HO Scale Cab Forward Locomotives

The best known example of the 4-8-8-2 cab forward design in the United States is the unique Southern Pacific Cab Forward that no other US railroad ordered. This placed the cab at the front by the simply turning the entire locomotive, minus the tender, by 180 degrees. This arrangement was made possible by burning fuel oil instead of coal.

The cab forward design was used by the Southern Pacific Railroad to deal with the peculiar problems of its routes. The 39 long tunnels and nearly 40 miles of snow sheds of the Sierra Nevada Mountains could funnel dangerous exhaust fumes back into the cab of a conventional steam locomotive. After a number of crews were nearly asphyxiated, they started running their conventional locomotives in reverse. This meant that the tender was leading the train and blocked the view ahead. It also put crewmen on the wrong sides of the cab for seeing signals. The tenders were not designed to be pushed causing speeds to be reduced. Southern Pacific commissioned Baldwin Locomotive Works to build a prototype cab forward locomotive, then ordered more units before the prototype had even arrived.

All of the cab forwards were oil burning locomotives, which meant there the tender could easily be placed at what would normally be the front of the locomotive. The oil and water tanks were pressurized so that both would flow normally even on uphill grades. Visibility from the cab was excellent, one crewman could easily watch both sides of the track. The biggest advantage was that the arrangement placed the crew well ahead of the exhaust fumes, insulating them from that hazard.

The InterMountain Cab Forward is one of the most highly detailed steam locomotives in model railroading. There are numerous etched metal and wire details throughout the model as well as finely molded plastic details. Just like the prototype, the front "engine" is rigid, only the rear "engine" articulates. The minimum radius is 24". There are no visible gear towers above the "engines" for a better prototype appearance. LED lighting is used throughout including the front headlight, rear tender light, and cab number boards. All metal Kadee® couplers are mounted on both ends. The locomotive is powered by a powerful Northwest Short Line motor. This locomotive is sure to become a favorite on your railroad!

Four classes of the Southern Pacific Cab Forward are produced by InterMountain, AC-8, AC-10, AC-11, and AC-12. Each class and road number is faithfully and uniquely represented by paint and tender lettering scheme differences, all based off of prototype information.
AC-8 built July - October 1939 (All scrapped by April 24, 1959)
AC-10 built January - June 1942 (All scrapped by August 7, 1959)
AC-11 built November 1942 - May 1943 (All scrapped by April 1959)
AC-12 built October 1943 - March 1944 (All retired by September 1958. All were scrapped except #4294 which is on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA)

Future Production locomotives are offered as DC, DCC Non-Sound, and DCC with sound.
-DC only non-sound locomotives have a 21-pin DC plug installed and are "DCC Ready" using any 21-pin style decoder
-Non-Sound are equipped with a 21-pin ESU LokPilot DCC decoder.
-Sound units are equipped with a 21-pin ESU LokSound Select DCC decoder.

NOTE: the minimum recommended radius for these locomotives is 24".