# LGB F7A+B



## MatthewB (Nov 12, 2008)

Hi Railroaders!

I've been looking into expandning my collection beyond smaller starter set engines into something larger like the LGB F7A engines with the B car. I've looked on Ebay and most seem to the red/silver or blue/silver Santa Fe versions. A local hobby shop has a new Canadian Pacific A+B for $1,000 and a clear see through F7A for $650.00 Do either of these seeem like a good deal? Both of these are mint in the box with no run time. The owner told me the CP is the rarest of the road names that LGB produced and the clear see through engine is a good conversation piece.

Thanks for the help in advance,
Matthew


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

TrainWorld are advertising the Santa Fe F7 for $699 + $599, so $1,000 for the pair seems like a great price - if they are the same specification as the current model. 

With LGB, often the same model is offered with or without sound or digital control. Do you know what features are on the ones you found?


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

I have both an ABA B&O LGB set and an AB clear duo. The sound is in the " B" unit for both sets. They are great runners. My only caviat is that they are of questionable scale. In my opinion they are a little large for 1:29 scale rolling stock. If you are a scale fanatic, you might find them larger than you might like. If not, they are fine. The clear units have flashing red and green lights. At our Christmas show they are a big hit. 

Chuck 

PS. I bought my clear units 10 or more years ago. I paid about $350 for the set. It was a price I couldn't pass up. I do not think that they were great sellers. Therefore they were dumped on the market and some dealers had great prices. I got mine from Nicholas Smith. 

If these are all new engines, made after LGB's demise, my comments may not be applicable.

If you want something to match 1:29 rolling stock, the USAt F3s are nice engines. 

What scale(s) and railroads are you interested in? It will help us help you.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Matthew,

I have a LGB ABBA that I purchased for my late father, in Christmas 1999, over thirteen years ago. I paid about $1200 for the first AB units, brand new. About a week later, my dealer had a near new AB set on consignment for $650 for both units! This was a deal I could not pass up. All four units are SF War Bonnet, red and silver. I'm not buying LGB anymore and haven't been watching prices very closely. One caveat on my units.....they were made in Germany, NOT china as they are now. Check to see how old or new these units are. Might make a difference. Good luck.


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## TheRoundHouseRnR (Jul 15, 2012)

Most Santa fe units i see on eBay are the China made lgb. There are many German F7 diesels to but i am seeing allot of China made. Not saying there is anything wrong with them. They are lighter and the plastic and paint is surely different from the German made units. The blue where made in China only. The red and silver loco from China has a flatter finish to the paint then the German. 

The Canadian Pacific and the clear F7 are German. I have a pennsy AB with motors added to the B unit. I paid next to nothing for mine off craigslist, but they needed full restoration , including new motor blocks. They pull and run great. If i had a chance at the Canadian Pacific i would grab it in a heart beat at that price. You cannot compare the prices to the clear F7 because they where unloaded rather cheap due to a lack of interest. But now they have jumped up in price probably because of demand and there worth in parts. I don't think you will be disappointed either way. 

The Roundhouse RnR


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Where the engines are made have nothing to do with the weight. The weight changed in all LGB engines due to a requirement that no lead can be used anymore and an alternate material at low cost is being used. Lead can not be used here in the US anymore as well as Europe. 

On another note, All LGB B units were made with sound but no motors or power pickups. The A unit has a speaker which connects to the B unit via a 4 wire cable. The 2 wire cable is for power. And never connect 2 B units with the 4 wire cable, this ties 2 audio amps together. The 2 wire track power can be added.


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## TheRoundHouseRnR (Jul 15, 2012)

As far as i know the change from not using lead happened post German productions. Regardless of why, they are not as heavy. Sorry , I didn't mean to imply that it was because they where made in China. Weight can easily be added though. 

The Roundhouse RnR


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

i gottem-i love em 
SP Black Widow A-B-B-A , and 
one clear F7 for amusment 
they are big, the sound is great, 
consider- 

CP-youll have a hard time finding a second A unit-and you may well want one 
the a units pull well, but on the flat id limit it a bit so as to not over tax the drive units-maybe 10 or so cars
they really only look ok on , at a minimum imho, R3 -they run fine on smaller curves, but just look really wrong, even to me, and i have no standards
also there werent CP streamliners to my recollection -ie the original silver LGB versiosn with transfers-(those without the interiors)


the only LGB CP caboose im aware of were the large red undeocrated long metal caboose-it came with CP transfers
-if you can get this -its a superb caboose and the transfers look like paint-and are easy to perfectly position

if memory serves, there was a shorty wooden offset 4 axel bobber style in CP, but i think it only came with a limited run starter set -and im not certain of this, just a dim memory 

the clear units are fun, 
they are unique 
and as loose as i am in 'railroading standards" about scale, and things that are close but not quite right, 

the clear F unit never strikes me as a locomotive, but rather is a unique conversation piece-ie with a consist , i only see flashy lights , not a real diesel 
its a big leap in the brain, for me, to see or pretend that this is a locomotive 

nevertheless
glad i have mine- 
they are wonderful -particularly at night in the garden-but again not really like the headlight beam of a loco-more like an acid trip LOL
very german in concept i think -marklin came out with one in HO about the same time as did LGB
but, these clear locos are an indulgence -to repaint , imho, would not only be a mistake re its value, but is nto an easy task to do well or find good decals-perhaps stan cedarleaf could help

from my looking from time to time , 1000 is not a bad price-but its not a good one either- the only thing that makes it look good are the current Marklin street prices
if they are MINT, the price seems much better overall-make sure you get teh magnets for the horn and bell and the connecting wires between the units -and the separte brake cylinders for the front truck

fwiw only as perspective 

i am aware of an ABA set from a shop , in near new, for the same price-B and O , imho not a great road name or scheme, but thats me 

the other thing, is i prefer the two headlight versions-but thats me...nothwithstanding id buy a single light New Haven at a fair price no delay 

all said these are great locomotives and a lot of fun-and will give a lot of joy if not abused-your track work will need to be more precise-ie level, than for shorty starter type trains 

as for the old prices quoted-dont even think about those, there were close out prices that were simply ridiculously low
at one time each unit was selling for under 200 
and i doubt they will ever be seen again

some have added powere trucks to the b unit and i think that might be the thing for you to consider should you decide to purchase
not as seasy as simply swapping , but not too bad with a bit of work to make the starting voltage on A and re-pwereed B the same -ie adding a large resistor


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## MatthewB (Nov 12, 2008)

Thanks for the info everyone!

I went back and checked and this F7A/B was made in Germany. After thinking about it though, I decided to pass because my ceiling/wall layout uses R1 curves and I think an engine this large would look strange on it. I don't think the engine could make those turns without scuffing the walls either.

All is not lost though, I picked up an LGB Snoppy on a surfboard that I didn't even know existed.

Thanks for all the help again!


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

The B unit is real easy to add one motorized block. So, my SP black widow AB unit has 3 motors. Great pulling power with the dummy motorized and weighted.


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## xtcbct (Jul 15, 2008)

Does that local hobby shop still have the LGB F7 set? Where are they located?


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

I got a good deal on the clear F7 and B makes for some good night running and a good conversation piece. Also looks good under the tree at Christmas. Later RJD


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