I suspect I share the same semi-shock that other collectors felt as the news began to sink in that a new F7A was to appear in the Athearn Roundhouse line. The model made a surprise preview debut in early 2023 and generated many questions. When I first saw Athearn’s Product Manager Jon Stackpole holding this F7A and stating it was coming to the line… I was puzzled. Why add an F7 to the entry-level series of offerings, when Athearn owns what is arguably the most famous HO diesel locomotive replica of all? I participated in a live stream event (which you can find on Athearn’s YouTube channel) and asked my questions, and those of the many readers who contacted me, and discovered the reasons for this release.
In September 2020, Athearn announced a group of F7s (paired F7A/F7B sets and single F7A offerings) for its Roundhouse brand. In January 2022, another collection of F7A units was announced. (This model is the famous Globe release that quickly moved to Athearn’s catalog in the mid-1950s, and has remained a hobby mainstay every since. For decades it was a blue-box kit offering and went to the Ready To Roll line in the early 2000s.) Nothing arrived from either announcement. As these production runs were attempted, it was discovered the molds used in making this famous F7A shell were no longer viable.
ABOVE: One of HO’s first plastic diesel locomotive models, Globe’s F7 (A- and B-unit) arrived with no drive mechanism and looked as you see this Union Pacific example. There have been minor revisions over the years to this tooling. Note this 1950s edition includes separately applied number boards, the head-light area is solid (behind the aftermarket lens applied to this example), and there are other attributes that changed during its years in the hobby. A single headlight F7A came first and the dual headlight arrived later (shown on the facing page and in the 1961 ad below).
A decision was made to invest in a new plastic F7A shell and develop a new die-cast metal chassis (that would serve both A- and B-units). This all-new Athearn Roundhouse F7A will soon make its debut, filling in for the Globe/Athearn tooling in the two rounds of production now moving forward. The design retains the hallmarks of the original with it remaining a basic plastic F-unit that serves as a great entry-level locomotive and starting point for hobbyists to use to create unique custom projects. For collectors, this new F7A is important to acquire… though you can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness over the retirement of what no one would argue is an all-time classic in the hobby.
