The Lionel Texas Special F-3 No. 2245 holds the distinction of being the first F-3 that Lionel introduced for use with O27 track. As such, it had only one motor. Produced in 1954 and 1955, early units would have a horizontal worm drive motor, while some of those diesels that were produced in 1955 had a single vertical worm drive motor. This was the only 027 F-3 that had portholes. In 1955 Lionel would eliminate the portholes on the B Unit, but all A Units should have portholes. This diesel been extensively forged, but one sure way to tell these is to look for the portholes on the A Unit. Some later issues came with BLACK painted trucks. The "Frisco" and "M-K-T" decals on the sides of the A Unit have yellowed with age.

This version no longer has the screens on the roof vents or the front grab rails. The side ladders and the electronic coupler on the front of the A Unit are still there. There are solid couplers on the B Unit and the rear of the A Unit. This diesel was equipped with Magnetraction, a horn that was operated by a D Cell battery, and a three position directional unit whose control lever was adjustable from underneath the chassis. There are two variations:

Variation A: Has the portholes on both the A and B Units and there are two-piece horns on the A Unit along with a RED pilot. This variation is powered by a horizontal worm drive motor. (1954-55).

Variation B: Produced in late 1955, this is the version with the vertical drive motor, sometimes has a BLACK trucks that are mounted on a SILVER chassis with a SILVER painted pilot.

Even though Lionel issued this diesel for use on O27 track, the set that it came with did not have any 1122 switches. All of the Lionel F-3s are designed to work on the larger radius of O gauge track. When used with O27 track this diesel will scrape the switch machine housing on No. 1122 O27 switches when passing through the curved turnout. Evidence of scrapes on the fuel tank of these diesels is a sure indication of operation on O27 track.