20-93996 # 7214317 & 20-93997 #6923842 – Santa Xmas Stocking Stuffer – $69.99
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October 24, 2023 – M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing the 2024 O Scale RailKing FP45 Diesel Locomotive in seven different liveries next Spring. Each of these offerings will be available in limited quantities and is expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in March 2024.
Check out each of the offerings in the list on the left.
PROTOTYPE HISTORY
Designed in 1967 at the request of the Santa Fe, the FP45 was basically an SDP45 road switcher with a streamlined cab unit body. The “P” in FP45 indicated a passenger diesel with a steam generator for train heat. Having a sleeker, more aerodynamic look than a road switcher, the FP45 blended better with its passenger consists; the fully enclosed body also reduced wind resistance and allowed the crew to perform troubleshooting and minor maintenance on the road.
Purchased for passenger service by the Santa Fe and the Milwaukee Road, the 3600 hp FP45s replaced first-generation E-unit and F-unit diesel sets and eventually found themselves handling freight duties as well. By 1971, the units remaining in passenger service were working exclusively for Amtrak. A sister engine, the F45, was bought for freight-only service by the Santa Fe, Great Northern, and Burlington Northern.
Having first appeared in the M.T.H. Premier Line in 1997, the FP45 joined the RailKing Scale diesel lineup in 2005. Built to 1/48 scale proportions and now outfitted with Proto-Sound 3.0, the FP45 includes all the features that make RailKing Scale locomotives one of the best values in model railroading.
The F40PH was designed for Amtrak as a commuter and medium-haul engine, to complement its long-haul fleet of SDP40F diesels. But when the SDP40Fs fell from grace due to poor reliability, a rough ride and derailment issues, the F40PH became the backbone of Amtrak’s locomotive fleet for decades.
Introduced in 1976, the F40PH was essentially a passenger version of the mid-1960s GP40 freight diesel. It shared the earlier engine’s turbocharged V-16 3000 hp (later uprated to 3200 hp) model 645 motor, and added an HEP (head-end power) generator for passenger lights, heat and air conditioning. An enclosed cowl afforded en-route, all-weather access to the F40PH’s engine room if necessary. In short order, commuter railroads across the United States and Canada followed Amtrak into EMD’s order books for this versatile, reliable engine.
Did You Know? The F40PHs were nicknamed “Screamers” because their engines run at a high rpm even at rest, in order to power the HEP generator that keeps the passenger cars comfortable.
The guaranteed order deadline is December 6, 2023. Click here to find an Authorized Atlas Dealer near you.
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December 18, 2022 – M.T.H. Electric Trains has announced an uncataloged Premier O Scale GP-9 Diesel Locomotive in Nickel Plate Road livery for exclusive distribution by M.T.H. Authorized Retailer Stockyard Express. Available in two different car numbers, each locomotive is limited in production and only available directly from Stockyard Express. The locomotives are expected to deliver in April 2023.
ABOUT THE PREMIER O SCALE GP-9 DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE
Electro-Motive Division’s GP (for “General Purpose”) engines were the brainchild of project engineer Dick Dilworth. In the late 1940s, Dilworth saw that America’s 30,000 miles of mainline rail had been virtually dieselized, but the 130,000 miles of secondary lines that carried half of the nation’s freight traffic were still largely steam-powered. He viewed that as a huge marketing opportunity.
In The Dilworth Story, a book published by Electro-Motive Division in 1954, Dilworth explained how he tried to meet that opportunity: “In planning the GP, I had two dreams. The first was to make a locomotive so ugly in appearance that no railroad would want it on the main line or anywhere near headquarters, but would keep it out as far as possible in the backcountry, where it could do really useful work. My second dream was to make it so simple in construction and so devoid of Christmas tree ornaments and other whimsy that the price would be materially below our standard main-line freight locomotives.”
Of course, Dilworth’s explanation conveniently ignored the fact that Alco’s arguably uglier RS-1 had introduced the road switcher concept eight years before EMD. And in one sense, Dilworth’s project was a failure. Railroads bought Geeps for mainline service and relegated older power to secondary lines as they had always done. But his brainchild became the runaway best-seller among first-generation diesel power. U.S. and Canadian railroads bought nearly 7,000 copies of the 1500 horsepower GP7, introduced in 1949, and the 1750 horsepower GP9, produced from 1954 through 1963.
In those early days of diesel power, experienced engineers loved the Geep cab because, unlike the new streamliners, it felt like home to them. An engineer in a Geep running long hood forward sat near the back of the engine, looking out over the power plant – just as he had in a steam engine. Even running short hood forward, the engineer’s view was out past the engine’s nose, similar to a steamer.
The GP-7 and GP-9 return to the Premier line with the full range of superb detailing you expect in a Premier locomotive: see-through end steps, body side grilles, and roof fan housings; metal side and end handrails; separate metal grab irons; metal lift rings on its roof panels; windshield wipers; and super-detailed Blomberg trucks. Our Geeps also feature authentic first-generation diesel sounds including a single-chime air horn and the throb of an EMD 16-cylinder model 567 prime mover – so named because each of its cylinders displaced 567 cubic inches.
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