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 Posted - January 04 2011 : 4:53:35 PM
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I got a pair of TYCO F7A's today. At the Little Big Hobby Shop. Sommenville NJ.
* The Pennsy F7A
 [/center]
* The B&O F7A
 [/center]
toptrain
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 Posted - January 04 2011 : 8:19:31 PM
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Hi Toptrain
Those are very nice F units. Great score! I really like the pennsylvania paint scheme. The F units are my all time favorite body style.
Thanks for sharing.
Mike
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Helm
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Posted - January 04 2011 : 8:53:43 PM
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I have the Tyco green PRR scheme F7 too. I bought a Tyco set with the F7 and the red PRR bobber caboose circa 1970. I was in my teens and didn't know stuff like cleaning the wheels and track. It never ran well. I even added sliders on the trucks to improve the electrical pick-up.
I always loved the look of that engine. I hope you don't think it's sacrilege, but I ground out the mounting lugs and mounted it on an Athearn F7 chasis with flywheels. The Tyco mounting slots fit just about perfect on the Athearn lugs. It's still got the Tyco style, but now it's a sweet runner!
RicH
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Posted - January 04 2011 : 9:37:59 PM
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Mike ; thank for the nice words.
RicH ; It is youR hobby, and your stuff. What you do with your trains is all up to you . It is meant to make you happy. If what you did does then good for you.
fraNK
toptrain
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Posted - January 05 2011 : 01:07:07 AM
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| Nice finds! I really like the scheme Tyco used on the B&O F-7.
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Posted - January 05 2011 : 09:47:38 AM
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quote:Nice finds! I really like the scheme Tyco used on the B&O F-7.
Originally posted by DaCheez - January 05 2011 : 01:07:07 AM
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Cheez ; Very easy to notice the additional detail in places like the front pilot area. And these were toy trains. The paint is actualy more intricate on this than a P2000.
toptrain
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Posted - January 05 2011 : 10:51:31 AM
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quote:I always loved the look of that engine. I hope you don't think it's sacrilege, but I ground out the mounting lugs and mounted it on an Athearn F7 chasis with flywheels. The Tyco mounting slots fit just about perfect on the Athearn lugs. It's still got the Tyco style, but now it's a sweet runner!
RicH
Originally posted by Helm - January 04 2011 : 8:53:43 PM
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Not sacrilegious at all: the Tyco F7 shell is in fact a direct copy of the Athearn/Globe F7. The details and placements are identical, right down to a couple mistakes. Upgrading them with an Athearn chassis & drive is a almost a no-brainer.
Frank, your cited examples provide a excellent lesson in contrasts. The B&O is indeed quite beautifully done: one of Tyco's better efforts in any loco they ever offered (that B&O was the first F7 roadname offered might have something to do with this). That Pennsy, OTOH, is an exercise in cheap minimalism: monochromatic except for a paucity of striping, I even have a freight (brown) version which is an unpainted shell. It may be authentic, but it certainly is cheap... and cheap-looking.
Also, the B&O I have is a different road#. Dangit. There are way too many F-unit road# variants out there.
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Posted - January 05 2011 : 11:22:21 AM
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Tony ; Like you said they are nice to look at, and with the B unit , quite a pair. The old MU2 makes them nice to run. The road number differance makes me wonder if mine is correct or renumbered.
* I have a USRA 2-10-2. Did the Reading run USRA types in this CLass?
frank
toptrain
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Edited by - toptrain on January 05 2011 11:53:53 AM
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Posted - January 05 2011 : 2:16:27 PM
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Very nice. I have not been to that shop in years (and i was looking at N scale). I need to go back!
rich p
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Posted - January 05 2011 : 7:08:36 PM
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quote:The road number differance makes me wonder if mine is correct or renumbered.
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It's correct. I have a 283 as well 
Edited by - DaCheez on January 05 2011 7:09:03 PM
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Posted - December 12 2015 : 7:02:16 PM
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Well I got the pair of Burlington F7As cleaned up lubed and tested. They run fine.
frank
Photos
Are there any CB&Q modelers out there in need of Tyco power. Not my Road name.
Interested PM me.
With a Athearn F7a added
Evan; There isn't some great value to something made wrong because such a small percentage of people are the ones looking for odd ball items. The right person has to be looking at the right time to make a offer or bid at auction for a item. In a auction you got to have multiple persons interested in the item competing for the item. If only one, it will sell cheep, possibly at a loss, and there goes this imaginary high price. When you get something like that, it becomes something other then a train you appreciate to run and it sits in a box or on a shelf doing nothing. Maybe that is where the term collector come from. You become a collector. After becoming a collector, which probably wasn't a persons intent, collecting goes into stages of storing trains, for sale latter on for gain. The last stage is hording.
