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NOMENCLATURE
So what is this engine called, anyway? The General Motors F9/FP9 manual refers to the
locomotive as both an FP9 and an FP9A… on the same page! Logically, as there was
no FP9B, there was no need to call this an FP9A. But logic rarely enters into railway
nomenclature. CN referred to its FP9As as both FP9A and FP-9A, but never FP9. CP just
called it a DPA-17a – which would be good to use, but then we’d also have to call it a
GPA-17a (or b, c, d, or e), and that would just get confusing. So we decided to call the
locomotive an FP9A, for no other reason except that we think it sounds nice.
MINIMUM RADIUS REQUIREMENTS
Being a reasonably small, 4-axle unit, the FP9A will have no problems navigating 18”
radius curves and #4 crossovers. If you want to run passenger trains on anything tighter,
you are in the wrong scale. Try N, Z or T and stop bugging us.
Even though our model has a sprung buffer plate, the FP9A very much prefers broader
curves, especially if coupled to another unit or to full-length passenger cars. For tight-
radius curves, we include an extra long-shank coupler in the box to prevent interference
with the rear buffer. There is a long-shank coupler installed on the front so the trip pin
won’t interfere with the pilot. If you don’t use delayed uncoupling, you can swap this
long coupler out. We include an extra medium-shank coupler in the box: you can snip
off the trip pin and install it in the front of the locomotive for more realistic close coupling
in the front.
CHANGING THE COUPLERS
Changing the couplers is very straightforward. Place a white table cloth on your work-
bench or kitchen table. Place a foam cradle (available from Micro-Mark, product
#80784) or a thick-piled hand towel (not a tea towel!) folded over a couple of times on
top of the table cloth and lay the FP9A on its roof. Alternatively, you can place it up-
side down in the foam insert inside the wonderful multi-purpose box that the loco came
in. Use a small Phillips screwdriver to unscrew the coupler box and slide it out without
destroying the surrounding details, especially the yoke surrounding the rear coupler.
Swear loudly when the yoke snaps off. Snap the lid off, replace the coupler, and snap
the lid back on. Slide the coupler box back in and replace the screw. Pick up the FP9A
and look around the white table cloth for all the little roof details that may have fallen
off. Glue them back on with white glue. Hey – don’t say we didn’t warn you! And on
that note…
MISSING OR DAMAGED PARTS
With about 300 individual detail parts, the FP9A is a stupidly complex model. To pre-
vent inevitable frustration, we recommend checking your locomotive as soon as possible
