Uncataloged Premier O Scale GP-9 Diesel Locomotive Announced
January 22, 2023 - M.T.H. Electric Trains has announced an exclusive Premier O Scale GP-9 Diesel locomotive in New York & Greenwood Lake Railway livery for exclusive distribution by M.T.H. Authorized Retailer E-Z Catch. The locomotive will be available in two authentic cab numbers in very limited quantities on a first-come, first-served basis, with an anticipated arrival date of April 2023.
Item No. 20-21795-1 New York & Greenwood Lake Railway GP-9 Diesel Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0
Cab No. 1267
Early Order Price: $549.99 (Plus Freight)
Click HERE to order from E-Z Catch.
Item No. 20-21796-1 New York & Greenwood Lake Railway GP-9 Diesel Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0
Cab No. 1268
Early Order Price: $549.99 (Plus Freight)
Click HERE to order from E-Z Catch.
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.
EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE THRU:
E-Z Catch Train Shop
5 Tysen Street
Staten Island, New York 10301
718-727-7373 - Ask for Pat
e-zcatch@verizon.net
