GMC Rapido F9B User manual

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F7B/F9B LOCOMOTIVE PRODUCT GUIDELINES
Thank you for purchasing this Rapido Trains F7B/F9B locomotive. Much like the
good neighbours of the FP7 and FP9A shared their own manual, we’re making the
F7B and F9B share a manual as well. Why? Well because they’re largely the same,
save for a porthole here and maybe a ladder there. Oh, and a few extra fiddly bits
on the roof too.
Our sound-equipped F7B/F9B locomotive is powered by an ESU LokSound V5
decoder and can be operated on DC or DCC layouts. It is fully compatible with
our old (like, REALLY old) FP9A locomotives included in The Canadian (containing
SoundTraxx Tsunami decoders) and will MU with them smoothly. It’s also largely
the same as our previous CN F9B release, save for a couple of minor internal
improvements. Please read “Operation – DCC/DC with Sound” to familiarize
yourself with the ESU decoder in your locomotive.
You can reach us by email: [e-mail], by phone (1-855-LRC-6917 or
1-905-474-3314) or by snail mail at the address below.
Please do not send any models back to us without first speaking to us to get a return
authorization, and please be patient when you send something back. When it comes
to repairs, it’s something we don’t rush. We’d rather get it right the one and only time
we hope to ever see your model come into our warranty repairs department. If you
want to know the status of your warranty return, you have two options: 1) contact
us directly and ask, or 2) complain about us on an online forum or Facebook. One
of these methods will result in a timely response and maybe a nice chat. The other
will result in a decaying radioactive isotope being hidden somewhere in your model
before it is returned to you.
If you are reading this and it’s the year 2050 or later, what took you so long to read
this manual? Of course, we’re assuming that you bought this model when it was
produced in 2020 (that was a wonderful year, wasn’t it?) and that you just threw it
on the track and didn’t even read this awesome little book. I mean, it’s filled with so
many great things and notes and information ... you know what, if you’re not going
to read it, then I’m just not going to write them anymore! How do you like them
apples?
Alright, now I’m hungry. Keep reading the manual. I’m going to get a snack.
CONTACT US!
Rapido Trains Inc.
500 Alden Road, Unit 21
Markham, Ontario
L3R 5H5 Canada
Tel. [phone]
Toll Free 1-855-LRC-6917
Fax. [phone]
Email. [email protected]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prototype Notes ........................................................................................... 4
• Canadian Pacific ............................................................................. 4
• Canadian National .......................................................................... 5
Break-In ...................................................................................................... 6
Minimum Radius Requirements ....................................................................... 6
Changing the Couplers ................................................................................. 6
Missing or Damaged Parts ............................................................................ 7
Checking and Adjusting Your Locomotive ........................................................ 7
What are all the Extra Bits? ........................................................................... 8
Removing the Shell ....................................................................................... 9
Operation – DC (Silent)................................................................................. 9
Installing a Silent DCC Decoder ................................................................... 10
Operation – DC (Sound) ............................................................................. 10
Operation – DCC (Sound)............................................................................11
• Locomotive Address .........................................................................11
• Turn On the Sound .......................................................................... 12
• Functions ....................................................................................... 12
• Functions: More Information ............................................................ 13
• Horns & Bells ................................................................................. 15
• Sound Volume Settings ................................................................... 16
• Factory Reset ................................................................................. 17
• More Information ........................................................................... 17
Limited Lifetime Warranty ........................................................................... 17
Acknowledgements ................................................................................... 21
F7B/F9B DCC FUNCTION QUICK REFERENCE
F1 BELL
F2 HORN
F3 FULL THROTTLE
F4 DYNAMIC BRAKE (CN USERS LEAVE THIS ALONE)
F8 STARTUP/MUTE/SHUTDOWN
F9 FRONT HEADLIGHT
F10 REAR HEADLIGHT
F11 BRAKE
F12 DOPPLER HORN − SLOW
This sound-equipped Rapido model features an ESU Loksound
V5 decoder. For more information, please visit www.esu.eu.

