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LDRR 1500 Phase 3 CF7

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FOR BEST PERFORMANCE, DISABLE DAMAGE AND INFINITE ELECTRIC. IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU RUN ON HIGH PHYSICS DETAIL HOWEVER THE LOCOMOTIVE WILL STILL OPERATE ON LOW. SITTING DOWN SHOULD STOP ANY SUBGRIDS FROM TWITCHING

Check the Youtube Video included for a detailed startup, text version here:
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3099256032

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In late January of 2023, the Last Louisiana and Delta Railroad CF7, No. 1500, which had been sitting in long-term storage for the last 3 years, would be spotted beginning the scrapping process with its engine hood, prime mover, and various components having been stripped from the now vacant frame. All that remained was the husk of her cab and her generator. This would be the end of the 74-year-old diesel who had witnessed countless changes and had been changed herself countless times. Few locomotives can claim to have seen such a diverse range of service as LDRR 1500 and her sister engines. So to honor this incredible engine, let's remember her rich history.

GENESIS
In May of 1948, 'EMD F3A: Serial no 5408 Frame Number: E902-A12' was completed for the Atchinson Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. She was given the number '27C' and would serve in a set of other F3As and F3Bs. Not much is known about where she mostly worked but we can assume it was mostly pulling passenger trains across the ATSF system, since she wore the Warbonnet paint scheme. Towards the 60s and 70s, the fleet of F units would be mostly replaced by newer, more powerful roadswitchers with more utilitarian designs that also improved up close and rear visibility. Like the rest of the F units, 27C would be put in long-term storage, faced with the likelihood of being scrapped as the cab unit design became obsolete. Luckily for 27C, she and many of her F unit sisters would be given new life through what could be called one of the most unique locomotive rebuild programs of all time.

CF7 CONVERSION
In June of 1972, she would go into the ATSF Cleburne, TX shops and come out a completely different locomotive. Her carbody was completely removed and replaced by a welded-on frame and a GP7-style engine hood. Her engine was upgraded, and the front of her cab had been completely removed and replaced with a nose similar to an EMD GP7, but much stubbier to accommodate the shorter nose. She had now been converted into a CF7 and would see use in the ATSF system as a road switcher. She had been renumbered to ATSF 2618. She would wear the ATSF Pinstripe livery, a much less glamorous paint scheme to go with her much less glamorous appearance and line of work. She had gone from the prime of the fleet to the yard's black sheep, but it beat being scrapped. She would continue yard and local service. On an unknown date, she was rebuilt again, with a 'Cleburne Cab' replacing her makeshift F unit conversion cab, along with her control stand being upgraded. She would serve on the ATSF until around 1986 when she would be sold off, and bought by a new Gennesee and Wyoming subsidiary in 1987, the Louisiana and Delta Railroad.

SERVICE ON THE L&D
L&D was a new G&W subsidiary operating ex-Southern Pacific branch lines from Breaux Bridge to Raceland. Due to low funds and an inadequately small roster, L&D was in the business of buying some more locomotives. 2618 was the first CF7 on the L&D purchased in December of 1987. As such she would receive the first number of her series, 'LDRR 1500'. Several other CF7s would be purchased by L&D and used around the late 80s. On the L&D she would serve smaller industries, connecting them to the mainlines of the class 1 railroads, along with being leased out to companies for switching. The age of these engines and the less-than-desirable reliability brought about by such an expansive rebuild saw most of the CF7s retired and scrapped from the late 90s through the early 2000s. However, a few of the more reliable engines would remain. A few of the noteworthy ones would be 1504, 1508, 1507, 1501, and of course 1500. From the 2000s to 2010s, 1500 would watch as her remaining sister CF7s would be retired and scrapped. Soon, she was the last one left in service, but sometime around 2020, she would be sent into long-term storage, And she had been around long enough to know what came next.

SUNSET YEARS
for around 3 years she sat outside the L&D shops in New Iberia, LA. There she was parked, drained of fluids with boards on her windows. The scrapper's torch could arrive at any time. Despite her significance, no noteworthy efforts were made to preserve her. She would sit out the 3 or so years until around late 2022 to early 2023 when the process of scrapping would begin. The most recent photo of her shows that her engine had been removed and most of her components scrapped as well. After 74 years, this locomotive finally reached the end of its life.

1500's Legacy
Although LDRR 1500, like many of the CF7s, is lost to time, her story will not be forgotten. What better way to preserve her history than to model her digitally for all Stormworkers to have access to? This 1-1 scale model is packed with features to simulate just about everything worth simulating, from the engine sounds and operation, down to the startup procedure. If you look hard enough you might find some remnants of her past life as an F3A such as the iconic F unit anti-climb on the front. The goal of this build is to showcase the locomotive and maybe get others to appreciate its history as well. Included in links below are her other schemes. The one published here is phase 1 of 3. Phase 2 saw her numbers replaced with white spray on decals, and phase 3 saw her trucks and fuel tank repainted into the standard G&W black.

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PHASE 1 https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3190843297

PHASE 2 https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3190843859

PHASE 3 [You are here]

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Credits:
Exterior shell and paint: Enzokats
Interior design and systems: 30DollarNightVision

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