HO F7A Locomotive, C&WC #901 Overview
The C&WC was created in 1896 to operate two former subsidiary roads of the Central of Georgia Railroad. Atlantic Coast Line took over the C&WC in 1897 and operated it as a subsidiary until 1959, when it was fully absorbed. C&WC operated F-units 900-905, which were painted in an almost identical scheme to ACL. C&WS 901 was purchased by a private owner and could be seen pulling freight trains in Southern Wisconsin in the mid to late 1980s before being repainted for the Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad.
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 âfirst generationâ 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 âcovered wagonsâ, 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.