One of those searches netted me an image of an old EMD print for the F3, whose exterior dimensions are identical to the F7. The Ixquick Internet search engine got quite the workout, saving me the indignities of having to paw through endless books and take endless notes during my information quest. For example, I needed weights and dimensions in order to start making some sketches and translate a 50 foot long, 230,000 pound locomotive into a reasonably accurate scale equivalent. I'm not exactly ignorant of what goes on inside a locomotive, but I did need specifics that would assist me in making good design choices. So my first step after deciding to model an F7 was to learn as much as I could about it. In order to model something you need to know something about that something. I was hoping to achieve something that would behave somewhat as though it was controlled in the same fashion. The real F-unit was electro-mechnically controlled, with the traction motor contactors pneumatically operated, and heavy use of magamps and other period controls. Control response similar to the prototype.In passenger gearing, the F7 was capable of a top speed of 102 MPH, and could develop about 52,000 pounds of starting tractive force, corresponding to approximately 13.6 MPH and 123 pounds tractive force in the model. Speed and tractive force commensurate with a scale passenger locomotive.While I wasn't planning on counting rivets and bolts, I did want to have an exterior appearance that would give the illusion of the prototype as it might appear to a nearby mouse or gopher. Ironically, that worry almost came to pass with the F7 project.

I was afraid that if I embarked on a steam project I'd probably be pushing daisies before I lit the first fire in the boiler. However, I ended up setting aside that idea. I should note that at one point during my first visit to the ILS, I did give some consideration to building steam. I'm no rivet-counter but I also didn't want the thing looking like tinplate. 401, and I would attempt to model its early 1950s appearance as closely as I could. Choosing the road to model took some thought but I finally settled on the Chicago & Northwestern, specifically C&NW No. So my plan was to build a passenger engine. The F7, of course, has an illustrious history and was the motive power for a lot of fast varnish in the 1950s-all the more reason to build it. That experience cemented the F7 as 'the one' in my young mind. I got to ride in the cab and was taken on a tour of the engine room (that 16 cylinder Diesel looked positively gigantic to a six year boy). As luck would have it, one of my relatives, who was an engineer for the Canadian National, was good buddies with someone who knew someone who arranged for me to tag along with a hostler as he shuffled units between the engine house and the yard.

The choice of the F7 had to do with it being the very first locomotive I had ever set foot on and rode in-I was six years old at the time, and F7s were brand new in those days. I'm not real keen on buying ready-to-run stuff when I can build it myself, so that was the plan with the locomotive. After joining the ILS and finishing my probationary period, I started planning on acquiring a locomotive and some cars. I've never had a lot of interest in table-top modeling and my years working in surface transportation on, around, under and in trains had given me the desire to own something that I could ride. What set this project in motion was a visit to the Illinois Live Steamers (ILS) some 15 years ago and getting a good look at what large-scale railroading was all about. The reasons for the slow progress are several, but this topic isn't the place to wax eloquent about them. This project has taken me far longer than expected-I've built considerably more complicated stuff in a fraction of the time, but I am making progress. This topic will chronicle some of my experiences in bringing a 1.6 inch scale EMD F7 Diesel-Electric locomotive from a whole lot of thoughts, sketches and drawings to the state of being a running model.

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