The third and fourth offerings in Walthers Trainline are the Alco FA-1 and FB-1. The Alco cab units are introduced in the 1997 Walthers catalog. Powered only versions are presented for both A- and B-units and each retails for $29.98. Six roadnames are included in the first 1997 release: Great Northern, UP, Pennsy, Santa Fe, Southern, and New York Central. Undecorated examples are also cataloged. You'll find a review in September 1997 edition of Model Railroader magazine.

Some Walthers Trainline items have a past history prior to inclusion in the company's product line. The Trainline GP9M has its roots in a 1974 release by Cox. Cox sold HO-scale model trains, largely geared to the beginning or train set market, beginning in the early 1970s. The first items from Cox are repackaged Athearn-made items. In 1974, Cox launched a group of Hong Kong-imports that included a GP9 similar to the Walthers model. Walthers purchased the toolings, following Cox's exit from the model train world in the late 1970s. Walthers made a number of changes and improvements to this basic diesel model. Most notably, you'll notice Walthers refined the front and rear pilots enclosing them from their original empty and open appearance. Cox's drive included trucks with talgo couplers. Walthers offered an improved performance drive and couplers became body-mounted for enhanced utility.