Dear HO Scale Customers;

 

Athearn Genesis has announced the GP-18 Diesel Locomotives

 

Conrail

Lehigh Valley was folded into the U.S. government’s bailout of Penn Central and became a founding member of Conrail in 1976. The collection of four GP18s went on from Lehigh Valley to serve Conrail as its 7496-7499. The units initially wore patched out Lehigh Valley dress with “CR” markings and all eventually saw repainting into Conrail blue.

 

CR FEATURES:

• Ex LV #305, faded paint effect with CR patched markings

 

 

Missouri Pacific

The Mopac would roster the largest fleet of GP18s with 151. They were a utilitarian locomotive filling any role system-wide to include hotshot freights, local, and yard service. Even as newer, more powerful locomotives arrived on the roster, the GP18 could still be found working along-side performing reliably thoughout their 20+ year career on the railroad.

 

MP FEATURES:

• Jenks Blue scheme

• Four exhaust stack manifold

• Later style brake wheel

• Two directional facing “Blatt” style horns

• Non dynamic

• Pilot mounted footboards

• Single Firecracker antenna

 

 

Lehigh Valley

 One of the anthracite roads of the northeast U.S., Lehigh Valley bought four GP18s (built in mid-1960) numbered 302-305. The units served throughout the 1960s and into the mid-1970s. Lehigh Valley was folded into the U.S. government’s bailout of Penn Central and became a founding member of Conrail in 1976. The collection of four GP18s went on from Lehigh Valley to serve Conrail as 7496-7499. The units initially wore patched out Lehigh Valley dress with “CR” markings and all eventually saw repainting into Conrail blue. Among the four GP18s, 304 was rebuilt with a chopped nose during the time it worked for Lehigh Valley; the other three retained high short hoods.

 

LV FEATURES:

• Nathan 3-chime horn

• Winterization hatch

• Pilot mounted footboards

• Dynamic brakes

• Forward facing fuel tank

 

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

• #302 1964 era Tuscan red scheme

• #303 1964 era Tuscan red scheme

• #305 1971 era Cornell Red scheme with large letters and barier stripes. Modified “cut” conductor’s side skirt, long hood mounted paper air filter box, Flat-top dynamic brake fan

 

 

 

Seaboard Coast Line

The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was formed in 1967, following the merger of Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line. SCL’s GP18s came courtesy of the SAL, the 10 units having been built in 1960. Several were repainted into black and yellow after the merger, with a few units receiving the “Pulling For You!” slogan, which was usually reserved for larger power.

 

SCL FEATURES:

• Whip Antenna

• Ratchet style brake

 

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

• #1061 Bell mounted on frame, RS3L horn

• #1063 “Steam engine” style bell on short hood, P-3 horn, “primered” replacement fans, slogan under cab

 

 

 

PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION

The EMD GP18 began production in late 1959 and was based on the builder’s extraordinarily successful GP9, although the latter model was still in production at the time. The GP18 is considered the last of the builder’s “first generation” models. Similar in appearance to the GP7 and GP9, the GP18 was slightly more powerful and came with the option of a low or high short cab hood, something that had only been upon special request with EMD’s first two road switcher models. It used the final version of General Motors first locomotive prime mover, the 16-cylinder model 567D1 which could produce 1,800 horsepower, the most powerful in the series up to that time. At just over 56 feet in length the GP18 was the same length as its predecessor models and was visually very similar, with the exception of new radiator grills which were also used on the GP20.

While thousands of GP7s and GP9s were produced just a few hundred GP18s were ultimately built for a little more than two dozen railroads. Today, several GP18s remain in operation on numerous shortlines and industrial operations around the country.

 

GP18 SERIES LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:

• Full cab interior

• Coupler cut levers

• Flexible rubber trainline hose

• Drop steps unless noted

• Lift rings

• Windshield wipers

• Wire grab irons

• See-through cab windows

• Flexible rubber MU hoses

• “Nub” style walkway tread

• Sander lines

• MU stands

• Bell placement & type per prototype

• Etched metal radiator intake grilles and fan grilles

• Air tanks mounted below sill unless noted

• Blomberg-B trucks with appropriate bearing caps

• Speed recorder unless noted

• Accurately-painted and –printed paint schemes

• Body-mounted McHenry operating scale knuckle couplers

• Fully-assembled and ready-to-run

• DCC-ready features Quick Plug plug-and-play technology with 21-pin NEM connector

• Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more

• Fine-scale Celcon handrails for scale appearance

• Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, breather pipes, and retention tanks

• Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain

• All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth & quiet operation

• All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow

• Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track

• Bidirectional constant LED lighting so headlight brightness remains constant

• Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power

• Packaging securely holds model for safe storage

• Minimum radius: 18” — Recommended radius: 22”

 

SOUND-EQUPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE

• Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound

• Dual cube speakers for optimal sound quality

• Sound units operate in both DC and DCC

• Full DCC functions available when operated in DCC mode

• Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC

• All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode

• Precision slow speed control

• Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn, bell, and lights

• Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes

• CV chart included in the box

 

PRIMED FOR GRIME MODELS FEATURE

• Duplicated look and feel of “In Service” equipment

• Faded base colors matched to the prototype

• Perfect starting point for adding grime and rust

 

 

Order Due Date: February 25, 2022

Anticipated Delivery Date: April 2023

Looking for more Athearn GP-18 Diesel Locomotives? Click here!

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