Now available in stores is a new production of HO scale EMD GP40P-2 locomotives from Athearn’s premium-level Genesis product line in several era-specific configurations never offered before in any scale.  Delivered in 1974 to the Southern Pacific Railroad, these four-motor GP40P-2s were designed as dual-service locomotives – speeding commuter trains between San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. during the work week, and sent off on weekends to haul freight over Donner Pass.    After initiation in freight service in Oregon, the GP40P-2s along with EMD SDP45s allowed the last Fairbanks-Morse H-24-66 “TrainMaster” locomotives to be retired from Commute service in May 1975.  The GP40P-2s ran the “Commutes” for another nine years, until state-sponsored Caltrain took over commuter operations on the San Francisco Peninsula in 1985.

No longer needed to haul passengers, the GP40P-2s soon had their steam generators for HVAC removed and the original dual compartment water and fuel tank replaced with a longer higher capacity 3200 gallon fuel tank between the trucks.  Now freight units, these newly-converted GP40P-2s also gained new road numbers – 7600-7602.

New for this release from Athearn are replicas of these freight service GP40P-2s with the larger fuel tank, and blanked steam generator section.  Liveries include Southern Pacific (red/gray 7600-series road numbers), and pre-faded “Primed for Grime” former SP GP40P-2s in two road numbers, each patched with Union Pacific reporting marks and oscillating light housings plated over.

New features for this production include LED-illuminated number boards on the cab.

DC/DCC-ready GP40P-2s begin at $221.73, while DC+DCC+Sound GP40P-2s equipped with Tsunami2 Sound decoders from Soundtraxx begin at $308.69.  “Primed for Grime” locomotives are priced slightly higher.   Available now from your favorite hobby dealer or direct.

Athearn • 2904 Research Road • Champaign, Illinois 61822 • www.athearn.com