MTH ELECTRIC TRAINS

In 1949 General Motors' Electro-Motive Division introduced the GP-7, its first hood unit diesel. Although the engine had neat, clean lines, it was not elegant when compared with the sleek car body engines that had been the standard mainline freight haulers for the last decade. The GP-7, however, proved itself even more useful than its more attractive counterparts and helped to assure the ascendancy of the multi-purpose hood unit engine. The 1750 horsepower GP-9, introduced in 1954, was a perfect follow-up to the huge success EMD had enjoyed with the GP-7. Engineers loved the Geeps' narrow hood that allowed them to see both in front of and behind the locomotive, and mechanics found the engine easy to access and repair. It was not just the body's easy accessibility that made the engines functional; they could handle just about any job they were given. Railroads used them for yard duties, mainline and way freight, and even mainline and branchline passenger and commuter service. While the GP-7 had launched EMD powerfully into the road switcher market, the GP-9 sealed the company's position and established the GP-class engine as a standard on the rails. M.T.H. proudly makes these industry-changing diesels available in the markings of the EMD demonstrator and the Rock Island Railroad GP-7s and livery of the Burlington and New York Central GP-9s. Use them to move freight anywhere on your layout. Whether you need to perform yard switching duties or move a consist on the mainline, our Premier Geeps can handle the job. Did You Know? EMD ran a FTs-for-GPs trade-in program that often led the builder to use FT components in GPs, creating a 1350 horsepower hybrid locomotive, designated by an "M" after the engine name, as in GP7M or GP9M.