Did F-units run with an A by itself in the 1:1 scale? I only ask because I noticed the Intermountain F locos are equipped with drawbars only, I believe.
Hey Frisco. Some of the early FT sets were equiped with drawbars between units. In fact I think all of the first sets were so equiped. I'm not sure about the later F3s and so on. Hope this helps.
I know that the Indiana Transportation museum runs one by itself on one end of the train. Besides them I haven't ever seen any other F units run. I hope this is helpful.
Oh yes. However when most of the FTs (like the IMs Fs released so far) were delivered with a draw bar between an A and B and sometimes between an A, B and A. The AB set was originally engineered to be "one" articulated locomotive, basically an E unit with four trucks and a hinge in the middle. The ATSF did not like that arrangement so ordered their first ones with couplers between them, batteries in both A and B units and basic hostler controls in the B units so they could move by themselves. Most other railroads converted theirs to this system or ordered them new like the Santa Fe eventually. By the time the later Fs came out it was standard practice to not draw bar them any more. Usually more than one F unit was required for horsepower on a train but there were many times when only one would do. In passenger service the B unit usually was the only one with a steam generator so at least one B unit was needed in a consist. Later, FP7s had a steam generator in the A unit so a B was not required.