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PROTOTYPE NOTES
Many will ask “Do we really need another B-unit?” or “What makes this one
different from the others?” Well, the General Motors Diesel Division (GMD) London
-built F7B and F9B differed from their Electro-Motive Division (EMD) La Grange-built
counterparts and have their own unique attributes. First and foremost, let’s clear the
air. There is no such thing as an FP7B or an FP9B. That’s a misnomer. Whether it
had a steam generator or not, it was simply an F7B or an F9B. That’s it. End. Finish.
Fin. The only difference in name would’ve been the internal classification number,
which varied from railway to railway. This is because the carbody was the same
length whether or not it was equipped with a steam generator unit. The A units were
different, and there were in fact FP7s and FP9As (also referred to as FP9s, FP-9As,
and FP9-As… often in the same source document; that’s why we settled on FP9A).
Canadian Pacific
Beginning in 1951, Canadian Pacific took delivery of their first F7Bs, numbers 4424-
4437, class DFB-15c. Of the first batch of 14 units, the first ten (4424-4433) were not
equipped with steam generators, while the later batch of 4 (4434-4437) were so
equipped. These units were followed in 1952 by an additional eight steam-generator
equipped F7Bs (4438-4445) and 3 non-steam F7Bs (4446-4448). Finally, in 1953,
CP took delivery of 4 more F7Bs, numbers 4459-4462, which were not equipped
with steam generators. However, as a result of the transition to the F9B production at
GMD, the last order came equipped with a 48” dynamic brake fan rather than the
36” fans on the previous F7Bs.
Finally, in 1954, with the impending launch ofThe Canadianthe following year, CP
took delivery of eight F9Bs (numbers 1900-1907) to complement their order of 11
FP9As (1405-1415) purchased at the same time. These new units came equipped with
steam generators and 48” dynamic brake fans, being essentially identical externally
to their earlier F7B cousins, especially the later 1953 batch. At the same time, CP
renumbered their steam-generator-equipped F7Bs from 4434-4445 to 1908-1919
respectively to match the numbering of the incoming F9B units, and to streamline
the numbering of the fleet intended for use on passenger trains. They were also
upgraded from 65 mph to 89 mph gearing at the same time.
In the later years when passenger service began to dwindle, CP reverted the
numbering of their steam-generator equipped F7Bs back to 4434-4445, re-geared
them back to 65 mph, and put them back into dual freight/passenger service for
greater flexibility. None of the F7Bs went on to VIA Rail Canada in the late 70s, as
they had all lost their steam generators by this point. While some were traded-in to
GMD in 1965 towards new GP35s, most were retired from service by 1983. Two
exceptions to this were 4445 and 4462, which became slug units wearing numbers
6800/6801 and later 1018/1019 respectively before ultimately being sold in 1999,
16 years after the last F7Bs were retired. For the F9B’s, the remaining six units (1902
and 1906 were retired due to wreck damage) were renumbered to 4473-4478

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in 1971 and remained in dual freight-passenger service but with reduced 65 mph
gearing. Then in 1979, the five units still equipped with steam generators were
renumbered 1961-1965 for transfer to VIA Rail. Of the five units transferred to VIA
(renumbered by CP to 1961-1965, although 1961 was briefly numbered 1931 until
a numbering conflict was discovered), most remained in CP Rail paint but were
gradually repainted over time. In the early 1980s, three units were extensively rebuilt
at CN’s Pointe Ste. Charles shops and renumbered 6651-6653. Units 1961 and
1965 were subsequently retired and not part of the rebuild.
In summary, CP B units are a royal pain in the behind to make. We really should
have followed all the other manufacturers and just slapped CP colours onto a stock
American B unit. That would have been easier and cheaper and would have resulted
in fewer grey hairs on Josh’s head, but it is not The Rapido Way.
Canadian National
Unlike Canadian Pacific, Canadian National got into purchasing B-units much earlier
- in 1948 to be exact - when they took possession of a pair of F3(B) units, numbers
9001 and 9004, to go along with their F3A units received at the same time. To
complement this earlier experiment, CN then purchased 16 F7Bs beginning in 1951
with numbers 9029-9047 (odd numbers), followed by 9053-9063 (odd numbers),
of which the last unit was delivered in 1952.
Seeing the advantages of using B-units more in passenger service than in freight,
CN placed various orders for steam-equipped F9Bs totaling 38 units, which were
delivered between 1954 and 1958. CN’s order made them the last car body
B-units built by either EMD or GMD. Beginning in 1954, CN received their first
F9Bs, numbers 6600-6612 (classified as GPB-17a) and soon thereafter with 6613
(GPB-17b) in 1955. These were followed in 1957 by 6614-6620 (GPB-17c), and
in 1958 by 6621-6630 (GPB-17d) and 6631-6637 (GPB-17e). All CN’s F9Bs came
equipped with two steam generators, however none was equipped with dynamic
brakes. Eventually CN rebuilt their GPB-17a class F9Bs to remove the “laundry chute”
stacks on the end of the car body with roof stacks like the rest of the fleet. While
the as-delivered units (GPB-17c class and later) featured exhaust stacks with squared
ends, the units modified by CN featured stacks with curved ends.
Along with some of their F7A fleet, ten CN F7B units were rebuilt by Transcona shops
in the early 1970s as units 9190-9199, for continued freight service lasting into the
late 1980s.
When all CN passenger services were assumed by the newly created VIA Rail
Canada in 1978, all but four of the original 38 F9Bs were transferred to the new
crown corporation and kept their original numbers. Most were retired in the 1990s.
Units that were not transferred to VIA Rail included 6600 (wrecked 1974), 6601
(wrecked 1973), 6608 (wrecked 1960) and 6609 (retired 1974).

