PRR FA-2/FB-2 Cab Units

The Prototype - General Information

The American Locomotive Company ("Alco"), in partnership with General Electric, built the FA-2, and matching B-units, from late 1950 through 1956. They were very similar to the FA-1/FB-1 units produced, except that the diesel motor, 12-cylinder model 244, was upgraded from 1,500 hp to 1,600 hp. The FA-2 models were also lengthened to add a steam generator needed for passenger service. The big problem with the FA-1 and FA-2 locomotives was the 244 engine. It broke down easily, and tarnished Alco's reputation.

The Prototype - Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad ran the FA-2 models in an A-B-A configuration, fairly permanently coupled. This gave the consist a total of 4,800 hp. Originally these engines were classified as PRR AF-3a, but in 1951 they were re-classified as AF-16 (Alco, Freight, 1600hp). These engines were all used in the PRR's Central Region. The idea was that since these engines broke down regularly, they were all grouped in the same area, so that mechanics could develop the know-how to fix them quickly. The Pennsy owned 24 FA-2, and 12 FB-2 engines. By the mid to late 1950s they were all moved to the Pittsburgh area. All were traded back in with Alco for new road switcher engines before the Penn Central merger.

The Model

This is an American Models set. I bought the A-B-A configuration, with powered A-units and a non-powered (dummy) B-unit (all for DC, scale). That actual combination is not listed on their web site, but a quick e-mail to American Models confirmed that it was an option and that they had them in stock. Even though the B-unit is a "dummy", it comes with trucks that have the same power pick-up as the A-unit; it just doesn't have a motor and the shafts from the motor to the truck gears. The powered trucks makes it possible, in the future, to make the B-unit powered, or to just have a sound decoder in it to make it sound like it has a motor. Some web sites I have visited warn about replacing the light bulb used in the A-units when converting the engines to DCC, but I found a small circuit board and an LED already installed in my A-units. Since I ordered the "scale" version, the typical A.F. couplers were not included, but the shipping box did include six Kadee "S-scale" couplers. These have to be installed.

One negative is that the units did sustain a good-sized blow during shipping. There was no exterior damage to the shipping box nor the A.M. box that contains the three engines. I suspect that the box was dropped flat on one end. The second A-unit took the brunt of the hit. The B-unit had a broken truck. American Models replaced the broken truck within a few weeks. The A-unit shell has some cracks in it. After e-mailing them a photo of the damage, I eventually got permission to send the shell back. It then took another three months to get the replacement (after several e-mails). Obviously the fault of the damage lies squarely with FedEx that shipped the package, but I suspect the damage could have been limited or even avoided by shipping the A.M. box in a larger shipping box with more substantial packaging materials (i.e. "peanuts"), rather than a couple of pages of wadded-up newspaper that was used by A.M.! You may want to consider ordering from somebody like Hoquat Hobbies rather than from American Models directly. I know I won't order from them directly anymore.


(straight out of the box, with scale couplers installed)

When I first received the American Models set, I was quite impressed with the models. They seem to be quite accurate. The grills look like you can look right into the engines and see the internal structure, and the fan blades on the top are "visible". However, from inside the shell it is solid plastic. Very impressive. The two road numbers, PRR #9624 and #9628, are accurate numbers. The PRR received those units in November 1951 and December 1951, respectively. The paint job is accurate. What is missing on these engines are the typical add-on details, such as grab irons, windshield wipers, etc. Of course, the typical Pennsylvania Railroad trainphone antennas will need to be added as well later on. The horns are in the shell quite loosely. One could glue them in place, but I plan to replace them with brass units down the road. The other thing to note is that the windshields fall off of the model very easily. A little bit of "canopy" glue fixes that problem.


(straight out of the box, with scale couplers installed)

Why did I buy this set of engines when they are outside my modeled time period? The purpose behind this purchase was to have something big and visible to run on our Houston S Gaugers club layout at shows. The engines are too big for my home layout any way, and they were not necessarily spotted on the Pennsylvania Railroad's Chartiers Branch. I installed a Digitrax decoder in each of the powered A-units and the trio ran great at a recent model railroad show, where they logged about 10 hours of running time. Due to the decoder difference (or the motor/gear difference), I did have to tweak their speeds to get them to run somewhat close to the same speed when consisted together. I plan to replace both decoders with the appropriate Soundtraxx Tsunami sound decoders, and I will then be able to conclude where the speed difference lies (it is quite substantial).

See a video of the engines on the Houston S Gaugers club layout on October 8, 2011

Here's my critical review with regard to the model's dimensions of the FA-2 unit (source). As you can see, the model is pretty darn accurate.

MeasurementPrototypeA.M. ModelOff by...
Pilot-to-Pilot Distance:51'-9.5"52'-0"2.5"
Bolster Distance:29'-2"29'-1"1"
Wheelbase:9'-4"9'-2"2"
Cab Width:10'-6.5"10'-0"6.5"
Cab Height:14'-0"14'-0"0
Wheel Diameter:40"40"0

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