Good morning JHZ563! That is an interesting Trackmobile.
Union Pacific GP-38-2 #2048 is an MTH Premier model (20-2188-1) with PS1. It appeared in the 1998 Volume 3 Catalog at an MSRP of $299.95 and was delivered in December 1998. I purchased this engine about 24 years ago, shortly after I resumed O gauge model railroading. At that time, I was acquiring locomotives and rolling stock of many railroads and hadn’t yet begun to focus on the Northeastern railroads. I used this engine to test the trackwork and wiring during construction of my 12’-by-8’ layout. I ran it occasionally for a year or two and it’s been on the shelf just above my workbench ever since. Although I’ve looked at it almost every day, I hadn’t run it for at least fifteen years. The traction tires were intact and had no flat spots, so I did not change them. The photos and videos show the engine’s first run after light lubrication and installation of a BCR. When power was applied, the sounds began immediately and the model ran smoothly while pulling three New Haven boxcars and a K-Line UP bay-window caboose. In my opinion, MTH has always made a quality product and still does. All of my old PS1 locomotives run well.
EMD GP38-2 locomotives weigh 250,000 pounds and have a 16-cylinder 2,000 horsepower diesel engine. They have a starting tractive effort of 61,000 pounds and a maximum speed of 65 miles-per-hour. 2,213 GP38-2s were produced between 1972 and 1986.
The model is running at 30 scale-miles-per-hour in the videos.
MELGAR
