Arnold - 0215 - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD FP9 - Santa Fe - 215

Specific Item Information: Powered
These models were made in two shades of silver. The truck covers often change colour with age. The front logo is only made from paper and is nowadays lost on most locos. While the number 215 is printed on the sides, the number boards show 211. Some of the newer models are without road number.

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 FP9 is a 1,750 horsepower (1,300 kW), B-B dual-service passenger and freight-hauling diesel locomotive that was produced between February 1954 and December 1959 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division, and General Motors Diesel. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant, except for Canadian orders, which were assembled by Canadian subsidiary GMD at London, Ontario. The FP9 was essentially EMD's F9 locomotive extended by four feet to give greater steam generator and water capacity for hauling passenger trains. A total of 90 cab-equipped lead A units were built; unlike the freight series, no cabless booster B units were sold. Regular F9B units were sometimes used with FP9 A units, since they, lacking cabs, had more room for water and steam generators.

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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.

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Brand/Importer Information: Founded in 1906 by Karl Arnold in Nuernberg, K. Arnold & Co. began its life producing tin toys and related items. They produced an extensive line of model ships, doll house items and other toys. In 1935, K. Arnold & Co. hired Max Ernst as their managing director. Ernst, not to be confused with the German realist artist of the same name, was a significant factor in the future of Arnold.

There are several distinct phases of Arnold's model train production. In the period of 1960 - 1962, Arnold marketed the Arnold Rapido 200 product line; this line was very crude yet it also was a sensation because of its much smaller size than TT.

The next phase was from 1963-1967, when the rapido product line begins to swing toward scale representations of the trains. It is during this period that the "Rapido Coupler" comes into production, beginning its widespread use by all model train manufacturers in N-Scale. It was in 1964 that the term "N-Scale" came into use. Between 1968 and 1970, rapido line of trains reached maturity, notably with its turntable and roundhouse. Arnold entered into a business relationship with the U.S. company Revell around 1968, beginning the marketing of Revell Rapido model trains. This relationship was marked by the beginning of production of more accurate North American prototype models by Arnold. This relationship continued for several years, ending in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Arnold continued their expanded production, with new models until the early 1990s.

On Max Ernst's 1976 retirement, Arnold employed perhaps 200 to 250 people, using three facilities in the Nurnberg area. The Company continued under family control until 1995, when Arnold went into bankruptcy and was sold to Rivarossi of Italy. Rivarossi, in turn, also went bankrupt, leading to the sale of all assets to Hornby of the United Kingdom. Production is carried out in China.