N Scale - Mehano - 52418 - Locomotive, Diesel, Alco FA/FB - Santa Fe

Specific Item Information: Set contains one FA2 locomotive (no number) and four (4) heavyweight coaches numbered 3002, 3004, 3005 and 3011

Model Information: Mehano sold these train sets made of older models under its own brand at the end of the years 2000 (seen in their 2008 catalog). The design dates back to the end of 1960s - early 1970s.
Sets contain a FA2, four cars, a power pack and a 56.5 x 47 cm track oval.

DCC Information: The Mehano versions do not support DCC at all.

Prototype History: The ALCO FA was a family of B-B diesel locomotives designed to haul freight trains. The locomotives were built by a partnership of ALCO and General Electric in Schenectady, New York, between January 1946 and May 1959. They were of a cab unit design, and both cab-equipped lead (A unit) FA and cabless booster (B unit) FB models were built. A dual passenger-freight version, the FPA/FPB, was also offered. It was equipped with a steam generator for heating passenger cars.

Externally, the FA and FB models looked very similar to the ALCO PA models produced in the same period. Both the FA and PA models were styled by General Electric's Ray Patten. They shared many of the same characteristics both aesthetically and mechanically. It was the locomotive's mechanical qualities (the ALCO 244 V-12 prime mover) and newer locomotive models from both General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and General Electric (the partnership with ALCO was dissolved in 1953) that ultimately led to the retirement of the FA/FB locomotive model from revenue service. Several examples of FAs and FBs have been preserved in railroad museums, a few of them in operational status on such lines as the Grand Canyon Railway and the Napa Valley Wine Train. ALCO's designation of F marks these locomotives as being geared primarily for freight use, whereas the P designation of the PA sets indicates that they were geared for higher speeds and passenger use. However, beyond this their design was largely similar, and many railroads used FA and PA locomotives for both freight and passenger.

Externally, the FA-1/FB-1 could be distinguished from the FA-2/FB-2 (FPA-2/FPB-2) by the position of the radiator shutters – the FA-1/FB-1's shutters were at the far end of the carbody, whereas on the FA-2/FB-2 they were further forward, the design having been modified to allow the installation of a steam generator behind the radiator.
The FPA-4/FPB-4 were visually different due to the additional radiator space that was positioned below the shutters.

From Wikipedia
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Road Name History: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (reporting mark ATSF), often abbreviated as Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. Chartered in February 1859, the railroad reached the Kansas-Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado, in 1876. To create a demand for its services, the railroad set up real estate offices and sold farm land from the land grants that it was awarded by Congress. Despite the name, its main line never served Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the terrain was too difficult; the town ultimately was reached by a branch line from Lamy.

The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport, an enterprise that (at one time or another) included a tugboat fleet and an airline (the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway). Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean. The ATSF was the subject of a popular song, Harry Warren & Johnny Mercer's "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", written for the film, The Harvey Girls (1946).

The railroad officially ceased operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway.

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Paint Scheme: While there were many, now-classic paint schemes to grace locomotives during the start of the diesel and streamliner age of the 1930s none became as legendary as Santa Fe's "Warbonnet" (and most did not even receive a formal name). The design was the creation of artist Leland A. Knickerbocker, who worked for General Motors. During the mid-1930s the company needed a classy, matching livery to the Native-American themed train that the Santa Fe was planning to debut. Of course, you probably know the name of this train, the Super Chief, which went on to become just as famous as the paint it wore.

The Warbonnet was shelved by the railroad following the end of passenger service in 1971 but was readopted in the late 1980s. Following the creation of Burlington Northern Santa Fe in 1995 a version of the livery was briefly used but was finally dropped altogether.

From AmericaRails.com

Brand/Importer Information: 1952: Mehanotehnika was established as a business in Slovenia (formerly Yugoslavia) for the production and sale of metal and plastic products. The company name derives from the name of the first puzzle toy which was entirely produced by the company. Initially the company did not have its own production site. However, by the end of 1953, the building and machinery had been acquired

In the world of N Scale, Mehano products were produced under contract and imported by several other brand names for use in the US. However, a few models were imported with either "MT", "Mehano" or "Tempo" branding.

Manufacturer Information: Mehano is a Slovenian toy manufacturer located in Izola, Slovenija. The company was founded as Mehanotehnika and was producing toys starting in June 1953. They first exhibited at the Nuerenberg Toy Fair in 1959. Mehano produced a number of different locomotives and rolling stock models for the North American market in the 1960s and 1970s. Companies such as Atlas and Life-Like imported a huge variety of their products. Generally they can easily be recognized as they are stamped "Yugosolavia" on the underframe. The company was formally renamed "Mehano" in 1990. Izola today is part of the country of Slovenia since the breakup of Yugoslavia.
Mehano filed for bankruptcy in 2008, but still continued to exist and operate. Since 2012, Mehano products are distributed by Lemke.