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BREAK-IN
Don’t break into anyone’s layout room to steal their B-units. Or any units for that
matter! We’ll send some of our front-office staff after you if you do. Don’t believe us?
You should hear the threats we get from Lystra when she doesn’t get her way! So just
buy more for yourself. LOTS MORE! But this isn’t about that kind of break-in.
Every locomotive needs a break-in period. Your F7B/F9B is no different and has
been tested at our factory for about a minute ... maybe. Just long enough to know
that everything is assembled and working right. But that is not enough time to get the
gears to mesh nicely or to even out any jerky operation in a new motor. We suggest
that, after reading this manual, you put your F7B/F9B on a test loop and just let it
run in each direction for an hour or two. Fast and slow. Actually, don’t wait until
you’re done reading the manual. Put it on the track now! Start running it and let it run
while you continue reading the manual. There already should be enough grease in
the gearbox so you don’t need to add any. Just let the thing run and keep reading.
MINIMUM RADIUS REQUIREMENTS
Being a reasonably small, 4-axle unit, the F7B/F9B will have no problems navigating
18” radius curves and #4 crossovers. If you want to run passenger trains on anything
tighter, try rapid transit modelling. I hear streetcars can go around pretty tight corners.
Even though our model has sprung buffer plates, the F7B/F9B very much prefers
broader curves, especially if coupled to another unit or to a full-length passenger
car. For tight-radius curves, we include an extra-long long-shank coupler in the box
to prevent interference with the rear buffer.
CHANGING THE COUPLERS
Changing the couplers is very straightforward. Place a white tablecloth on your
workbench or kitchen table. Place a foam cradle (available from Micro-Mark,
product #80784 or ESU, product #41010) or that CP-branded hand towel you stole
from the Chateau Lake Louise on top of the table cloth and lay the F7B/F9B on
its roof. Use a small Phillips screwdriver to unscrew the coupler box and slide it
out without destroying the surrounding details, especially the yokes surrounding the
couplers. Should the yoke break off, be sure to use the most colourful of language in
the ensuing tirade. Snap the lid off, replace the coupler, and snap the lid back on.
Slide the coupler box back in and replace the screw. Pick up the F7B/F9B and look
around the white tablecloth for all the little roof details that may have fallen off. If you
used the CP towel, look near the “P.” Glue them back on with white glue. Hey – don’t
say we didn’t warn you! And on that note…

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MISSING OR DAMAGED PARTS
With about 300 individual detail parts, the F7B/F9B is a stupidly complex model. But
that’s what we’re known for, isn’t it? To prevent inevitable frustration, we recommend
checking your locomotive as soon as possible to ensure that everything is where
it should be. We try to catch all potential issues at the factory, but with literally
thousands of locomotives in each production run it is possible that the odd problem
may slip past our quality control inspectors. Even after all these years, they still have
karaoke nights and can get tired during the day. Please cut them some slack. At least
they know all the words to “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” by John Parr.
A bigger issue is damage in transit. 99% of all models are perfect when they leave
our warehouse. But everyone knows that couriers and delivery persons don’t handle
packages like they’re filled with nitro glycerin, so between our warehouse and your
front door there’s a chance that your model may or may not have been bumped,
tumbled, kicked or even given a pile driver or suplex in the process. Maybe the
Hulkster wrapped his 24” pythons around it. No packaging (or wrestler sports
entertainer) is designed to survive such punishment.
If bits come loose in transit, they are easily reattached with white glue, such as
Weldbond. I can see a new horizon underneath the blazing sky. I’ll be where the
eagle’s flying higher and higher! We prefer Weldbond over CA because it works
just as well for most layout scenarios and is very easy to clean up. There is no risk of
damaging the paint job – just wipe it up with a bit of warm water on a paper towel.
If any parts are missing or broken, please call or email us we’ll do the best we can
to take care of you, up to and including replacement parts if needed. I can climb the
highest mountain, cross the widest sea.
I can feel St. Elmo’s fire burning in me, burning in me! We aim for 100% customer
satisfaction. Unless you are one of those people who calls us because the steam
outlet pipe under the frame is slightly crooked and you don’t want to move it back
into place with your finger. In which case, please go away.
CHECKING AND ADJUSTING YOUR LOCOMOTIVE
We try and make sure that every locomotive is perfectly up to spec before it leaves
the factory, but if the karaoke was particularly good the night before your model
was assembled there may be a couple of bugs. Doing a quick pre-service check will
solve most operational glitches.
• Check to see that all wheelsets are correctly in gauge using an NMRA RP-2
Standards Gauge. Should any of the wheelsets be out of gauge, remove the
affected wheelset from the truck by prying off the bottom lid of the gearbox

