While there were many ways to get to Miami, the most direct rail line involved traveling over the Florida East Coast Ry. (FEC). One of the “luxury liners” they hauled was a handsome passenger train deservedly called The Champion.
The Champion was jointly operated by the Atlantic Coast Line and the FEC. Initially, it was an all-coach train; Pullman cars were later added. Extension trains from Chicago and serving Tampa and St. Petersburg and Miami were eventually added to the timetable. Diverted from the FEC during labor woes in the 1960s, The Champion continued to serve Miami into the Amtrak era, ending in 1979.
The E6
The “E” in E6 might as well have stood for elegant! The prewar Electro-Motive Division E-series 2 through 7s had a long, graceful body resting on a pair of three-axle trucks. The sides had windows (F-unit-style portholes were custom orders), and eight exhaust stacks topside. The gentle, backward leaning nose looked like it was designed to slice through air. The 12-cylinder 567 engine could produce 2,000 horsepower.
Production of the A unit ran from 1939-42 and the B unit from 1940-42; federal resource restrictions curtailed production of the Es for the duration of World War II. There were 171 prewar E3-E6 A and B models built, of which the Florida East Coast received three A units: the nos. 1003, 1004, and 1005 in 1940 and 1942. It acquired B unit no. 1051 in 1945.
Although more than 40 E units still exist, just two are E6s: former Louisville & Nashville and Rock Island diesels. The L&N unit is owned by the Kentucky Railroad Museum of New Haven, Ky. The RI unit is owned by the Manly Junction Railroad Museum of Manly, Iowa.
Opening the box
As radio, movie, and television comedian Jimmy Durante might have remarked, “Whadda nose!”
For those of you more familiar with the bulldog-like look of EMD’s E8 and E9 diesels, and all the F series, the prewar E series looks pretty futuristic. The forward slant resembles the slanted bow of HMS Dreadnought. But the nose isn’t the only interesting detail up front.
The pilot extends a quarter-inch or so ahead of the carbody, and the knuckle coupler extends beyond that. The pilot has a step for a brakeman and two add-on multiple-unit/brake-line cables.
Around the lower tip of the shell are cast-in silver-painted extrusions in which grab irons were added. Running up the center of the nose is the original Florida East Coast emblem – palm trees, the Atlantic Ocean, and a sunrise.
Above the logo is a headlight with black speed stripes arcing toward the rear. Another light, in the traditional “headlight” position, actually strobes.
Number boards on cab units either seem to be flush with the nose or are bulky extrusions. These are thin (almost dainty) and curve around the side. There is a classification light embedded in the board’s frame, and, of course, the cab number. The lead unit’s light remains green, and the trailing cab unit remains red; be aware that they don’t change color when the direction changes.
The cab windows appeared to be just a little more narrow, or squinty, than in some FEC E6 photos I’ve seen. My perception might change, depending on the location or height the photographer took the image from.
Just above the cab windows you’ll find add-on wiper blades. The cab has two crew figures manning the controls.
The roofline is filled with detailing. Just above the cab is what appears to be a vent located between two horns.
I doubt a 1939 or 1940 diesel would have had air conditioning, so it may be what it appears to be. There is rivet and seam detail, and there are 22 add-on lift rings to help maintenance crews lift out components for repair.
There are four short exhaust stacks for each prime mover. At the rear of the unit you will find a solid exhaust for the steam-heating system.
The sides are cab-unit clean. There are four rows of rivets running along the body. The unit has four doors (two cab and two mid-body), and they do swing open. Each doorway has kick plates and a pair of handrails. There are two sets of grab irons on the rear for engine hostlers.
There are three sets of see-through screens on each side, and you can see simulated interior structural supports through them. The sides also have five windows in the body – all are blacked out.
Painting and decoration
I will confess that I was never a big fan of the FEC’s red-and-yellow scheme. I heart blue with the Hurricane logo!
I always thought the red-and-yellow scheme was a little too over the top – as in big top – the circus coming to town. This view was based on years of seeing vintage postcards and fading color slides of the line’s multi-colored paint scheme.
Then a few years ago I started to see photos of the FEC’s SD40-2s done up in the Champion scheme and it was yowzah! Where have you been all my life?
In real life (make that in real-life, color, hi-res digital photos) it looks outstanding.
MTH’s execution of this paint job was top notch. The yellow and red bands are separated by thin silver stripes, and there was absolutely no overspray. The silver transition section on the rear of the model looks good, and it is pretty intriguing with it rising to a silver point up on the roof (just ahead of the two rearmost exhaust stacks).
The yellow striping extends beyond the red stripes into the silver and ends with curves. The kick plates are painted silver, and The Champion lettering is also crisply done in silver.
I did find one spot on the roof where a tad too much paint was applied. Fortunately, it isn’t noticeable – I really had to look for it.
One administrative note: Our O gauge sample didn’t come with a full manual – it came with a generic Premier diesel A-B-A set quick-start manual. The booklet does steer you to www.mthtrains.com to download a PDF of the full E6 manual.
On the test track
Controls for sound and smoke volume, as well as the DCS/DCC selection switch, are hidden behind a drop-down hatch behind the cab unit rubber diaphragm. The hatch is held shut by a magnet. This is clever since I had become accustomed to looking for the hidden compartment along the roof line!
Both of the powered units contain smoke generators, so don’t try to load fluid in the unpowered unit – it will just cause a mess. Also note that in the powered units just one set of stacks actually has holes to feed the fluid reservoir, so look before you drip or you’ll need a paper towel!
Smoke output was good.
The narrow vents created an almost artistic, delicate stream of smoke that contrasts with the heavy metal rock music video-level outputs of vapor from other MTH locomotives.
Operation as an A-B-A set was a bit bumpy on our office test layout that has O-48 curves. With the A-B-A connected, the lead (in either direction) unit would gently pull the B-unit’s lead wheelset off the track when running through curves.
In the past if this happened, I’d just pull the tether and reel out more wire. This time I tried giving the tethers a bit of a tug to see if there was more line to unreel, but it was pretty snug and was rigidly affixed to the top of the truck.
Not wanting to pull too forcefully and possibly break something, I removed the B-unit shell and unscrewed the tether restraint from the top of the truck. I adjusted it for a bit more freedom and sealed it back up.
This was just the trick I needed, and it reduced the tension and allowed perfect running through the O-48 curves in both directions.
The locomotive really crept along at low speeds and delivered very good performance. The four can-style motors added enough weight that I wasn’t overly concerned about the model flying into the air from the test track.
Our conventional-mode low-speed average was 5.43 scale miles per hour, and the command-mode low-speed average was 1.97 scale miles per hour.
The high-speed average was 78.8 scale miles per hour. The four motors offered 4 pounds of drawbar pull.
The audio package was a nice solid reproduction of an Electro-Motive prime mover and the associated sounds.
The Florida East Coast Premier line E6 set looks terrific and delivers good performance. It also proves you could make one heck of a layout modeling the great streamliners of the past!
