WalthersProto
PROTO 2000 Diesel EMD E7A-A - Both Powered w/Sound & DCC
Great Northern #502A & 502B; Both w/Mars Light ("Empire Builder")
Walthers Part # 920-40537
HO scale, $349.98, sold out at Walthers
These units, delivered in 1945, were the first to wear the famous Omaha
Orange and Pullman Green scheme used on the post-war Empire Builder
passenger trains.
When EMD was given the green light to build new passenger diesels in early
1945, it unveiled an improved version of the successful E6, designated the
E7. A pair of 567A prime movers, rated at 2000 total horsepower, now
supplied power. Most of the notable changes were seen on the body and
included a new and much smaller bulldog nose, as well as a large, vertical
louver or screen panels directly behind the cab doors.
Introduced just as American railroads began upgrading and rebuilding
passenger service, the E7 was the most successful passenger diesel ever
built, with 428 A units and 82 cabless B units produced through April of
1949 when the E8 was unveiled.