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FA-2/FB-2 DCC FUNCTION QUICK REFERENCE
F0
HEADLIGHTS
F13
STEAM GENERATOR EXHAUST
F1
BELL
F14
CURVE SQUEAL
F2
HORN
F16
EMERGENCY BRAKE
F3
DRIVE HOLD/FULL THROTTLE
F17
EMERGENCY LIGHT
F4
DYNAMIC BRAKES
F18
SHORT AIR RELEASE
F5
DOPPLER HORN
F19
NUMBER BOARDS (OFF/ON)
F6
DITCH LIGHTS
F20
REAR BACKUP LIGHT
F7
DIM THE HEADLIGHTS
F8
STARTUP/MUTE/SHUTDOWN
F9
CLASS LIGHTS (WHITE/GREEN/OFF)
F10
MARS LIGHT
F11
BRAKE SET/RELEASE
F12
SWITCHING MODE
BREAK-IN
Every locomotive needs a break-in period. Your FA-2 or FB-2 has been tested at the factory... for
about 30 seconds. That is not enough time to get the gears to mesh nicely or to even out any jerky
operation in a new motor. We suggest that, after reading this manual, DO NOT try to pull a 40 car
freight extra over the Appalachians. Instead, put your FA-2 or FB-2 model on a test loop and just let
it run in each direction for an hour or two. Fast and slow.
There already should be enough grease in the gearbox so you don’t need to add any. Just let the
thing run.
PROTOTYPE INFORMATION
The FA-2 and FB-2 were the evolution of the FA-1 and FB-1 developed by American Locomotive
Company (ALCO) at their Schenectady, NY facility. The FA-2 family included FA-2 and FB-2 freight
units and FPA-2 and FPB-2 passenger units. The later were equipped with steam generators and large
combination fuel/water tanks for medium-duty passenger service. (Rather than refer to this family
as the “FA-2/FB-2/FPA-2/FPB-2” we’ll just refer to it as the FA-2 or FB-2 series). The new FA-2 series
locomotives were launched at the end of 1950 in the form of two ABBA demonstrator sets. Units
featured uprated 1600hp 12-244D engines. To complicate matters, some roads chose not to name
their steam-equipped units FPs, leading to fleets of FA-2s both with and without steam generators
under the same designation. We believe this naming convention was done explicitly to confuse
model railroaders 65 years later. The B-units were almost identical to their A-unit brothers with the
exception of the lack of a cab and the position of the battery compartment.
As with the original FA and switcher/roadswitcher designs, construction of the second generation
FA units also took place north of the border for the Canadian market. Montreal Locomotive Works
(MLW) was responsible for the manufacture of locomotives under license for Canadian National and
Canadian Pacific as well as a batch for Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México.
In total, over 300 FA-2s and almost 200 FB-2s were constructed by ALCO and MLW between 1950
and 1956. The New York Central was the largest supporter of the type with 80 FA-2s and 50 FB-2s,
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