The FA-1 / FB-1 Locomotive is Back

JMaurer1 Dec 11, 2018

  1. JMaurer1

    JMaurer1 TrainBoard Member

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    MikaelB and rpeck like this.
  2. EMD F7A

    EMD F7A TrainBoard Member

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    This is absolutely great news. Lots of people worried about whether or not Atlas was going to put all the old LL/Walthers tooling to good use. I suppose this is our answer. I am onboard for a set of undecorated, all of those roads are a little bit Eastern for my taste LOL but time will tell. I wonder if they purchased all of the old tooling for paint and striping as well?
     
  3. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Lovely, and B-Units too! Life-Like's were great runners. If Atlas makes new factory painted body shells available and they fit Life-Like's units, I'll want some shells in LV and L&NE.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2018
  4. Rich_S

    Rich_S TrainBoard Member

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    Since LV and L&NE FA's and FB's are being offered, that maybe a possibility? The unknown at this time is how much Atlas changed the frames to make the locomotives DCC + Sound equipped. It is good to see Atlas has resurrected the Life-Like FA's, it's just a shame a Western Maryland FA didn't make the first production run.
     
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  5. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    Disappointed there's no New Haven. The last FA/FB I saw was an A/B powering a westbound NH freight crossing the NYC Harlem Division on a double track bridge, just north of Towners, NY in 1947. They were heading for Maybrook, NY across the Hudson River Bridge at Poughkeepsie.

    Unfortunately B&M never bought any. Loved to have seen them in Minute Man scheme.
     
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  6. silentargus

    silentargus TrainBoard Member

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    In Pennsy and Lehigh Valley? My wallet says ouch already.

    This is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for when Atlas revealed that they'd bought the LL tooling. Can't wait to see what else they've got up their sleeve.
     
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  7. brokemoto

    brokemoto TrainBoard Member

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    I sold the last of my NYC s and Penn s on FeePay a little while back. I guess that I timed it just right, -eh?

    I did keep a few undecorateds that I bought cheap and mostly for the power chassis.

    NYCS, Penn, Erie-Lackamoney, GM&O, LV and L&NE............

    GM&O had some with the window gutter similar to the PAs.

    ...glad to see them back for the benefit of those who missed them the last time that they appeared.

    I noticed that the NYCS' are in lightning stripes. No one has done cigar band in N on FAs, although it really is not a difficult decalling job. Micorscale sells the sheets, you need a can of gloss black spray paint and a can of Dull Cote and you could do it yourself. When WKW had the LLs, they did to the FM cabs in cigar band, though.

    I am surprised to see that they did not do The Borg, as it did have FA-1s.
     
  8. Inkaneer

    Inkaneer TrainBoard Member

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    I understand that Aztec has closed up shop so milled frames from them are no longer available. I would like to see the street price. At $209 per unit an ABBA set would be something I would have to think long and hard about.
     
  9. bremner

    bremner Staff Member

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    I have always loved the FA....I just wish that the SP had some
     
  10. Thieu

    Thieu TrainBoard Member

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    Same disappointment here. I have two NH sets, Life-Like, and have never converted them into DCC (because it is costly to let someone install 4 decoders). I had hoped for a DCC set from Atlas, but they are 1) not making one in NH livery and 2) not making DCC only (since I don't like sound).

    Well, this is good news for my wallet, of course.
     
  11. urodoji

    urodoji TrainBoard Member

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    Paul Graf, I love you.
     
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  12. brokemoto

    brokemoto TrainBoard Member

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    These are FA-1s, which WM did not have. It did have four FA-2s. WM's FA-2s received the Speed Lettering Scheme early. The wings on the Herald on one of the four where shorter than on the other three, but I forget which one (301?), and I am too lazy to run upstairs and look.

    As LL was in Baltimore, it tended to include certain roads if that road ran in Maryland. This was why you often saw B&O, Penn and WM among the roads that LL offered on a given model, if the road in question had it (thus you did not see WM SD-7s, as WM never had any).

    LL did issue the plastic frame FA-2 in WM speed, as well as B&O and Penn. When it came time for the metal frame, it did offer Penn, again. It did B&O, but went from the original Blue and Grey to the 1959 blue. Instead of WM, though, it did Lousy and Nasty. You could adapt the plastic frame shells to the split metal frame versions with a minimum of work. I did it for the B&Os in original Blue and Grey and the WMs. I did an additional B&O as an FPA-2 (which B&O had). I did strip two of the A-units from the metal frames and repainted and lettered them for the other two WM FAs. The real problem with those is that you must chop up three of the nose heralds to get something close to the correct length of the wings, and, on one, you use only two to reflect the shorter wings that it had. The lettering size is not quite correct for the FAs, either.

    One of the WM's FAs actually did make it to the Circus scheme. Someone here did one, and posted it. It looked pretty good. Speed is barely in my era (in fact, FAs and the F-3s that WM had rebuilt into F-7s are the only ones that fit my era in speed). so Circus is definitely out for me. Still, for those who can paint and letter it, my hat is off to them.

    Atlas will do a number of roads, eventually. If they are doing the FA-1s, I would expect FA-2s, at some point. They did Pacemaker Green P&LE GP-7s and RS-3s. Once it does the FA-2s, at some point you will see all three WM schemes, as the FAs did show up in Fireball (there even is an ALCo advert that features those). Some of NYC's FAs did make it to PC, so I expect that you will see those, even, or, even, perhaps, 1966 re-numbered NYCs or Penns.
     
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  13. WM183

    WM183 TrainBoard Member

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    First the Kato run of the 20th Century Limited cars, then the new heavy Mike, now these? NYC modelers better save up some pennies!
     
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  14. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    Well I am glad to see Atlas release this, it bodes well for other locomotives that LifeLike produced.
     
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  15. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    Glad I bought the Life-Life models years ago when ABBA sets were available for under $100 - total price.
     
  16. Inkaneer

    Inkaneer TrainBoard Member

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    Me also. Adding a small decoder may not be a difficult task. I'm thinking of a decoder like the ones for the MT and Walthers SW9's or the Arnold SW1.
     
  17. silentargus

    silentargus TrainBoard Member

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    The old price point was great, sure... but once you factor in inflation plus whatever improvements Atlas has made, it's likely worth the new MSRP. They're not exactly inflated to Bachmann levels of delusion, after all.
     
  18. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    What "improvements" do the Life-Like FA-1/FB-1 models need?
    They have already received an 'A' rating here: http://www.spookshow.net/loco/llalcof.html
     
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  19. tehachapifan

    tehachapifan TrainBoard Member

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    I would imagine DCC capability/readiness along with perhaps sound capability/readiness.
     
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  20. Rich_S

    Rich_S TrainBoard Member

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    I always forget the FA-2's are a little longer than the FA-1's, which changes the location of the rad fan and intakes.
     
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