Union Pacific O Scale Premier U50C Diesel Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0 (Hi-Rail Wheels)

Even without yellow paint, the U50C would have been immediately recognizable as Union Pacific power. From its unique 4-12-2 to the Big Boy to its 8500 horsepower gas turbine, no other railroad had such a penchant for huge, larger-than-life locomotives. So it seemed only natural that in 1963, UP Superintendent of Motive Power David Neuhart approached EMD, Alco and GE about building a 5,000 horsepower diesel - twice the horsepower of a typical road diesel of the time. A key impetus was a U.P. study that had indicated diesel maintenance costs were about the same regardless of horsepower.

All three builders responded by mounting two of their standard power plants on one chassis. GE's initial effort was the U50, basically two of its ground-breaking U25B's in one unit, complete with four two-axle trucks. While UP liked the engine well enough to order 26 units, the U50 was extremely heavy and a bit ungainly, with the four-truck arrangement limiting it to lower-speed drag freight service.

GE addressed those issues with the U50C, designed more for power at speed. The new engine rode on a pair of six-wheel trucks recycled from retired 8,500 hp turbines. It had numerous features designed to reduce weight, including 12-cylinder rather than 16-cylinder prime movers that produced the same horsepower; a shorter frame; and aluminum instead of copper wiring. Forty U50Cs were delivered in 1969 - 71. The design changes, however, proved troublesome, especially the aluminum wiring that tended to overheat and catch fire, and a traffic downturn in 1976 led to the fleet's retirement. 

Ironically, the U50C was pretty close to what railroads today consider the ideal locomotive: a 4300 - 4400 hp diesel with six-wheel trucks about 75' long. Maybe the UP just figured that out before anybody else.

• Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
• Die-Cast Truck Sides, Pilots and Fuel Tank
• Metal Chassis
• Metal Handrails and Horn
• Moveable Roof Fans
• Metal Body Side Grilles
• (2) Handpainted Engineer Cab Figures
• Authentic Paint Scheme
• Metal Wheels, Axles and Gears
• (2) Remote-Controlled Proto-Couplers
• Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting
• Directionally Controlled Constant Voltage LED Headlights
• Lighted LED Cab Interior Light
• Illuminated LED Number Boards
• Lighted LED Marker Lights
• (2) Precision Flywheel-Equipped Motors
• Operating ProtoSmoke Diesel Exhaust
• Onboard DCC/DCS Decoder
• Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments
• 1:48 Scale Proportions
• Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring Freight Yard Proto-Effects
• Unit Measures: 19 3/4" x 2 5/8" x 4 3/16"
• Operates On O-42 Curves Diesel DCC Features
• F0 Head/Tail light
• F1 Bell 
• F2 Horn 
• F3 Start-up/Shut-down 
• F4 PFA 
• F5 Lights (except head/tail)
• F6 Master Volume 
• F7 Front Coupler 
• F8 Rear Coupler 
• F9 Forward Signal 
• F10 Reverse Signal 
• F11 Grade Crossing 
• F12 Smoke On/Off 
• F13 Smoke Volume 
• F14 Idle Sequence 3 
• F15 Idle Sequence 2 
• F16 Idle Sequence 1 
• F17 Extended Start-up 
• F18 Extended Shut-down 
• F19 Rev Up 
• F20 Rev Down 
• F21 One Shot Doppler 
• F22 Coupler Slack 
• F23 Coupler Close 
• F24 Single Horn Blast 
• F25 Engine Sounds
• F26 Brake Sounds
• F27 Cab Chatter
• F28 Feature Reset