A perfect Vision Line candidate, what do you think.

Nice selection, marker. The UP fans would love this one.

Im thinking an Erie Triplex would look good since Lionel hasn't made one. Perhaps some other unusual, less famous type of locomotive as well.

Beautiful, but it would never run on my O54.

I would definitely be in for the UP Turbine, Marker. Even though it's been a very popular Vision Line candidate before, I'll present it again...

Oh yeah, I would have to have one.  I suspect Leavingtracks would want one, too: near as I can figure out he feels compelled to buy everything that comes in armor yellow - never seen more UP locos than in the photos of his layout!

Anyway, I suspect though that Lionel will stick to Vision line additions that they know will have very wide appeal.  As Mill City says (and I have posted before) they really need to do a Warbonnet F3 ABBA set. Well, at least, I really need one!

It's unusual, interesting and unique, but no history and no connection to people because it was never put into production.  I think PeterA's presentation, yesterday, of the Railrunner would be more favorably received and a better candidate for Vision Line. 

I so enjoy watching some of the videos posted by members.  This was 8 minutes long and I stopped watching the engine because the layout was fantastic.  Great dirty working environment. Long stretches of open road running.  Great industry. Fully integrated road and rail system.  Awesome landscape.  Very well done.

Checkbook ready.

Oh, yes - from whom do I order this? Not because of the UP connection, but because it's

a turbine and it's steam - steam-electric, of course. 

As I recall, they were first tested on the New York Central (in UP paint? - not sure) before going to the UP, which, I believe, never owned them. They were turned back to the builder GE, but found work on the Great Northern during WWII, when anything that could pull a train was often called for. I believe that they retained their numbers, but the UP paint job was gone, so far as I know. I think that they wore a simple gray or blue (?) paint job. Not sure about the road name - if any. They were scrapped after the war (oh, good move, guys, as usual).

So they had an interesting career and could be used as Demonstrators in a plausible

setting.

I'm surprised that MTH - the Yellow Turbine People - has not offered these. They are

at least as interesting as, or more interesting than, the Propane GTEL. Better-looking,

too. Heck, the Propane GTEL and 6-8-6 were one-of-a-kind; at least there were TWO

of these.

I keep seeing and extended and massaged EMD E-7 body or two and a stretched GG1

chassis...I have the parts (I'd probably go sub-scale GG1 for a shortened version), all

I need now is to do some of the other projects I have waiting. 

Mill city has the right idea. 

Although being a big UP fan the turbine is very interesting.

I think what is long over due and it does not have to be vision line but in Legacy is a caboose with all the wheel sounds radio chatter( This could be made in the vision line series made to speak to a specific Vision Line engine or generic chatter to cover all bases) etc for the end of the train it can be made in a style suited to match all the great Legacy/TMCC steamers made that don't have freight cars with end of train devices on the end of the consist. And they could be made for years in All road names and will sell far faster and across the board to all Lionel consumers. So tell me would you buy one of these!!!!!!!

No to UP yes to caboose

Great layout and video. Not to sure if it would ever get made by Lionel, MTH maybe!

Rich in NH

Count me in!

I have the issue of the Union Pacific Railroad Historical Society that features these engines.  They were not successful, but oh the details, especially the lighting effects.  Look at the first 30 seconds of the above posted video.  Those lite side panels on the front of the units are really cool featuring the UP shield in the middle of them.  The vertical light shining up to the sky is way cool. To run these units in a darkened room would be neat.  The chrome accents on the pilot and down the sides add to the Art Deco look. 

One can only hope that someone will pick up the ball and run with it in bringing in these units.  Oh, the prototypes had swinging pilots.

Steve  

They were not successful, but oh the details, especially the lighting effects.

Neither was the 2-10-10-2 Santa Fe articulated that was done in Vision Line.

I've seen it posted that Great Northern used it and that Northern Pacific used it.  I've also seen that it was used successfully by whichever of those roads used the engine.  

I'd like to know more about which of those roads used it and if it was successful.

Steam Guy makes one of the points why this would be a good candidate.  The lighting is very unique with the lighted side panels and the vertical light.  I'd love to see that streaking through the night.

Some more info regarding these units:

The GE turbines were used during a motive power shortage on the Great Northern Railway in 1943, and appear to have performed quite well. However, by the end of 1943, the wheels of both locomotives were worn to the point of needing replacement, and one of the locomotive's boilers developed a defect. The locomotives were returned to GE and dismantled.

I have seen 1 photo showing these units on the Great Northern.  There was no lettering on them and I cannot determine the paint scheme when they were on the Great Northern.

And here is another video showing the HO Overland models in action.  The sounds are fantastic?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zpZ3k29sU4

Steve

Did they always run nose to tail when running two units?

When running on the UP they could not run back to back, hence they ran this way, elephant style.  Kinda weird that GE could not manufacture them so that they could run back to back.

They sometimes operated as single units on passenger trains on the UP also.  So if someone brings them in one could purchase one units and still prototypical.

Steve

My Uncle Roland, who hired out on the LA&SL as a Fireman in 1922 and retired from UPRR as an Engineer in 1969, told me that he made a trip on these engines (probably as a Fireman, although he already had an Engineer's date by that time).  He said that the trip was not successful, and that they had to set out the steam turbine and finish the trip with a steam engine.  I wish I had pressed for more details, but, oh well, it's an opportunity lost.  They probably were not the best engines for the hard water country of the LA&SL.

They had condensers so water was not that big of a problem