Revell - 2485 - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD F9 - Santa Fe - 215

Specific Item Information: Dummy
same as Arnold Rapido 0219

Model Information: Introduced: circa 1967. Here is how Arnold describes this model in its 1967-68 US Catalog: All wheels are powered and pick up electricity. Chassis and frame made of die cast metal. Body made of super detailed unbreakable plastic. Glass enclosed cab. Illuminated headlights and numberboards. Automatic couplers at both ends.
Available in Powered or Dummy (non powered) A units - later unpowered B units.
This was the second generation of N scale locomotives by Arnold, a clear departure and much better runner than the previous F9 model that was discontinued when this FP9 was introduced. An easy way to distinguish both models is by the truck sideframes: F9s have flat metal truck sideframes without detail, FP9s whereas have detailed plastic truck sideframes.
The earlier models were imported in the USA by Revell and available in a Revell packaging.

Prototype History: The EMD F9 was a 1,750 horsepower (1,300 kW) Diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1953 and May 1960 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD). It succeeded the F7 model in GM-EMD's F-unit sequence. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant. The F9 was also built in Canada by General Motors Diesel at their London, Ontario plant. A total of 100 cab-equipped lead A units and 154 cabless booster B units were built. The F9 was the fifth model in GM-EMD's highly successful "F" series of cab unit diesel locomotives.

A F9 can be distinguished reliably from a late F7 only by the addition of an extra filter grille ahead of the front porthole on the side panels on A units. Internally, the use of an 567C prime mover increased power to 1,750 hp from the F7's 1,500 hp.

By the time cab units such as the F9 were built, railroads were turning to the road switcher-style of locomotive, and the F9 was succeeded in most part by the EMD GP9.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (reporting mark ATSF), often abbreviated as Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. Chartered in February 1859, the railroad reached the Kansas-Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado, in 1876. To create a demand for its services, the railroad set up real estate offices and sold farm land from the land grants that it was awarded by Congress. Despite the name, its main line never served Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the terrain was too difficult; the town ultimately was reached by a branch line from Lamy.

The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport, an enterprise that (at one time or another) included a tugboat fleet and an airline (the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway). Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean. The ATSF was the subject of a popular song, Harry Warren & Johnny Mercer's "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", written for the film, The Harvey Girls (1946).

The railroad officially ceased operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Revell was Arnold’s importer in the 60s.

Starting in 1967, Arnold and Revell, Inc. of Venice, California entered into a distribution relationship. These new trains would be called MicroTRAINs. The first catalog, dated 1967, shows first generation Arnold rapido F-units on the cover.

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