Rapido Trains FL9 Manuallines - Break-In
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BREAK-IN
Every locomotive needs a break-in period. Your FL9 has been tested at the factory... for
about 30 seconds. That is not enough time to get the gears to mesh nicely or to even
out any jerky operation in a new motor. We suggest that, after reading this manual, you
put your FL9 model on a test loop and just let it run in each direction for an hour or two.
Fast and slow.
There already should be enough grease in the gearbox so you don’t need to add any.
Just let the thing run.
PROTOTYPE INFORMATION
The FL9 was built in two batches of thirty units each. The first group, built between Oc-
tober 1956 and November 1957, included road numbers 2000-2029 and were clas-
sified EDER-5 (Electric Diesel-Electric Road) on the New Haven. The second group, road
numbers 2030-2059, were classified EDER-5a and were built in 1960. Unit #2059 was
the last F-unit ever built by EMD.
There were subtle differences between the two construction groups. The first group, road
numbers 2000-2029, featured nose MU doors and hoses, a door diaphragm, and a
small pantograph on the roof for use inside Grand Central Terminal with a rear ladder
for access to it. The second group, road numbers 2030-2059, did not have the nose MU
equipment due to the U.S. Government loan used to purchase them. They also lacked
the rear ladder and pantograph, it having proved to be an unreliable design.
As built, the second group was fitted with a side platform on the engineer’s side of the
nose along with additional grab irons both on the nose and L-shaped grabs above each
cab windshield. No door diaphragm was installed on the second group. The first group
was modernized with a similar platform and grabs at the same time, as well as the re-
moval of the roof pan, rear ladder and door diaphragm.
The New Haven, ever thrifty and resourceful (cheap?), removed the platforms and the
grabs from the left side of each of the second group of EDER-5a units and applied them
to the right side of the earlier batch that were already in service! The railroad also
added an L-shaped grab above the right side windshield on the earlier units, but only a
half-length grab above the left side windshield. These mismatched grabs stayed on these
units throughout their service life.
If you browse through pictures of the FL9 on the internet, chances are the majority of the
photos will be from the last few years of their lives, when they were regularly used in
push/pull service for the Connecticut DOT/Metro-North (despite being lettered for the
New Haven). A common sight is a head-end-power-equipped FL9 bringing up the rear
of a train of Comet cars. That was a comparatively modern invention. For most of their
service lives, and certainly when equipped with steam generators (as can be found on
our model), the FL9 was always found at the head end. But for those of you who would