Williams E vs. F series differences?

The F's are old tooling. The windshields are too big and they ride too high on the trucks. All of the details are molded on the shell. They aren't too bad considering the price you can get them for. The E's are fairly new tooling and they are actually very nice models with lots of separately applied details. I have an ABA set of the E's and I'm very pleased with them. I have an F7B unit I bought to run with my Geeps and it is an okay looking loco, but not anywhere nearly as nice as the E's. The windshields on the F's are the reason I haven't bought any F7A's.

I think either would be better than an entry level Lionel. All metal gears, trucks, & couplers on the Williams. Larger motors too. Keep in mind the E units are longer than the F units. The Es have 6 wheel trucks & the F units have 4 wheel trucks. I'm not sure if the Es could take an O31 curve. The Williams F3s are pretty much a carbon copy of a Lionel postwar F3 with some slight differences.

The Williams E-7's can take O-31 curve tracks, but they do have trouble going through the curved portion of my postwar turnouts, so I can only run them around the oval portion of my layout, can't run them on the reversing curve or onto my sidings.

I've three pairs of Williams E7's (C&O, B&M, and Maine Central) and three of the F7's (RG, ACL, SF-black). All run just fine with no problems and I agree the detailing on the E's is better. I have the intention to convert them all to the TE system at some point so good chance I'll stick more of these as I'm not "re-paying" for a control system.

 

That said, how do the Williams E7's compare to the Weaver E8's?

When comparing, you have to distinguish between the Williams F7s and the Williams F3s. The F7s have that odd nose and window shape that Mike mentioned, but the F3s are dead ringers for postwar Lionels and very close to scale. If you like the look of the old Lionel F units, you'll like the Williams F3s.

 

To summarize:

 

E7: good nose/window shape, scale length - much longer than either F unit, looks better on O42 curves and wider.

 

F7: odd nose/window shape (based on an old Kusan mold), much shorter than the E units - runs well on the tightest curves, but will have problems with O27 switch machines.

 

F3: same body size and shape as a Lionel postwar F3, close to scale in length, runs on tight curves but also will have problems on those O27 switch machine housings.

 

All three Williams engine types are excellent runners with dependable conventional electronic reverse.

 

As far as comparing to a Lionel entry level loco, it depends on which Lionel model you are referring to - MPC era F3?, modern FT?, or another?

 

Jim

Thanks everybody.  That's the type of info we were seeking.

 

Thanks for beating me to Jim,
Couldn't have typed it better
I put TMCC in both my NS Exec F-3's and my ACL E-7's both are very smooth stump pullers. Williams IMO is one of the best values for the money out there.

David

OF course, one can easily use the williams F7 as a good detailing candidate!

 

The E's are much longer. 

Curve,

 

That flush window glazing makes all the difference in the world. Gives the F7s a whole new appearance - very nice detailing all around.  Great job. 

 

Jim

Man I want to learn how to do that!! Those PRR's look a whole lot better! Where do you find the parts for detail like that?

 

I've never attempted sprucing one of these up. Is there a tool set you can recommend (set or parts n pieces)? I know I am going to need one of the lighted magnifiers.

 

I'd like to cast my vote for a detailed article!!