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 Posted - September 24 2007 : 06:39:22 AM
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Here's a bit of a curiousity...
My guess is this Bachmann F-unit is the same one the company produced for this Hawthorne Village set...
/tyco/forum/uploaded/Tony Cook/Hawthorne_Greatest_RRs.jpg
I happened to find it listed by Tower Hobbies online. My attempts to obtain one from distributors Walthers and Horizon Hobby showed they apparently don't carry it. And Bachmann does not show it on their website.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/Tony Cook/drgw_f9_new.jpg
The model is the former Bachmann Plus F7-A...labeled here as an F9 according to the box flap. The shell is cast is Rio Grande's Aspen Gold and the silver and black is applied to the raw plastic.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/Tony Cook/drgw_f9_nose.jpg
A further interest is the second headlight. And this might be a first in HO-scale plastic...the light is a separate piece glued to the single-headlight shell. Cast in silver plastic with clear insert is the lower headlight. A hole was drilled through the nose door to allow light to shine through. Might have looked a bit better had it been cast in the Aspen Gold to match the body. Notice it is also placed over the top of the door just slightly...hmmm...and it is a tad off-center...guess that makes it even better though. [:D]
The unit felt lighter to me than the typical Hawthorne Village F-units and Bachmann's FT's...so I removed the shell...
/tyco/forum/uploaded/Tony Cook/Underframe.jpg
Believe it is a somewhat leaner example of the current B'mann power. The frame is cast metal. The shell is attached by four screws at each corner of the fuel tank, just like the old Bachmann Plus F7s.
The model is selling from Tower Hobbies for $25.99. Service was quick from them and their shipping cost wasn't bad. Remember to get it via the Hawthorne Village folks, you'd have to subscribe to the set and pay $69.95 per F-unit...plus shipping.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXRFK1&P=7
I did some searching and can't find this model available elsewhere. The box says it's #61517 and again Bachmann is calling this F7 an F9...maybe somebody from TYCO helped them do the loco spotting??? To my knowledge this model is an uncataloged release.
Wonder if any of the other Hawthorne Village F's will surface? Like the Rio Grande, some of the other roadnames have never been available in the Bachmann line.
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
Edited by - Tony Cook on September 24 2007 06:44:36 AM
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 Posted - September 24 2007 : 08:08:47 AM
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hi tony this is the only one i have ever seen this side of the pond,ken
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Posted - October 14 2007 : 10:35:24 AM
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Are the 70's models all wheel drive or pancake motor?
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
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Posted - November 14 2007 : 6:32:32 PM
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A bit of both...Bachmann starts out in 1971 with an all-wheel driven motor housed inside a very solid cast metal weight. By the mid/late '70s, Bachmann is putting the small one-truck only driven motor in its F-units.
This single truck powered situation remains until sometime in the last 10 years or so, when all-wheel drive returned to the Bachmann line. Today virtually everything Bachmann sells (GP40, GP35, GP30, FTs) features an all-wheel drive motor.
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
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Posted - November 14 2007 : 9:06:52 PM
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Hi Tony. Here is a picture of that early Bachmann drive you were talking about. Wish I could find the trucks. Carl
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(Too Much Is Never Enough )
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Posted - November 14 2007 : 9:55:12 PM
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| I knew someone who had an early AutoTrain U36 and a Burlington GP40, both with that drive. I was impressed with the seeming quality of it and wondered why they went away from that design? I didn't get to see them run though, so maybe they only looked like they ran well? Can anyone comment?
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Posted - November 15 2007 : 10:24:46 AM
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quote:I knew someone who had an early AutoTrain U36 and a Burlington GP40, both with that drive. I was impressed with the seeming quality of it and wondered why they went away from that design? I didn't get to see them run though, so maybe they only looked like they ran well? Can anyone comment?
Originally posted by GoingInCirclez - November 14 2007 : 8:55:12 PM
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I think those early Bachmann drives with all-wheels powered and that big weight did run fairly well for their day. I have a Santa Fe F9 with this drive and though it's a grinder in the sound department, it does run okay.
My guess is the cost of these drives is what killed them. Obviously the dinky one-truck powered second drive was much cheaper to produce.
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
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Posted - November 15 2007 : 10:40:57 AM
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Yea, they do make some noise.
With some fine tuning they can be quieted down. I have had to change motors in a couple of mine (toasted) but I definitely prefer these drives rather than the one-truck powered drives.
Ray
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Posted - November 15 2007 : 4:48:52 PM
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| Hey Tony, can you take a close look at that motor? Does it have any Bachmann markings on it? That motor doesn't look like any Bachmann motor I've seen before. Though, I only have Bachmann hood-type locos. Do the cab units have a different motor then the hoods?
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Posted - November 15 2007 : 8:32:45 PM
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Hi Guys. Found the trucks . So I restored the drive. GIC, Funny you should mention the Autotrain engine. This drive is from an Autotrain engine. The trucks pick up current and make contact with the chassis at the metal plates at the ends and middle of engine. The trucks are held in place with Pins that go though the trucks and chassis. The pins are held in place when the shell is on, holding everything together.
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Posted - November 15 2007 : 9:09:17 PM
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Those are the ones! LOL those purple trucks are too cool. Thanks for the pics... I'd like to tinker with one of those eventually.
Some of the newer Bachmann HO drives look like supersized versions of their traditional N-scale drives, right down to the split frame.
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Posted - November 17 2007 : 04:19:44 AM
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quote:Hey Tony, can you take a close look at that motor? Does it have any Bachmann markings on it? That motor doesn't look like any Bachmann motor I've seen before. Though, I only have Bachmann hood-type locos. Do the cab units have a different motor then the hoods?
Originally posted by Hypoponera - November 15 2007 : 3:48:52 PM
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You can see in VintageHO's pic that the fuel tank does say BACHMANN HONG KONG on it. The motor is the same, though the frame is different on these early B'mann drives. They were done for the F9A, GP40, and U36B. This drive is also what was sold in the brass GEM Models F9A and GP40 in the early '70s.
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
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