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with a small flat screwdriver and then spreading the side frames slightly. Now
go looking for the truck end beams that have flown to Jupiter when you stuck
the screwdriver in there. Forget it – they are gone. We probably should have
told you to take those out first. Sorry. The wheelset can be re-gauged by
grabbing each wheel and twisting. Reverse the steps to replace the wheelset
and ensure the gearbox cover is snapped into place before placing on the
track.
• Check that all underbody piping and appliances are firmly installed and clear
of the track. Of particular note are the air hoses and steam pipes at the rear
end of the unit, both coupler trip pins and the water tank on the CP unit. A
small drop of CA-type super glue will sufficiently hold any loose parts securely.
Under the body who cares if you spill a bit?
• Make sure that the trucks swivel freely and without binding. If they catch on
anything, check to ensure that the brake cylinders and their associated piping
do not interfere with any of the underframe components. If you really don’t like
underbody detail, return this model and go buy a Cox one instead. They are
very nice.
• The end buffer plates should move smoothly and spring back quickly. If not,
there may be binding – check for flash or plastic shards that may cause any
interference.
WHAT ARE ALL THE EXTRA BITS?
Thankfully (or not) when Josh ended up with the F7B/F9B project, things were a little
bit more organized than the FP7 project of 2019. He still has nightmares about nose
ladders. Thankfully, the B units didn’t have noses, and only one style of ladder which
not all units had. And because of that, the B units have very few additional parts.
The parts bag with your locomotive may include any combination of the following
parts: diaphragms, speed recorder cables, and a ladder or two. That’s pretty much
it. If you find anything else in there, by all means go get a lottery ticket. If you win,
Josh gets a slice of the winnings. I guess there are perks to writing these manuals!
(Ed. It’s also a bad sign when Josh refers to himself in the third person. You feeling
OK, Josh?)
Josh is feeling great. The diaphragms are not installed for two reasons. Firstly, CN
and CP both removed the diaphragms of their F7Bs and F9Bs locomotives soon after
delivery. They were an unnecessary maintenance headache and the railways did not
see the need to keep their crews protected from the elements as they regularly had to
get out to line switches, couple/uncouple cars, clean signal heads, and sign register

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books anyway. Secondly, in order to have functional diaphragms we would have
had to make large cuts into the rear of the unit, which would have looked extremely
silly once you took the diaphragms off. If you are displaying your F9B locomotive or
you have 96” radius curves, you can attach the diaphragms with white glue or CA.
If your locomotive has a ladder in the parts bag, it’s because they were installed on
some F7B and F9B locomotives and tended to migrate. Refer to prototype photos
for placement.
And finally, you’ll also find a couple of speed recorder cables in the parts bag too.
Some roads typically installed these on their locomotives, but CP and CN typically
did not. That said, the parts are all in the same mould as ones actually on the
locomotive, so we’ve included them anyway. Feel free to add them to whatever you
feel like. Consider them freebies (and who doesn’t like freebies?).
REMOVING THE SHELL
Removing the shell can be a real production. Here’s how to do it. Oh, and if you
damage, destroy or immolate your engine in the process, it is unfortunately not
covered under warranty; once you open it up, you are on your own. If you break
some bits and we have them available, we will of course be happy to send you
replacements.
Go back to your workbench. You have to use the CP hand towel for this. Everything
else is not allowed. Lay the F9B on its roof, on the towel. If you have a “Pac Man”
Multimark logo towel, it should be just to the right of the logo. If you have any other
CP logo towel, please send it to us. In fact, we want the Pac Man Multimark towel
too. Do you have any CN ones? We need more towels.
Remove both coupler boxes and slide them out from your locomotive. Then remove
the four shell retention screws – they are located just inside of the trucks. Once the
screws are out, just start wiggling the shell off. It will eventually pop off.
If any parts go flying in this process, pick the parts up off of the floor/table/chair/
your lap/ceiling/air vent/bookshelf and place them on the other side of the Pac Man
logo. The parts are easily reinstalled using a bit of glue.
Normally we’d have told you about a transporter lock on the molecular pattern of
the part that flew away. That allows us to lock on to any little part that falls off your
locomotive and beam it directly into the heart of the sun. Unfortunately, due to a
failed software update (ok, someone dropped it on the floor), the transporter lock
has been retired. We are currently attempting to replace it with Jason’s vintage 1998
Power Macintosh All-in-One computer. It’s currently stuck on the Happy Mac face.

