Product Overview

In the late 1960s, Santa Fe’s F-unit fleet was nearing the end of its lifespan. At the same time, Santa Fe was looking to fulfill a need for nearly 200 plus locomotives for use on secondary and branch lines. Santa Fe got creative in their thinking: remove the truss car body down to the engine deck and replace the truss members with large, deep side sills while fabricating stairs and GP7-like hoods suitable for switching, similar to other GP7-style locomotives currently in use. In late 1969, the first CF7 was rebuilt at Santa Fe’s Cleburne Shops, with 232 more through 1978. This would be one of the most successful locomotive rebuild programs of all-time.

Throughout the CF7 rebuild program, many variations did occur. Most notably were the cab profiles and the side sills. The CF7 had two distinctive cab profiles: round and angled. The large side sills had two variations, as well: open and closed slots. The open slots were found on earlier rebuilds, which featured stronger, Tri-10 steel. The closed slot sills were made with a lighter steel and had the openings filled to provide more support.

These venerable locomotives made their living on road and yard switching jobs. In the mid-1980s, many would be sold to regional and short line operators. Today, some CF7s continue to operate in California, Florida, Texas and more!

Rapido Highlights

• ✓NEW! Ditch lights on appropriate CF7 roadnames
• ✓Classic rebuilt roadswitcher featuring popular regional and Short line roadnames
• ✓incredible underbody detailing with working ground lights, beacons and much more

Product Features & Specifications

• ✓Five different cab variations
• ✓Two different hood variations
• ✓Open and closed sill assemblies
• ✓Separate metal grab irons and handrails
• ✓Insane amount of roadnumber-specific details
• ✓Incredible underbody details including piping, draft gear, sand lines and much more
• ✓Etched grills and steps
• ✓Heavy, die-cast chassis
• ✓Working headlights, ground lights, number boards, beacons and ditch lights (where appropriate)
• ✓Cannon and Company licensed 36” cap top radiator fan designs
• ✓Full, multi-color interior with lighted gauges
• ✓DCC/Sound (21-pin DCC Ready) or DC/DCC/Sound (ESU LokSound) options
• ✓MoPower capacitor system for uninterrupted DCC power
• ✓Suggested minimum radius: 18”

Reserve Your Rapido CF7

Plan your next HO scale locomotive addition with Denver Model Trains.

Pre-Order Notice

This is a pre-order-only production—quantities are limited and based on reservations.

How to Place Your Pre-Order

1. Wait for the button to say “Pre-Order Now”
2. Confirm you see “$0.00 due today”
3. Complete checkout

How Pre-Orders Work

• •Reserve your item today.
• •We will contact you once inventory is en route to us with your final invoice.
• •Manufacturer delivery dates are estimates and may change.
• •You will still enter payment information at checkout, but as long as you see “$0.00 due today”, your card will not be charged.
• •We do not automatically charge cards when pre-orders arrive. You will receive a separate invoice once your item is ready to ship.

Important Note

Orders placed without the “$0.00 due today” option selected will be processed as full-payment orders. Please review our refund policy and other pre-order policies before placing your order.