I was at a swap meet this past weekend and two different modelers gave me these:


Cary E-6 body kit
Cary FTa body kit
Cary FTb body kit
Cary F3b body kit (4)
Cary F3b body without details
and 3 Varney F3 shells.

I know the Varney shells are pretty much junk, but how about the Cary ones?

I got the FTA shell given to me when I bought this:

It's the complete S-2 kit from Cary, with Athearn running gear. My plan is to build it up to look like Canadian Pacific's S-2 in original Black and Tuscan paint:

The Carry bodies make good starting points for detail projects, as long as they are not damaged. There extra weight is a nice bonus for traction.
Nice find on that one. That was one heck of a deal.

Nothing is ever just "junk". There is always a use for it somewhere.

Those look like fun projects

I finally got one of those S2 shells and when i was working on the cab discovered that I'd tightened the vice it was in too much.

I learned I could mark it with my fingernails!

I love the shells, but they need to be handled very carefully, some were made of pewter.

I'm hoping to polish a couple of F units & maybe get them plated...

Great score!

Dan M.

Thanks for the feedback. I've pretty much decided to pass the shells on to other modelers with the exemption of a F-3b shell. Neither of the Canadian Railways that I model had FT's or E-6's.
I'm currently gathering detail parts for the S-2. I'd like to replace it's kit handrails with some better detailed ones. The originals were Athearn metal uprights and bent wire.

CN had a four F3As and two F3Bs, 9000-9005.
They were upgraded to F7s in later years.

From the Alberta Railway Museum site,
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The two F3 A-B-A sets ordered by the CNR each consisted of three locomotives, 2 "A" units with control cabs, and a "B" unit without.
CNR's two sets were numbered 9000-9001-9002 and 9003-9004-9005. 9001 and 9004 were the cabless units.
CNR's six F3's were the only ones owned by a Canadian railway.
These six locomotives were ordered for, and normally used only in freight service, although they did occasionally get assigned to passenger trains.

Dan M.

Yes I already know about the F-3's that CN had. I was talking about the FT units and the E-6's that I don't really have a use for. I detailed a Proto1000 F-3 a few years ago and contacted the Alberta railway museum for some detail pictures of #9000. I am keeping one of the F-3b shells for a possible future project though.

I did open all the boxes today and found a complete Varney F-3 engine that looks like it's never been painted.