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OPERATION – DC (SILENT)
If your F7B/F9B locomotive is not equipped with a sound decoder, it should function
like most other HO scale locomotives. The gear ratio is 14:1 so it should MU (multiple
unit) with your existing fleet. Put it on the track. Give it some juice. Watch it go.
Wheeeee!
In DC, none of the lighting features work. That’s right, none of them. If you want
to have the front and rear switching lights work, then you might want to consider
upgrading to DCC. We know, we know, you are tired of people telling you to
upgrade to DCC, to buy a solar-powered calculator, or to upgrade to a colour
television set.
But if you want to make all those cool locomotive features work (yes, all two lighting
features), you will need a DCC system. (And by the way, radios come in FM as well
as AM now, and they work UNDER BRIDGES!!!!! Isn’t technology wonderful?)
INSTALLING A SILENT DCC DECODER
The F7B/F9B contains an ESU-designed motherboard which is connected to the
track, motor, and lighting outputs. It is located in the roof. A blind plug is attached
to the motherboard using a 21-pin connector. To install a decoder, you will need to
open your F7B/F9B, remove the blind plug and install a 21-pin decoder. You must
use a 21-pin decoder rather than an 8-pin or 9-pin decoder. This is clearly written in
Rapido’s laws and statutes, section 43, subsection 122, paragraph 2175b.
We recommend the following 21-pin decoder:
• ESU #59619 - LokPilot V5 DCC with 21MTC
The necessary resistors are included on our motherboard, so you don’t have to futz
around with resistors. Just plug in the recommended decoder and you have DCC.
ESU has made an F7B/F9B function mapping which can be downloaded into their
non-sound decoder so that the function buttons and motor control are the same as
our factory-released sound versions. This is available for download on the F7B/F9B
page in the Support section of our web site. You will need an ESU LokProgrammer to
write the function mapping to the silent decoder. If you don’t have a LokProgrammer,
you can adjust CVs in the usual way.
You know, if you want silent DCC it’s a heck of a lot easier to just order the sound
model and turn off the sounds. If you’re known for mashing buttons on your controller
errantly and want to avoid sound altogether, open your F7B/F9B and either remove
the speaker or simply snip the wires to it. There, done! At any rate, after you’ve

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bought the silent decoder and spent four hours fiddling to install it, fix the bits you
broke off, and get all the functions to work correctly, you’ll realize it would have
been cheaper and less frustrating to buy the sound-equipped model and just turn off
the sounds. Your time and sanity are worth something, after all!
For those of you reading this manual who have read all our previous manuals, we
apologize for reusing some of the text from previous manuals. The following word is
completely unique to this manual: iguana.
OPERATION – DC (SOUND)
Operation of a sound-equipped F7B/F9B on a DC layout is very similar to running
a silent DC model, except that the model will not move until it has reached sufficient
voltage for the sounds to fire up (around 7 volts). You cannot control user-activated
sound features like the horn and bell if you are using DC. There are third party
controllers that supposedly activate these sounds on DC but we’ve honestly never
tested them so we have no idea how well they work or what they will do to your
locomotive - for good or for ill. If they cause your F7B/F9B to spontaneously combust,
contact us for assistance, then contact the third-party controller manufacturer and tell
them they wrecked your brand new Rapido F7B/F9B. Crying is optional but highly
recommended to get best results.
OPERATION – DCC (SOUND)
Finding a fully working F7B or F9B with the original prime mover is rather difficult.
Thankfully the Canadian FP9A we recorded in 2009 has the exact same acoustics
and prime mover as all F7Bs and F9Bs, an unmodified 567C! Mazel tov! If you
haven’t seen the video of that recording, check out “The Really Cheap FP9A Movie”
on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/rapidotrains.com The sound-equipped model
sounds wonderful because it was recorded under load, which is very different than
the sound one would make simply “revving up” while idling in the yard.
— NOTICE —
If you want to run your sound-equipped F7B/F9B on a DC layout, the Back-EMF circuit
can cause issues when you’re trying to bring your F7B/F9B to a stop. To turn off Back-
EMF, you will need to bring your F7B/F9B to a model railroad equipped with DCC and
set CV49 to 18. If you want to turn it back on, change CV49 to 19. If you have a large
DC layout and you like to operate sound-equipped locomotives, it might be worthwhile
to invest in an entry-level DCC system just so you can adjust the motor settings of your
sound-equipped fleet off the layout.

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LOCOMOTIVE ADDRESS
Your Rapido F7B/F9B comes from the factory with a decoder address of 3. We
suggest if you are using DCC control that you first test that the locomotive responds
on address 3. Once you have verified that the locomotive is responding you should
assign it a unique address (normally the road number of the unit) before going any
further. This can be done either on your programming track (recommended) or on
the main if your system supports programming on the main. Be aware however that
if you do program the locomotive on the main and you have any other locomotives
assigned to address 3 (the normal default address for new locomotives) that ALL of
them will also be changed to your new address! This is great if you want to simulate
a bunch of kids getting into the engine shop, notching the controllers, and then
running into the woods.
Note that some DCC systems get a little wonky when programming sound-equipped
locomotives on the programming track because of the high current draw. If weird
stuff happens, try programming on the main.
TURN ON THE SOUND
Press F8 and you will hear the F7B/F9B startup sequence followed by the sound of
it idling. You can adjust CVs to prevent the locomotive from moving until the startup
sequence has played out. Most of us at Rapido are really impatient so we turned this
feature off. Refer to a full ESU LokSound decoder manual for more information. You
can download it from the Support section of our web site.
If you press F8 when the locomotive is already moving, it will skip the startup and the
sound will just turn on. Press F8 again to turn the sound off.
— WARNING —
Rapido products are designed to operate safely between 0V and 16V. Voltages in excess
of 16V - as well as irregular waveforms, voltage spikes or short circuits - may cause severe
and sometimes irreversible damage to the product. “Train set” power packs are known to
suffer from any one of these unexpected irregularities, whereas higher-end systems have
safeguards in place to prevent this. Rapido always recommends using a power supply
system that matches the quality of the models you are running. If you’re reading this,
you’ve obviously invested in top-of-the-line, museum-quality motive power and equipment,
so we hope you’ve made the same investment with your model railroad power supply too.
While many power supply systems exist, some are known to have caused problems with
model train circuitry in the past. If you have any one of the following systems, PLEASE DO
NOT USE IT until you contact us for more information: MRC RailPower 1300/1370-series,
Bachman Spectrum Magnum, Atlas 313 Universal Power Pack.