* I can say I have done this and lost a lot of pleasure running and enjoying my trains. Also have crowed up all the storage places aviable to me in my home. I love to get the high price for a item that seems to be what something is worth. This is yet to happen to me. When I tire of a item it goes in a tray be traded or sold. What ever I get for it goes right back into my collection with other purchase's using the money from those sales.
* For instance my last purchases. 3 Aristo Craft locomotives at 15 each. Two of the engine are 2-6-0 Thomas Rogers. One I will keep, the C&RI road name, I replaced the trucks on. The other P&R becomes now one of three I have. I have no need for three. I run my trains. Two of the three are original only missing a sticker or two. I will keep the one with the mantua replacement tender trucks and then try to move the 2 original ones. The ones rebuilt will run better, longer and this is my reason to keep them.
* So this is the words passed on by a 69 year old model train bum who really likes to run his trains. I am probably wrong again. At least I tried to say something.
frank
PS. Good luck with you differently marked train set. People do win the lottery. Maybe you will make some gain.
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
Edited by - toptrain on December 13 2015 08:46:46 AM
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Posted - December 12 2015 : 9:40:48 PM
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Frank, those CBQ's would be nice to have.
But then I would also have to have passenger cars to go with.
PS
I also have the B&O AB set.But the road numbers were applied wrong.
The 283 appears on the rear of the A unit.
I'm sure that must make the set worth thousands, right?
Evan
Edited by - toptrain on December 13 2015 08:46:11 AM
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Posted - December 13 2015 : 09:48:27 AM
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quote:Frank, those CBQ's would be nice to have.
But then I would also have to have passenger cars to go with.
Originally posted by PGE33Â -Â December 12 2015Â :Â 9:40:48 PM
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Those look like freight units to me. Open up any possibilities? 
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - December 13 2015 : 12:05:51 PM
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| Interesting discourse on the evolution and continuum between collector and hoarder. I struggle with that. Even while I seem to have narrowed my focus to particular things that I want to build or collect, there are those earlier projects that I have a hard time parting with. Sometimes I feel like a miser, sitting in the attic looking at my "gold". By the way, I was looking for your recent post on 'Building the CR . . ', but couldn't find it. Was that one you edited?
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Posted - January 19 2016 : 2:53:38 PM
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Nice Frank. I go there once in a while - never realized they sold "old stuff". If I may, what did you pay (more or less)?
rich p
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Posted - January 21 2016 : 08:49:29 AM
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Rich I don't get there much. It is out of the way for me. On my way home from New hope I stopped one day. Haven't been there since. didn't pay much for them 5 to 10. Forget ! Needed work to get going.
frank
toptrain
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Edited by - toptrain on January 21 2016 08:50:59 AM
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Posted - July 01 2016 : 4:27:04 PM
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Yesterday I acquired a pair of Mantua F7A's. One power and one dummy in C&O paint. Here are a few photos.
frank
toptrain
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Posted - July 01 2016 : 9:24:53 PM
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| That's a nice paint scheme, Frank! Tyco also made a C&O version of their F7 with slightly different striping. I have a loose shell somewhere that will get repowered eventually.
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Posted - July 02 2016 : 3:59:45 PM
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Burlingtons!! *Grabby Paws* GIMMIES!!!  
Edited by - microbusss on July 02 2016 4:00:10 PM
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Posted - February 23 2017 : 7:23:58 PM
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Another of My Tyco F7A's is this Canadian Pacific.
frank
toptrain
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Edited by - toptrain on February 23 2017 7:25:18 PM
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Posted - February 23 2017 : 7:26:36 PM
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Another view of my C&O F7A.
frank
toptrain
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Posted - March 02 2017 : 7:53:59 PM
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| The Silver top F7's, are the rarer version made in 58' only.... Nice find....
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Posted - March 02 2017 : 8:40:10 PM
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I saw a Facebook post the other day where a guy was looking for a Tyco Via rail F7 in the "second version" or something to that effect. Was there more than one variation to this locomotive?
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Posted - March 02 2017 : 10:26:33 PM
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Tyco VIA...
Mike
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Posted - March 02 2017 : 10:30:39 PM
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Mike
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Posted - March 03 2017 : 04:21:02 AM
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Mike did the Erie run into Canada also ? I know it was here in Jersey City at Pavonia St.
frank
toptrain
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Posted - March 03 2017 : 06:28:36 AM
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Is that a rare variation?
quote:
Tyco VIA...
