I am doing the research and attempting to allocate the necessary equipment to model the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad (located in Pennsylvania, running from: you guessed it New Hope to Warminster in Bucks County). They currently operate with several different steam and diesel locomotives, but the one that I am attempting to locate first, and seemingly is going to be the hardest to find is the EMD GP-30. The only nibble I got was on Overland Models website, but the item is sold out and no longer available at other dealers, so the website says, and I have spent the last three hours searching every website I have come across in the pages of Model Railroader Magazine!!! If any of you know of a kit that is available to modify another engine to make a GP-30 PLEASE let me know!?!
The best GP30 model is the Life-Like Proto 2000 version. There are lots of them available on eBay for starters. Modifying something else may be difficut as the GP30 is rather unique. The Overland engine is a great running brass model, but very expensive(&600???).
Well, I’m assuming you are referring to HO scale. If you’re willing to paint a locomotive to match your desired roadname, there are 81 GP30’s available on eBay.
Thanks for the post! Yes the Overland is priced at around $600, but I was thinking that since it’s brass and has a lot of intricate details, it would be worth it, even if I chickened out of using it on the layout, I could use my woodworking skills to built an awesome cherry or oak display with custom “etched” glass or something to that effect!
I have to say, I must have spaced after looking at this screen for over three hours searching for the engine! Hope I can be of assistance in future dealings you may have questions on!
Their history page states that it was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in May 1963, if that will tell which phase it is? Or if you can tell from photos Railserve has the NH&I RR at this link.
For one of the shortest production runs of a prototype, it’s been done to death in plastic by multiple vendors. I would recommend the P2K version over the Bachmann Specturm, but only because I saw two brand new never out of their boxes Bachmann units painted for Reading and BOTH had a big flake of paint off the cab side. Of course if you are going to strip it for a repaint anyway I guess it wouldn’t matter.
Heck Athearn even did them back in the day - for about as long as EMD made the real thing. Rumor is they recut the dies but I dunno about that.
I too would recomenned the P2K version. The proto has better detail and a better drive and the shell has the correct dimensions (Bachmanns is too tall). You can get sound if you wanted it too.
I have the P2K GP30 in Atlantic Coast Line paint DCC with sound. I am very pleased with it, but I don;t believe it is still available new. You probably have to go to Ebay.
Just for the record (and FYI for the OP), the easiest way to tell a Phase I from a Phase II is by looking at the fireman’s (left) side of the locomotive. The Phase II cab is a little bit longer on the fireman’s side, so you’ll notice the cab’s side wall is longer behind the cab window than in front of it; Phase I cab windows are in the exact middle of the cab wall. Also on Phase II’s, there is no stanchion at the dogleg in the handrail right behind the cab; Phase I’s have that extra stanchion at the dogleg in the handrail.
Thanks to all who have posted here! I appreciate the help! I am greatful to people for helping me realize alternative routes of research that I had not originally even thought of using! Using the Google search I found another Railfan type website, which shows an engine originally in UP paint with number 531, I being a novice railfan, cannot even attempt to classify this engine… But I have come to the conclusion that at some point the NH&I RR repainted her and numbered her 7087, which on the website that I found the shot (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1049959396011698973GnVoqN) has mislabeled her as GP-30, which we all (in this thread) should readily know is not true!!! If anyone can help this hopelessly newbie to the railfan service in getting up to speed, unless I can talk to the people tomorrow (actually later today!!!) and ascertain the builder and other key info! Thanks again to all you wonderful fellow modelers and railfans! Keep on workin’ on the RR!!!
