ScaleTrains HO GP30 debuts — ScaleTrains.com made a splash at the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show on Saturday, January 29. The company unveiled its new HO scale Rivet Counter line Electro-Motive Division GP30 diesel locomotive. The initial run, scheduled for release this fall, will feature six road names with multiple paint variations, including Union Pacific B units and CSX “RDMT” slugs.
Road names will include Chicago & North Western (Original Yellow and Original Yellow repaint), CSX (RDMT slug/stealth), Denver & Rio Grande Western (billboard and Flying Grande lettering), Norfolk & Western (Pevler Blue), Pennsylvania Railroad (Brunswick Green), and Union Pacific (as-delivered A unit, as-delivered B unit [freight and passenger], and no. 844 [Nevada State Railroad Museum edition with ditch lights]).
Features on the newly tooled model will include a detailed cab interior with a separate floor, rear wall, seats, and control stand; light-emitting-diode lighting (directional headlights, illuminated number boxes, ground lights, walkway lights, tri-color class lights, red marker lights, beacons, strobe lights, and ditch lights, all as appropriate); era-specific treadplate patterns; five inertial filter compartment variations; five dynamic brake hatches, including extended range; and three variations of radiator intake grills.
Additional features will include a Phase I cab with equal lengths on both sides, a Phase II cab with increased length on fireman’s side to accommodate an additional seat, Norfolk & Western and Southern Railway high, short hoods with appropriate details, underbody frame rail with separate plumbing, and Blomberg B trucks with four different bearing housing styles. The GP30 has a minimum radius of 18 inches and a recommended radius of 22 inches.
Direct-current models with a 21-pin connector will be priced at $194.99. Versions with a dual-mode ESU LokSound sound decoder with Full Throttle, two cube-type speakers, and ESU PowerPack with two super capacitors will sell for $289.99.
For the latest updates on this project, visit scaletrains.com.
This article was reposted on the MR Facebook page in Feb. 2023. According to the Scale Trains web site, these locomotives are expected to appear in March 2023.
Those look great! Wish they had a PC scheme. There was a recent article in Classic Trains showing a UP train with a B unit leading the consist. I seem to think it was a GP30B in the lead, but it might have been a GP9B.