Product Description
Announced Date:
Aug 2023
Released Date:
Aug 2024
Individually Boxed:
Yes
Road Name: Louisville & Nashville
Road Number: 1603
Product Line: Premier
Scale: O Scale
Features:
Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
Die-Cast Truck Sides, Pilots and Fuel Tank
Metal Chassis
Metal Handrails and Horn
Moveable Roof Fans
(2) Handpainted Engineer Cab Figures
Colorful Paint Scheme
Metal Wheels, Axles and Gears
(2) Remote-Controlled Proto-Couplers
O Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting
Directionally Controlled Constant Voltage LED Headlights
Lighted LED Cab Interior Light
Illuminated LED Number Boards
(2) Precision Flywheel-Equipped Motors
Operating ProtoSmoke Diesel Exhaust
Onboard DCC/DCS Decoder
Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments
Proto-Scale 3-2 3-Rail/2-Rail Conversion Capable
1:48 Scale Proportions
Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring Freight Yard Proto-Effects
Unit Measures: 16” x 3 1/8” x 4”
Operates On O-42 Curves
Diesel DCC Features
F0 Head/Tail light
F1 Bell
F2 Horn
F3 Start-up/Shut-down
F4 PFA
F5 Lights (except head/tail)
F6 Master Volume
F7 Front Coupler
F8 Rear Coupler
F9 Forward Signal
F10 Reverse Signal
F11 Grade Crossing
F12 Smoke On/Off
F13 Smoke Volume
F14 Idle Sequence 3
F15 Idle Sequence 2
F16 Idle Sequence 1
F17 Extended Start-up
F18 Extended Shut-down
F19 Rev Up
F20 Rev Down
F21 One Shot Doppler
F22 Coupler Slack
F23 Coupler Close
F24 Single Horn Blast
F25 Engine Sounds
F26 Brake Sounds
F27 Cab Chatter
F28 Feature Reset
Overview:
By 1960, EMD — the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors — looked like the clear winner in the race to dieselize America. ALCo was running a distant second, Baldwin was gone, and Fairbanks-Morse was on life support. General Electric, having dissolved its partnership with ALCo in 1953, had seemingly settled into a secondary role as supplier of electrical gear to other manufacturers and builder of small export locomotives. What nobody realized was that GE had quietly been preparing a comeback of such epic proportions that in little more than two decades it would overtake EMD as America’s number one locomotive builder — a lead that continues to this day. GE’s comeback engine was the U25B.
The year after its breakup with ALCo, GE had begun testing an A-B-B-A diesel set on the Erie Railroad, powered by Cooper Bessemer prime movers; GE had purchased the rights to refine and develop the motors on its own. What the world assumed was an experimental export engine was in fact a rolling laboratory aimed at developing a heavy freight locomotive that would be more powerful, more reliable, and require less maintenance than the competition. When the U25B (Universal Series, 2500 horsepower, 4-wheel trucks) debuted in 1960, its turbocharged 4-cycle, 16-cylinder diesel outperformed its rivals by 100hp. More important, its modular electronics were more reliable than those of contemporary engines and, according to GE, used up to 60% fewer components. And while the louvered flanks of competitive diesels concealed numerous air filters that required frequent cleaning, the “U-Boat,” as it came to be called, featured a central cooling air system with a self-cleaning filter. The carbody was pressurized to keep dirt out of the machinery, and the locomotive featured an advanced wheel-slip system. Together, these features helped define the second generation of diesel power, which would replace the F-units, Geeps, and other pioneering engines that were wearing out.
Because the railroad industry was in a slump, not a single U-boat was sold the first year. In 1961, four demonstrators barnstormed across the West, and the Union Pacific placed the first order. At the request of Southern Pacific, the original high short hood design was replaced by a low short hood for better visibility, and in 1962 sales began to take off. By the end of production in 1966, 17 Class 1 railroads would purchase U-boats and GE would be solidly in the locomotive business.
M.T.H. returns our superbly detailed model of America’s first second-generation diesel. Per prototypes, our models will replicate both the “classic” U25B with its wide windshield and flat-top nose, and the later-production version with split windshield and sloping nose.