13
Note that if you are listening to your F7B/F9B idling nicely and then you select
another engine, your locomotive still thinks F8 is pressed so it will keep idling along.
However, if someone else selects your locomotive’s number and F8 isn’t pressed on
their controller, the F7B/F9B will promptly shut down. They will need to press F8
again.
FUNCTIONS
PLEASE NOTE: These functions are designed to align with our FP7 and FP9A
locomotives. Missing functions are those found on the FP7/FP9A but not on their
B-unit counterpart, with a few exceptions.
F1 Bell F11 Brake
F2 Horn F12 Doppler Horn – Slow
F3 Full Throttle F13 Rail Squeal
F4 Dynamic Brake F14 Steam Generator
F8 Startup/Mute/Shutdown F15 Switching Mode
F9 Front Headlight F16 Doppler Horn – Fast
F10 Rear Headlight F20 Brake Set/Release
FUNCTIONS: MORE INFORMATION
F1 Bell
These units never had a bell. We know that. Or if they did, it was well and truly
hidden and only used for switching around the yard using the internal hostler controls.
But its here in case you have an A-unit without sound, should you choose to use it.
F2 Horns
These units never had a horn. Well, they did, but not the type you’d expect on the
roof of a usual locomotive. They often had a single-blatter horn on one end - almost
like a truck horn - and was used exclusively for marshaling in yards when run solo
using the previously mentioned hostler controls. Again, in the event you have a silent
A unit and you’d like sound, we’ve included recordings of standard horns, but we’ve
additionally included a single-blatter recording as well. See the next section about
changing that.
F3 Full Throttle
ESU’s “Full Throttle” feature allows you to play the prime mover of your F7B/F9B like
a musical instrument. When you press F3, you turn on “drive hold.” This keeps the
speed of the engine constant at whatever speed step your throttle happens to be on.
Then as you increase the throttle, you hear the prime mover revving up. This sounds
awesome, whether you’re taking off from a commuter station stop at warp speed, or
trying to get up that long, slow freight over the grade. The prototype is normally very
overpowered for the short trains it is hauling. The high power is used for high speed
rather than high tonnage.

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“Full Throttle” is even neater when you throttle down, as it allows you to simulate
“coasting” which is such an important part of running a real train. When you press
F3 again you turn off “Full Throttle” and the engine will accelerate or decelerate to
whatever speed step your throttle happens to be on. For realism it’s a good idea to
take note of what speed step your throttle was on when you turned on “Full Throttle”
and be back at that speed step when you turn “Full Throttle” off. Otherwise your
F7B/F9B may fly like a twin-prop plane.
F4 Dynamic Brake
Press F4 to get dynamic brake sounds. Now listen, we know how modellers think,
and while we have included the sound, CN units DIDN’T HAVE DYNAMIC BRAKES!
Look on the roof. See a single 48” fan by itself? No? That means it DOESN’T HAVE
DYNAMIC BRAKES! We just want to get that point across. If you have a CN engine
and you press F4, you have Green Cooties.
F8 Startup/Mute/Shutdown
F8 toggles the primary locomotive sounds on and off. If you’re not moving, you’ll
get a nice startup sequence of the 567C prime mover. If your locomotive is already
moving, it’ll just go straight to the appropriate throttle step.
If you have a DCC system that only allows eight functions, you can remap the functions
following the guidelines in the ESU LokSound manual, which can be downloaded
from the support section of our web site. Or you can upgrade to a newer DCC
system, which may be less stressful.
F9 Front Headlights
F10 Rear Headlights
Each end of your B unit is equipped with a headlight. These were used primarily
around yards and when reversing but have been known to be left on in error during
regular service. Since CN and CP oriented their units differently, it’s much easier
for us to just pair these functions together to avoid getting the complaints like “My
headlights are reversed - the front is the rear and the rear is the front”. So just play
with these functions and make your own conclusions.
F11 B r a k e
F11 works just like the brakes on a real engine. Press F11 and you put on the brakes.
Turn off F11 and the brakes come off, so you start moving again.
F12 Doppler Horn – Slow
F16 Doppler Horn – Fast
Having a Doppler horn on a B unit really doesn’t make much sense. Then again,
neither do we most of the time. But if you’re the type that’s running a silent A unit,
just like we previously mentioned with the bell and the horn, then we’ve included the
Doppler here for you to make it appear as though your A-unit is sound equipped.
Neat trick, eh? Oh, and there’s both slow and fast versions of the Doppler.

