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Uncataloged Premier O Scale FEC GP-9 Diesel Locomotive Announced
February 7, 2023 - M.T.H. Electric Trains has announced an exclusive and uncataloged Premier Line GP-9 Diesel Locomotive in Florida East Coast livery to be distributed by Florida's M.T.H. Authorized Retailers Roundhouse South and Ready-to-Roll. The locomotives will be available in very limited quantities in two cab numbers on a first-come, first-served basis. The anticipated delivery is April 2023. But hurry, the early order price only lasts until February 28th. After that, prices go up to $579.95. Item No. 20-21785-1 Florida East Coast GP-9 Diesel Engine With Proto-Sound 3.0 Item No. 20-21786-1 Florida East Coast GP-9 Diesel Engine With Proto-Sound 3.0 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. Order Directly From: Roundhouse South OR Ready-to-Roll |
M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing a series of 2023 Premier O Scale 36' Woodside Reefers in four exciting liveries beginning next Summer. Each of these unique schemes will be available in unique car numbers and will be in very limited production quantities. The cars are expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in September 2023. Check out each of these offerings HERE. These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer. Check Out The Latest Custom Run Production AnnouncementsM.T.H. Electric Trains announces hundreds of custom-run items each year for M.T.H. Authorized Retailers. Many of these unique releases are geographically relevant for an authorized retailer's local clientele. M.T.H. Email Subscribers get these announcements in their inbox every morning. To review the 2023 announcements to date, click HERE. You can sort the list by Product Line, Product Classification, and road name. To review the 2022 announcements to date, click HERE. | ||||||
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