was kindly given this by a work mate. Is it based on a real loco? Seems a bit short with only 3 portals. National Australian livery. Any information would be welcomed. Many thanks. Phil from Australia
What you have there is a generic EMD F7A. It is not an Australian locomotive, just an Australian livery. It is supposed to replicate an Australian National GM Class. Cheers, Gary.
Additionally, the real GM class had three axle bogies, with earlier locomotives being A1A-A1A, and later ones being Co-Co. Are there any indications on the model as to the manufacturer? It looks possibly like Tyco, as there were several US locomotive types faked into Australian liveries at one time (probably the 1970s, if my memory isn't too far gone).
Low budget, that's me alright. Haven't had to pay much for any of the gear I have bought, or had given. Its great to know, that you can get into this hobby without having to spend heaps of money.
Ah but then the bug bites and what started out as low budget entry becomes something else entirely! Cheers and happy modelling Richard
I only save $1 & $2 coins for the railway. This adds up to about $12 a week. And I stay within this budget. Born poor die poor
We actually had these running in Western Australia for Mt Newman Mining it was a very colorful livery. You can see it here, I think there was two locos. http://www.railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?album=19&pid=3761
By the way there isn't much wrong with the FS passenger coach they were really popular with NSW modellers.
There's nothing wrong with low budget, but some manufacturers give better value for money than others.| I model mainly British outline in OO, but have recently been dabbling with European HO models. German manufacturer Piko have made quite a few sales to me with their basic "Hobby" range, which are the lower priced models with simpler detailing and finishes. For all that, the diesels and electrics have 5-pole motors with big flywheels and heavy chassis, and run beautifully. Some still have decent printing and colouring as well. P_20190306_210053_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr On the other hand, we got some brands like Tyco which were, in my opinion, rather cheap and nasty, although they did produce some Australian themed models adapted from US prototypes. Hornby's RailRoad range has some good models, and some not so good, and really doesn't seem to have worked out exactly which market they are aimed at. Of course, it is a case of horses for courses; if one doesn't have the money, then one has to buy within the budget they have. We all have compromises somewhere in the hobby.