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F13 Curve Squeal
Let’s face it, the curve squeal has been the greatest success we’ve created in recent
years. It’s absolutely wonderful. It sounds wonderful and can be easily applied to
any train. Since most yards and terminals featured rather tight-radius curves, it was
never possible for anything to SILENTLY go around them. Press F13 to wake up the
neighborhood, and subsequently press F13 again to turn off the noise and avoid a
complaint. Now all we need to do is get Jordan a haircut and we’ll consider it our
next greatest success.
F14 Steam Generator
Press F14 at any time to start up the steam. We don’t include random loud blowdowns,
but we include the irregular hiss that you can hear coming from the regulator and
blowdown valves all the time when the steam generator is operational. We’ve moved
this out to the back woods of functions because there’s a solid chance you might be
running a freight train and as such, don’t need steam heat.
When you accelerate, the volume of the steam generator gets lower as you wouldn’t
hear it as clearly when the train is moving. If you want MORE STEAM! you can
adjust the volume of the steam generator by adjusting the value of CV 307. Please
refer to Sound Volume Settings (below) before attempting this. If you want MORE
COWBELL you are in the wrong hobby.
Note that not all B-units have steam generators. If yours does not, do not use this
function. Don’t make us get mad like we did back in the description for F4 Dynamic
Brakes! You wouldn’t like us when we’re angry! And we should add that using steam
on a freight F7B will get you Brown Cooties
F15 Switching Mode
If you press F15, the headlight and rear light will both be on dim. This is appropriate
for switching operations, which would be common in yards and terminals. Press F15
again to turn off the switching mode lighting.
F20 Brake Release On/Off
This function turns off the brake release and brake set sounds when you start or stop
moving, respectively. It has no effect on the function of the engine — it just affects
the sounds.
HORNS & BELLS
Generally speaking, no F7B or F9B had a full-size locomotive horn like their cab-
equipped counterparts. They typically had a smaller single-chime “Blatter” horn on
one end used for when they were being switched around a yard independently (B
units had their own control stand tucked away inside the car body just in case).
The default horn on your model is a Nathan M3H. Yes, we know, even after we
told you it wasn’t equipped with one, we defaulted to an M3H anyway. This is all

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for the benefit of anyone who is pairing their F7B/F9B up to a unit that isn’t sound
equipped. If you wish to change the default horn, you can do so by changing CV
163. For changing the default bell, change the value of CV 164.
Horns Bells
•CV 163-0 Nathan M3H (Default) • CV 164-0 - Bell #1 (Default)
• CV 163-1 Nathan K3L #1 • CV 164-1 - Bell #2
• CV 163-2 Nathan K3L #2 • CV 164-2 - Bell #3
• CV 163-3 Nathan P5
• CV 163-4 Nathan M5
• CV 163-5 Single-chime Blatter horn
Changing the default horn automatically changes the Doppler recordings on F12
and F16 too. Some horns, such as the single blatter horn, do not feature a Doppler
effect, so the Doppler functions will default to the standard sounds.
SOUND VOLUME SETTINGS
The sound volumes on your decoder have been pre-set at the factory to levels that
we found comfortable on our test tracks.
Sound levels are very much a matter of personal taste (especially if you are going
deaf like we are), and what sounds great in one layout environment may sound
too loud or too soft in another. Fortunately, the sound levels can be easily adjusted
to best suit your own requirements and we recommend that you experiment with
different settings if you don’t care for the default levels.
To set the volume levels go into the program mode on your DCC system (refer to your
system’s manual for instructions on how to do this as each system is slightly different);
enter the desired CV number; then enter the desired levels. Note that this can be
done either on a programming track or on the main (ops mode) if your DCC system
supports programming on the main.
We strongly recommend that you keep notes on which settings you have changed,
and which values were used. If you ever need to do a reset on the decoder (see
“Factory Reset” below) then having good notes will allow you to easily re-enter any
changes that you wish to keep.
— VERY IMPORTANT —
Before you manually change any of the volume control CVs, you must set CV 31 to 16 and
then CV 32 to 1. CV 31 and CV 32 are used as index selection registers and if you don’t
set them first, unspeakable things may happen to your unit. You must set the CVs every
time before changing any volume CV setting. Or just use a LokProgrammer.

