Available Items
November 11, 2009 - M.T.H.'s Premier Line GenSet diesel locomotive was first featured in the 2009 Volume 2 catalog and will be arriving at M.T.H. Authorized Retailer locations next year. Check out Taylor's latest Product Update VIDEO to see photos and video of the pre-production version.
Known also as an Ultra Low Emissions Locomotive (ULEL), the GenSet engine was the brainchild of Mike Iden of the Union Pacific. Looking to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, Iden envisioned a diesel locomotive with multiple engine/generator sets, each of which would turn on only when needed. His experimental prototype proved its worth in 2005 and spawned a new type of road switcher ﾗ the ultimate ﾓsmartﾔ locomotive.
Todayﾒs Genset is perhaps the perfect marriage of heavy machinery and computers. Each of its three 700-horsepower GenSets turns on only when a microprocessor senses itﾒs needed. At idle only one engine runs, and even that turns off after a certain period of inactivity. Unlike traditional railroad diesels that require an elaborate startup procedure, the Cummins diesels used in GenSets are based on a truck engine design that can be started up instantly.
When the locomotive is under load, the second and third GenSets power up and down as needed. The result is a locomotive that delivers fuel savings of 40% and more, compared with traditional yard and road switchers, and an 80% reduction in noxious emissions. No wonder that many GenSet purchases have been funded with government grants targeted at making the air more breathable.
Software also enables a GenSet engine to work longer and harder. Its computer tracks the running time on each engine-generator set and evens out the wear on the locomotiveﾒs three units ﾗ each of which is skid-mounted and can be changed out in less than six hours if necessary.
The 3GS-21B has unusually high tractive effort for its horsepower because a microprocessor controls wheel slip by reducing power to individual traction motors ﾗ rather than a whole truck as on older wheel-slip prevention systems. This feature has enabled some customers to do the same work with fewer locomotives. And, like the M.T.H. DCS system, the 3GS-21B has software that can be upgraded over the Internet.
This O scale version of the GenSet is a hand-built prototype used by our engineers and project managers in the early stages of the modelﾒs product development. The photos weﾒve included in this article allow viewers to see the many add-on parts weﾒll be including in the production models when they deliver next year. Some details in the sample are not correctly fastened on (the running board detail appears warped) or are missing (right side cab window shade).
Some of you may be able to find some flaws on the model in the below photographs & above video clip. Weﾒve already amassed a list of changes weﾒll be incorporating in the final version and are sure that our GenSet will generate a ton of excitement when it rolls out next Spring.
WHERE TO BUY
The GenSet's can be ordered through any M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.