Looking for a STRONG Santa Fe F7 unit

S

Starguard

New member
I have a Sante Fe Warbonnet set that came with an F7 unit that's weaker than a babys fart. With two dummy units and 5 passenger cars, this thing "even at full throttle" wont move worth crap.

I've been looking at a few name brands "Life Like, Tyco, Bachmans, Athens" ect, and am sort of confused on which brand can handle the job. Can anyone here give me some suggestions.

:confused:
 
i have an athearn f-7 and a bachmann f-3 and both haul more than 10 cars. i would stay away from life-like as they tend to be the cheap and not very good looking side of model railroading :D
 
Since you don't mention what scale you model, I assume it's HO. In the off chance it's N I can recommend both the Kato and the Intermountain F7A/F7B units. I've had them for several years so I don't have any idea if they're still available.
 
Ricke82 said:
Since you don't mention what scale you model, I assume it's HO. In the off chance it's N I can recommend both the Kato and the Intermountain F7A/F7B units. I've had them for several years so I don't have any idea if they're still available.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I meant to say HO Scale
 
I just won a Bachman F7 on eBay that I am hoping will give me better results than the present engine I have. I ended up payng way more than I planned for it (over $40 bucks), but I'm hoping that it will be worth it.

If it can pull at least two dummy engines and five lighted passenger cars, I'll be happy!

:confused:
 
Starguard said:
I just won a Bachman F7 on eBay that I am hoping will give me better results than the present engine I have. I ended up payng way more than I planned for it (over $40 bucks), but I'm hoping that it will be worth it.

If it can pull at least two dummy engines and five lighted passenger cars, I'll be happy!

:confused:
Click to expand...

If you run the sim Trainz you can modify or switch the engine specs to something more powerful or more realistic.

Cheerio John
 
I have two Athearn F7's and they are wonderful, my SP one can carry an unpowered B-unit and at least eight Daylight passenger cars with ease! One more thing, I have a Bachmann FT (looks smiler to F7) and it can pull quite a bit, probably about 7-10 freight cars. Not sure on passenger cars, I'll have to check in a moment.
 
I sold all my model railroad stuff when I got into computer train simulators, much cheaper and unlimited space to expand. :cool: Back when I was model railroading I replaced the open frame motors with Sagami can motors, geared lower for less speed and more pulling power, and added lead ballast to whatever space was left inside the shell. That's the biggest trouble with pulling power is traction, heavier engine pulls more before the wheels slip. Hobby shops used to sell can motors and lead wafers, dunno if they still do, but I had an electric mini smelter gadget that I melted fishing weights and made castings to fit inside the locos. However you do it, add weight to the engines and they'll pull more.
 
Athearn Genesis F-series sets are a bit on the pricy side, but I know they will pull 100+ cars. The Athearn Ready-to-roll and Stewart Hobbies locos are usually pretty decent as well.

BTW, wouldn't this be more of a "Prototype Talk" kind of thread?
 
sniper297 said:
I sold all my model railroad stuff when I got into computer train simulators, much cheaper and unlimited space to expand. :cool: Back when I was model railroading I replaced the open frame motors with Sagami can motors, geared lower for less speed and more pulling power, and added lead ballast to whatever space was left inside the shell. That's the biggest trouble with pulling power is traction, heavier engine pulls more before the wheels slip. Hobby shops used to sell can motors and lead wafers, dunno if they still do, but I had an electric mini smelter gadget that I melted fishing weights and made castings to fit inside the locos. However you do it, add weight to the engines and they'll pull more.
Click to expand...

I do have to say, that is a good idea. Both of my F7's are the Athearn's "Super F7" with a heavier locomotive and a more powerfully geared motor.

EDIT: I just ran my stock Bachmann FT, and it fulled 2 dummies and 5 unlighted passenger cars without a problem. The only thing that might bring it down would be the lighted cars. Also, thank you for subscribing to my youtube channel!
 
Last edited:
I just bought a powered B unit off eBay that's VERY strong. Using this along with my powered A unit (now A-B-B-A), I can now pull over 11 cars (7 lighted) with no problem.

:)

Thanks for all the input guys!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top