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F7B/F9B SOUND VOLUME SETTINGS
FUNCTION CV DEFAULT RANGE YOUR VALUE
MASTER VOLUME 63 75 0-192
DIESEL VOLUME 259 100 0-128
HORN VOLUME 275 128 0-128
BELL VOLUME 283 99 0-128
DYNAMIC BRAKE VOLUME 299 60 0-128
STEAM VOLUME 307 30 0-128
CURVE SQUEAL VOLUME 379 128 0-128
FAST DOPPLER HORN VOLUME 411 128 0-128
SLOW DOPPLER HORN VOLUME 419 128 0-128
BRAKE VOLUME 459 128 0-128
FACTORY RESET
On your F7B/F9B, you can perform a factory reset by entering a value of “8” into
CV 8. Note that this will cause all your new volume and motor settings to be lost,
so you will need to reprogram any settings that you want to keep. What do you
mean, you didn’t take any notes? WE JUST TOLD YOU TAKE NOTES. You’re out of
the band. Again!
You can NOT lose all the pre-recorded sounds on your F7B/F9B decoder by doing
a factory reset. However, after performing a factory reset your F7B/F9B may begin
to sing Engine of Love and recite lines from the musical Starlight Express. If that
happens, you have probably lost your mind. But don’t worry. Just sit back, grab some
popcorn, and enjoy the show. Yes, we mentioned the same song and musical with
our FP7/FP9A manual, but honestly, it’s such a good number we couldn’t say no!
AWESOME SLOW SPEED THINGY ELIMINATED!
This is no longer a thing. That’s right, there is no more awesome slow speed thingy!
Period! End quote! ESU made refinements to the programming and with the advanced
motor control of the V5 decoders, this is no longer necessary because your F7B/
F9B should already have fabulous motor control. If you choose to try to implement
it by reading an old manual and applying it to your locomotive, then your warranty
is void. Yes, we said it. VOID! There should be no reason to apply changes to the
Back-EMF of your decoder. If you feel inclined, then there may be an underlying
issue that needs to be corrected. Please contact us if you’re having any motor control
issues or concerns regarding your locomotive and we’ll be glad to assist. Actually,

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contact ESU. We can even give you their home address if they don’t get back to you.
And we’ll provide the noisemaker for you to let them know you are there at 3 a.m.
MORE INFORMATION
While addressing the features that most modelers will need for normal operation,
these instructions have covered just a small number of the many customizable
features of your ESU LokSound decoder. For advanced users who want to explore the
capabilities of the decoder more fully we suggest downloading the ESU LokSound
V5 decoder manual. This is available in the Support section of our web site.
LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY
We will do our best to solve any problems or issues that you may have with your F7B/
F9B locomotive. If your locomotive has any defects that originate from the factory,
we will repair your locomotive using new components or replace it outright should
a repair not be possible. However, we can only replace your locomotive while we
have additional ones in stock. We normally keep spares for up to six months after a
model is released. If you are like most of us and – after purchasing this locomotive –
you dismissed it to one of many cardboard boxes in your storage unit or backyard
shed for the better part of 30 years (or how long it will likely be until the Maple Leafs
win the cup again)(that should be 75 years), then you are on your own if there are
any issues. The entire Rapido crew will have hopefully won the lottery, and each
bought their own private rail cars, since Jason set the bar so high himself with our
sleeping car, Edmundston.
There are several things that this warranty cannot cover. If your F7B/F9B arrives with
a couple of loose grab irons or underbody bits, there is a very good chance that
you can do a repair in less time and effort than it would take to contact us. Don’t
be afraid to do some model railroading! White glue, such as Weldbond, works
wonders for securing all sorts of parts and will not mar or damage your paint.
However, if parts are missing that is another story – call us or send us an email and
we’ll send you some replacements.
Of course, damage caused by running your locomotive at full speed off the cliff
known as the edge of your 4x8 sheet of plywood, modifying your locomotive to
work off diesel fuel, using your locomotive to re-enact the explosive derailment scene
from your favourite railway movie, using your locomotive as an actual auxiliary
power supply for your house, or any other damage caused by you that we haven’t
been able to cover here is not covered by the warranty. However, if catastrophe
does strike and your locomotive gets damaged, please give us a shout and we’ll do
our best to help you out.

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Keep in mind the following: the most common reasons for Rapido locomotives not
working are dirty wheels or carpet fuzz/cat hair in the wheels and gears. Please visit
our YouTube channel and watch Bobby’s helpful video about how to fix both these
issues and get yourself up and running again quickly.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The F7B/F9B project is another project that has evolved and come back to life from
the early years of Rapido, and we hope that it gives you the same “WOW” factor
as it did back when it was originally released. And since it’s been a while since we
acknowledged those original contributors, we’d like to acknowledge them here all
over again.
Special thanks go to: the late Gord Hilderman, Kevin Holland, Don Jaworski, Mark
Kaluza, Jakob Mueller, and Brian Schuff.
As always, thanks to Richard Longpre for the French translation, which he completed
0.043 seconds faster than the best lap at the Canadian GP in 2008 in Montréal.
Richard has one again proven that he is the quintessential resource when it comes to
anything related to passenger rail in Canada. Merci, M. l’Expert!