Penn Central Motive Power Projects

Greetings All,

The N.Y.C.T.L.'s Purchasing Department, Patti O Paint Shop and Mechanical Shop have been busy behind the scenes adding some new motive power to my Penn Central fleet. 

This Bachmann Spectrum Reading Lines GP30 made in Hong Kong was an ebay purchase. This RDG release had a defect in the paint that had it flaking off the shell making it very easy to strip for repainting. Perfect for me! Here it is with a RDG gondola which is also new to the N.Y.C.T.L. More on that in a future post.

The GP30 is stripped and ready for painting once the weather clears on the Patti O Paint Shop.

The second engine in the project is this Bachmann Plus F7A which has been stripped and awaits painting. This engine was also purchased on ebay a few months ago.

A close up of the F7A. Good news for the project is that all window 'glass' in this engine was easily removed so no masking will be required. The number board 'glass' will be painted black. 

Penn Central GP30 #2236 and F7A #1862 have been painted and lettered. They are now in the decal setting phase.

A check of both power units revealed them to be bone dry so a little lubrication was necessary.

I've used this grease on my engines for a dozen years now.

Penn Central F7A #1862 was built in October 1952 as NYC #1862. This unit wore the NYC lightning stripes and cigar band paint schemes before getting its PC mating worms paint job. Here is the model just out of the paint shop.

Checking prototype photos I noted the 1862 was placed on the lower panel of the engine so I followed suit.

The 1862 was severely damaged in a wreck that occurred in the summer of 1975. It was rebuilt and back in service by April 1976 and is shown in a high gloss black with CR initials. Here it is prior to 1975 leading a pair of PC F7As at Terminal Yard.

Penn Central GP30 #2236 was built in April 1963 as PRR class EF-22 #2236. After the PRR-NYC merger the 2236 was originally painted with the red P PC herald as seen below which was applied early in 1968. It was later repainted with a white PC herald.

For my purposes the early red P works well as I continue to use units painted in NYC, PRR and NH to reflect the early days of the Penn Central. The 2236 was conveyed to Conrail where it received a blue paint job and retained it's 2236 number. This unit remained in active service until it was retired on April 11, 1991.

Rounding the curve heading towards the arrival / departure yard. The Spectrum GP30s work very well on the N.Y.C.T.L. Their short wheelbase and heavy frame make them perfect for switching duties and pulling long freight trains.

The 2236 is the lead unit pulling a long freight train on the lower level thru a newly enhanced right of way.

The GP30 trio returns to Terminal Yard. This three engine consist m.u.s together very well and offers a lot of pulling power with a low current draw. Perfect for my DC layout.

The new 2236 is now the trailing unit as the trio continues working out of Terminal Yard.

Thanks for reading!