The A.P.R.R. is always on the lookout for additional motive power ever since they announce the expansion to the south. Like any acquisition or expansion, you need to have the engines to move freight and generate revenue.
EBay (or Evilbay as I like to call them) is reviewed by me on a regular basis. Just before I flew out to work on the southern division, I spotted a great price on an Athearn GP35 engine in Penn Central, new in the box at a great price. It was on auction, and I won it!
A little history on the GP35, if I may.....
The EMD GP35 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between July 1963 and December 1965 and by General Motors Diesel between May 1964 and January 1966. The locomotive's power was provided by an EMD 567D3A 16-cylinder engine which generated 2,500 horsepower (1,860 kW).
Many railroads traded in Alco and EMD F units for GP35s, reusing the trucks and traction motors. Some railroads had EMD reuse the Alco trucks on the GP35s. Notable examples include the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, Southern Railway, and the Ann Arbor Railroad.
1251 examples of this locomotive model were built for American railroads, 26 were built for Canadian railroads and 57 were built for Mexican railroads.
Tonight I took it out of the box and put it on the bench. First test is in DC, and it ran well. Next step was to take off the top and install a DCC decoder. It's an easy install as the part where the vents are in the middle of the engine comes right off. A quick install of the NCE 8 pin decoder, and it's off to the train room programming track. I have a section on the layout where I can program engines instead of going to the basement and program on the bench. This is PC engine #2294 and is ready to checked out by the APRR executive team.
Newly acquired PC #2294 has stopped by West Harold Tower. Senior Executive 1/87th Sir John, who is 1/87th Sir Neal's #1 right hand guy has gathered 1/87th Senior Engineer Ed and 1/87th Sir Larry to fill them in on the acquisition. In the cab of this baby is 1/87th PC Ralph, as he was given the dubious honor of giving the engine the once over. He'll fill in 1/87th Sr. EE on how the engine handles both forward and reverse. If satisfied, 1/87th Sr. EE will cut the engine loose for revenue service.
Thanks for reading and watch for this engine to appear in future P.C.C.M. sessions!
Great addition to the A.P.R.R. fleet. Kudos to the purchasing department for negotiating a good buy.
ReplyDeleteNice find Sir Neal!!! Another 2,500 hp will help add to the coffers of the A.P.R.R.!
ReplyDeleteNice! I might have bid on that too had I seen it! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat addition to the roster Sir Neal! It will make a great all around loco for the layout.
ReplyDeleteIt's remarkable how good those bluebox locos continue to look! The original die work is from the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteOn second thought, Neal, are you sure it's a bluebox? A bluebox loco is a hard wire install for DCC, and I don't think the dynamic brake section comes off. Also, the handrails look like they're cast plastic. You may have gotten a bigger bargain than you think!
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not a BB kit, it's a RTR model. Runs well. It did about 20 laps around the layout both forwards and reverse...
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