EMD F-units were a line of diesel-electric locomotives produced between November 1939 and November 1960 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors-Diesel Division. Final assembly for all F-units was at the GM-EMD plant at La Grange, Illinois and the GMDD plant in London, Ontario, Canada. They were sold to railroads throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 

Structurally, the locomotive was a carbody unit, with the body as the main load-bearing structure, designed like a bridge truss and covered with cosmetic panels. The so-called bulldog nose was a distinguishing feature of the locomotive’s appearance, and made a lasting impression in the mind of the traveling public. 

The F-units were the most successful “first generation” road (main line) diesel locomotives in North America, and were largely responsible for superseding steam locomotives in road freight service. Before this, diesel units were mostly only built as switcher locomotives, and only used in rail yards. 

F-units were sometimes known as “covered wagons”, due to the similarity in appearance of the roof of an F-unit to the canvas roof of a Conestoga wagon, an animal-drawn wagon used in the westward expansion of the United States during the late 18th and 19th centuries. When a train’s locomotive consist included only F-units, the train would then be called a wagon train. These two usages are still popular with the railfan community. 

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article “EMD F-unit” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_F-unit; it is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:CCBYSA). You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the CC-BY-SA. 

LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES: 

• All units are powered 
• Factory installed SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound and DCC decoder (DCC+sound units only) 
• Tsunami sounds are compatible with both DCC and DC operation (DCC+sound units only) 
• Directional constant lighting; headlight brightness remains constant 
• Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more 
• Fully-assembled and ready-to-run 
• Accurately-painted and printed paint schemes 
• Separately applied photo etched metal and injection molded detail parts 
• Cab interior 
• Coupler cut levers 
• MU hoses 
• Trainline hose 
• Windshield wipers 
• Lift rings 
• Wire grab irons 
• Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, breather pipes, and retention tanks 
• Sander lines 
• Body mounted McHenry scale knuckle couplers - Kadee compatible 
• DCC-ready features Quick Plug™ plug-and-play technology with both 8- and 9-pin connector (DCC-Ready only) 
• Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain for trouble free operation 
• All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth and quiet operation 
• All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow 
• Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track 
• •ncandescent bulbs for realistic appearance 
• Back up light 
• Blomberg-B trucks 
• Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power 
• Packaging securely holds for the model for safe storage 
• Replacement parts available 
• Minimum radius: 18” 

SOUND EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE 

• Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 decoder pre-installed 
• Sound units operate in both DC and DCC 
• Individual sound boards installed in both A and B units (sound units only) 
• Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC 
• Some functions are limited in DC 
• All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode 
• Slow speed control 
• Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn, bell, and lights 
• Lighting effects such as beacons, Gyralight where prototypically accurate 
• Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes 
• CV chart included in the box 

 ALL ICG AND GM&O UNITS FEATURE 

• A-units to include never before available GM&O only front polling pockets and pilot steps 
• Side skirts removed as per prototype 
• Cab roof vent 
• Axle journals as per prototype 

 #807A F3A 

• Red body color 

• Freight unit in service past 1975 

• Pilot mounted MU hoses 

• Chicken wire side panels 

• Roof mounted oil cooler 

• Chicken wire grilles 

• Nose MU door 

• Whip antenna 

• Tall fans 

  #B82 F3B 

• Maroon body color 

• Passenger unit in freight unit in service past 1975 

• Steam generator 

• Roof mounted cooling coil 

• Chicken wire grilles 

• Tall fans