Interchangeable Locomotive Shells?

[BradKT]

Are the shells of the Bachmann F-7A, F-9A and FT-A diesel locomotives interchangeable?  In other words, I have a Bachmann F-9A Union Pacific shell (which is for a non-DCC unit) and want to know will it fit on either a Bachmann DCC-equipped F-7 or FT-A chassis?

What about Athearn F-7A, F-9A and FTA shells?  Can they fit on a Bachmann F-7A or FT-A  chassis?  Has anyone tried this?

[the Bach-man]

Dear Brad,
Although mounting points might differ, the shells are about the same size, so they should be adaptable.
Have  fun !
the Bach-man

[Yampa Bob]

Only difference between the 7 and 9 is the grille ahead of the front porthole.

Swapping brands?  I kinda doubt it.   Anything might work if you have a saw.  I've seen 40' box cars where the floor wouldn't interchange.

Bob

[BradKT]

Thank you very much for the information.

[BradKT]

For those who want to know, I was able to successfully switch a UP Bachmann F-9A shell (from a DC unit) onto a D&RG Bachmann FTA chassis (which is a DCC unit).  They were interchangeable.  The F-9A has a slightly smaller hole for the front coupler (be careful of that), but the chassis (with a little finagling) snaps right in place and the four mounting screws fit the same holes exactly on both units.  The FTA shell fits on the the F-9A chassis easily.  It has a slightly larger hole for the front coupler.

After the switch, both units work fine.  I now have a DCC-equipped Bachmann UP F-9 DCC engine.  The Bachmann D&RG FTA engine is now a DC engine.

Because of the way that Bachmann units are screw-mounted, I can see that shells made by other manufacturers (such as Athearn, which just snap onto the Athearn chassis)  won't work with a Bachmann chassis.

I hope that this information is helpful to someone else.