Broadway Limited 6652 - HO Scale EMD F3 A/B Set Chicago Great Western CGW #101A/101B, Paragon4 Sound/DC/DCC

An A/B pair of Chicago Great Western F3s in the railroad's striking maroon, red and yellow – the colors of the "Corn Belt Route."

The Prototype

The Chicago Great Western linked Chicago, the Twin Cities, Kansas City and Omaha across the Midwest's corn country. Smaller than its rivals, the CGW competed by running long, heavy freight trains behind big sets of EMD F-units, and it dieselized early with F3s in the late 1940s. The railroad kept its maroon-and-red F-units working until it merged into the Chicago & North Western in 1968.

The EMD F3 was a 1,500 hp cab-unit diesel built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division from 1945 to 1949. It was EMD's third F-unit model and the second most produced after the F7, with more than 1,100 A-units and almost 700 B-units built for both passenger and freight service.

What's in the Box

• CGW #101A – powered F3A with Paragon4 Sound/DC/DCC
• CGW #101B – unpowered F3B booster

Add BLI 6662 (F3A, CGW #101C) to build a full A-B-A set like the prototype.

Paragon4 Sound & Control (A-unit)

• Factory-installed Paragon4 decoder – runs on DC or DCC (use DCMaster for sound on DC)
• Rolling Thunder: pair with BLI's Rolling Thunder receiver/subwoofer for deep, room-filling prime mover rumble
• Back EMF motor control for smooth slow-speed running
• Built-in capacitance to ride through dirty or imperfect track
• Pro Lighting Mode – individual control of every light
• Switcher Mode for precise low-speed control
• Record & Play – records and plays back sounds and movements for automatic operation
• High-resolution audio with quillable horn and 3 selectable horns
• Adjustable bell rate, automatic grade-crossing and forward/reverse signals
• Prime mover sound varies with load; individually adjustable volumes
• EZ Reset button for a quick return to factory defaults

Model Features

• ABS bodies on die-cast chassis
• Precision drive with all-wheel electrical pickup (A-unit)
• Separately applied handrails, grab irons, horn, bell, wipers and etched-metal grills
• Road-specific details matched to the CGW prototype
• Individually controllable lights: headlight, Mars light (where applicable), numberboards, classification lights, cab light
• Metal Kadee-compatible couplers
• Runs on Code 70, 83 and 100 rail; minimum radius 18"

Specs

• Scale: HO (1:87)
• Manufacturer: Broadway Limited Imports
• Item #: 6652
• Road / numbers: Chicago Great Western #101A / #101B
• Paint: Maroon/red/yellow
• Model: EMD F3A (powered, Paragon4 Sound/DC/DCC) + F3B (unpowered)