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General Electric had long been touted as a company that supplied parts for other manufacturers. That would all change with GE’s entry into a road-switcher market dominated by EMD and Alco. In the late 1950s, GE’s engineers were developing a new V16 engine. What followed was the creation of the U25B road switcher. Available in both high-nose and low-nose variants, GE would sell over 450 U25Bs to a variety of Class I railroads. The U25B would pave the way for future Universal series locomotives.

Many U25Bs lasted into the early 1980s on some Class I railroads. A few ex-L&N versions would continue on to the early 1990s on CSX! A notable user of the U25B was Rock Island, which equipped a few of theirs with “frog lights” on the sides of the cab roof. These lights could alternate or shine steady. Get ready for a new run with new schemes on the popular U25B locomotive!

The Rapido Trains HO Scale U25B Locomotive Features: 

• Improved mesh grilles to be finer in appearance
• Revised exhaust stack (seen above)
• Newly-tooled, thinner end handrails
• Rapido’s innovative dead-straight metal handrails with plastic stanchions on the new phase 3 and 4 designs
• Working step lights 
• Revised AAR truck with separate lead springs and spinning bearings
• Improved front numberboard housing
• New Phase IV units representing late U25Bs and early U28Bs
• Working "frog lights" (Rock Island and MEC #225 and #228)
• BN with five-step stepwell
• Single front window or new double front window
• Both low and high-short hood versions
• Flat or new sloped low nose
• New side sill mounted handrails on Phase IV units
• Early high- and later low-style side doors
• Road specific details for each model
• Different exhaust stacks (depending on roadname)
• Road-specific battery box doors on engineer’s side
• MoPower capacitor