Mike
Originally posted by Mike - March 02 2017 : 10:26:33 PM
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Posted - March 03 2017 : 12:10:02 PM
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Burlingtons!
*drooools*
Wish I could afford those 
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Posted - March 03 2017 : 5:41:50 PM
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quote:Mike did the Erie run into Canada also ? I know it was here in Jersey City at Pavonia St.
frank
Originally posted by toptrain - March 03 2017 : 04:21:02 AM
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Hello Frank, I just read a short history on Wikkipedia, and one of their main lines went to Buffalo. It does mention they had access to the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge into Ontario, but it does not mention a destination in Ontario. I wll dig deeper...
Mike
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Posted - March 03 2017 : 5:45:21 PM
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quote:Is that a rare variation?
quote:
Tyco VIA...
Mike
Originally posted by Mike - March 02 2017 : 10:26:33 PM
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Originally posted by IslandTrains - March 03 2017 : 06:28:36 AM
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What is the variation supposed to be?
Mike
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Posted - March 04 2017 : 08:40:47 AM
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| I don't know. In m post above I mentioned a fellow on Facebook was looking for a Via F7 "Second Series" or something to that effect. I'm trying to determine what that means.
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Posted - March 04 2017 : 09:02:29 AM
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Ok, there's definitely at least two variations of the Via F7. I dug mine out (I have three) and here's an example of one of mine (I have the shell off as I am going to put it on an Athearn chassis)
As you can see the "CN" on the nose is red on my locomotive plus mine has the number boards-. Your's are painted over. Your headlight looks different as well. I bet your version is the later one as it would appear these changes would be made to cut costs and that's seems to be what Tyco tried to do in the later years.
Edited by - IslandTrains on March 04 2017 09:04:15 AM
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Posted - March 04 2017 : 3:39:04 PM
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PGE33,
The B&O shell looks like an early Athearn shell and not Tyco, so the number is correct for the Athearn. There is an open slot to fit over the Athearn rubber band drive chassis. I have this from a set my brother and I got in the 60's.
Sorry if someone replied that, I didn't read all the replies.
Alco Fan
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Posted - March 05 2017 : 2:04:35 PM
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quote:Ok, there's definitely at least two variations of the Via F7. I dug mine out (I have three) and here's an example of one of mine (I have the shell off as I am going to put it on an Athearn chassis)
As you can see the "CN" on the nose is red on my locomotive plus mine has the number boards-. Your's are painted over. Your headlight looks different as well. I bet your version is the later one as it would appear these changes would be made to cut costs and that's seems to be what Tyco tried to do in the later years.
Originally posted by IslandTrains - March 04 2017 : 09:02:29 AM
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In the late 70's both Tyco AND Mantua were making VIA F-units. Mike looks to have the Mantua version while your example looks like Tyco. The Mantua engine would have come with a screwed together MU2 while the Tyco had a PT.
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Posted - March 05 2017 : 8:23:54 PM
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| Wow, I didn't know Mantua made a VIA F7.
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Posted - March 06 2017 : 07:16:56 AM
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Yup, Mantua even had a set of streamlined passenger cars to match. The big giveaway for differentiating the two engines are the ladders. The later Tyco units have square ladders while the Mantua units have more rounded ladders. If you notice on Mike's engine the ladders stick out slightly from the body. The earlier Tyco engines also have the rounded ladders, but unlike their Mantua counterparts, the ladders are flush with the side of the engine.
There are some other variations as well...
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Posted - March 06 2017 : 5:24:16 PM
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| Cool! I didn't know there were passenger cars to match. I'd love to get some. I always thought it seemed silly that Tyco issued the VIA set here in Canada as a freight set. No such thing..
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Posted - March 08 2017 : 11:05:23 PM
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The VIA Mantua Set...
Mike
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Posted - March 08 2017 : 11:24:21 PM
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quote:
Tyco VIA...
Mike
Originally posted by Mike - March 02 2017 : 10:26:33 PM
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Apparently I made a mistake (a retiree's thing)... My VIA F7 is a Mantua and the bottom plate says Mantua - USA...
I bought the set at a hobby shop in the early 80's when I was single and had money...
Mike
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Posted - May 10 2017 : 8:14:53 PM
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| awesome F7s I want to get a nice southern pacific unit
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Posted - May 11 2017 : 2:28:52 PM
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Alco Fan
My B&O F7 is certainly a Mantua.
It came in a Red Box set with the B-unit
It appears the road numbers were printed ion incorrectly at the factory.
Not worth thousands anymore, though.
I fitted it to an Athearn chassis.
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