Sweet FA?

Is it just me, or does the large metallic object in the photo appear to be an American diesel locomotive? Most specifically, does it bear more than a passing resemblance to an Alco FA series cab unit? I apologise for the fact that the photo isn't clearer, but the other side of the road was the closest I could get. I spotted the mystery object last week, but wasn't able to get any pictures until yesterday. Most people think that I'm insane when I tell them that I've seen an American diesel locomotive in a garden of a house beside the A340 - but now I have the proof!

Quite what this is and why it is there is still a mystery. Whilst the 'loco' seems to be a full scale replica, it is also an empty shell - the back end seems to be open. Also, it is completely lacking in detail - there are no cab doors and no grilles set into the visible side, and the headlamp housing is empty, as is the unglazed cab. I'm also pretty sure that it has no running gear behind that hedge (US freight cab units from that era typically ride on two twin axle bogies). It did occur to me that it might be part of a very elaborate carnival float, but the fact that it is constructed from sheet metal, rather than lighter materials, suggests otherwise.

Anyway, to get a bit technical, a comparison with photos of actual 1940s cab units suggest that it is a generic cab unit replica, rather than being a reproduction of a specific model. Whilst the style of the doors and windscreen and the almost flat front to the nose suggests an Alco unit, the style of the headlamp and the rounded top to the nose is suggestive of the rival EMD F-series. Here's a picture of a real FA-1 unit (below, left) and an EMD F7A unit (below, right) for comparison:










Historically, Alco's FA and FB units were never as popular as EMD's F series rivals, which out sold and out-lived them. Which is perhaps unsurprising, as Alco were a company that had originally built steam locomotives and tried to break into the diesel market in order to survive as, from the 1940s, US railroads began to abandon steam traction. By contrast, EMD were (and still are) a division of General Motors, which specialised in diesel traction and was able to utilise the diesel engines produced by its parent company as motive power for its locos.

Enough of the railroad history. It will be interesting to see what happens with the garden loco over the next few weeks - will it acquire any surface detail, or a coat of paint? If, by some remote chance, anyone reading this can shed any light on the matter, feel free to comment!