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Introducing the all-new General Electric U30CG diesel locomotives in HO scale!

In the mid-1960s most class one railroads were busy discontinuing their passenger operations as fast as possible. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway however went against the grain and purchased new diesel locomotives from both EMD and GE during this period. GE was first to respond with 10 U28CG diesels in 1966 and painted in the famous warbonnet paint scheme. The ATSF was satisfied with the performance of the U28CG, but their freight locomotive looks left a lot to be desired. The follow up order from GE introduced a whole new style more inline with the full-cowl FP45 EMD was delivering at the same time.

In addition to the 200 hp bump in power, the U30CG came complete with a full width cowl carbody featuring steam generator equipment and body side stainless steel fluting to match the Santa Fe’s large passenger car fleet. The rounded nose up front also distinguished them from the earlier U28CG. A total of six U30CGs would be delivered in 1967 numbered 400-405. These quickly were pressed into service on many of the Santa Fe’s passenger trains such as the premier Super Chief, the Grand Canyon Limited and other secondary services like the Texas Chief and San Diegans.

Despite their passenger focused design, the U30CG had very short careers in passenger service. A wreck in 1969 soured the ATSF on the big GE units and despite being cleared for service, they were mostly shifted to high priority freights. In the spring of 1970, all 6 were renumbered 8000-8005 and with few exceptions most would never lead a passenger train again. With the introduction of Amtrak in spring 1971, all six would be kept in the general freight pool until final withdrawal in 1980.

Despite their short careers, these would wear several paint schemes. Initially painted in the red/silver warbonnet colors, some briefly were painted in the blue/yellow bookends scheme in 1971 before the entire fleet ended up in yellow warbonnet by 1973. Even with the repaintings, the red warbonnet colors would reemerge as the yellow and blue paint faded and chipped off in the late 70s!

All new from the ground up, the Rapido U30CG sets a new standard for passenger power!

U30CG Features:

• Design created from original measurements
• Accurate nose and roof contours
• Passenger and freight configurations
• Roadnumber specific stepwell details
• Heavy die-cast chassis
• Smooth running drive system with all wheels powered
• DC/Silent or DC/DCC/ESU V5 Sound options available
• MoPower capacitor system for flawless power pick up
• Complete lighting effects – headlights, tri-color class lights, backup lights, step lights and more
• Numerous road-specific detail parts in both plastic and metal
• Wire metal grab irons
• Etched metal grille work
• Full cab interior
• Tons of underbody detailing
• Trucks feature rotating bearing caps