Monthly RailKing 2018 Volume 2 O Gauge Catalog Product Spotlight

July 25, 2018 - Each month throughout the year, M.T.H. will be spotlighting various items from our RailKing 2018 Volume 2 O Gauge Catalog.  This week's feature will focus on the RailKing ES44 Diesel locomotives and the RailKing Chicago Transit Authority 3200 Series L Cars. Each of these items is currently slated to begin delivering in September 2018.

ES44AC Diesel - If you’re a North American Class 1 railroad looking for a freight diesel today, there are only two main choices. EMD, newly independent and no longer a division of General Motors, offers the SD70ACe. The standard bearer for General Electric, the top seller of road freight diesels, is the Evolution Series ES44AC.                   continue reading		3200 Series Subway Set - Closely resembling the 1970 vintage Boeing built 2400 series cars, the CTA 3200 Series subway car first began appearing on Chicago’s famed "L" in early 1993. Produced by the Morrison Knudsen Corporation (their first order for new transit cars) the consists have been in use throughout the CTA system.          continue reading

Each of the above RailKing Line items can be ordered through any M.T.H. Authorized Retailer. To see the entire 2018 Volume 2 RailKing Lineup, click here.

2018 Premier GP-9 Diesel Engine Now In-Stock

Check Out The Quick Start Video

July 24, 2018 - Electro-Motive Division's GP (for "General Purpose") engines were the brainchild of project engineer Dick Dilworth. In the late 1940s, Dilworth saw that America's 30,000 miles of main line rail had been virtually dieselized, but the 130,000 miles of secondary lines that carried half of the nation's freight traffic were still largely steam powered. He viewed that as a huge marketing opportunity.

In The Dilworth Story, a book published by Electro-Motive Division in 1954, Dilworth explained how he tried to meet that opportunity: "In planning the GP, I had two dreams. The first was to make a locomotive so ugly in appearance that no railroad would want it on the main line or anywhere near headquarters, but would keep it out as far as possible in the backcountry, where it could do really useful work. My second dream was to make it so simple in construction and so devoid of Christmas-tree ornaments and other whimsy that the price would be materially below our standard main-line freight locomotives."

Of course, Dilworth's explanation conveniently ignored the fact that Alco's arguably uglier RS-1 had introduced the road switcher concept eight years before EMD. And in one sense, Dilworth's project was a failure. Railroads bought Geeps for mainline service and relegated older power to secondary lines as they had always done. But his brainchild became the runaway best-seller among first-generation diesel power. U.S. and Canadian railroads bought nearly 7,000 copies of the 1500 horsepower GP7, introduced in 1949, and the 1750 horsepower GP9, produced from 1954 through 1963.

In those early days of diesel power, experienced engineers loved the Geep cab because, unlike the new streamliners, it felt like home to them. An engineer in a Geep running long hood forward sat near the back of the engine, looking out over the power plant - just as he had in a steam engine. Even running short hood forward, the engineer's view was out past the engine's nose, similar to a steamer.

The GP9 returns to the Premier line with the full range of superb detailing you expect in a Premier locomotive: see-through end steps, body side grilles, and roof fan housings; metal side and end handrails; separate metal grab irons; metal lift rings on its roof panels; windshield wipers; and super-detailed Blomberg trucks. Our Geeps also feature authentic first-generation diesel sounds including a single-chime air horn and the throb of an EMD 16-cylinder model 567 prime mover - so named because each of its cylinders displaced 567 cubic inches.

You can see the locomotives in action on video by clicking HERE.

Click HERE to learn more about these latest releases.

Each of these items is available for order now. Direct accounts can order via the M.T.H. Dealer Portal by selecting the Instock Order Form while indirect accounts should see their favorite M.T.H. Authorized Distributor.

You Should Really Make…

Dig into your files, archives or library — or your desk drawer — and send us the prototype paint schemes you’ve always wanted to see on a Premier or RailKing freight car.

This is your chance to show us The Cars You’ve Always Thought We Should Make and have them become reality — and have your fellow hobbyists know it was your idea that got them made! Click HERE for contest rules.

Deadline for submissions is midnight Saturday July 31, 2018.

Hurry Before They're Gone, Just Five Or Fewer Of These O Gauge Items Remain In Stock

July 25, 2018 - Each week, M.T.H. releases product lists spotlighting quantities of Five Or Fewer Premier and RailKing items that are remaining in our onhand inventory. In many cases, these items will NOT be re-run in the future and these lists could be your last chance for ordering them before they're GONE FOR GOOD. Don't miss out on these items! Click on the appropriate product line link below and then any item number in the corresponding list to purchase that item from the M.T.H. Online Store or order directly from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

Premier O Scale 2-Rail

Premier O Scale 3-Rail

RailKing O Gauge

It's Easy To Add WiFi To Your DCS Layout

Check Out The Quick Start Video

Click HERE To Learn More About DCS and WiFi Control

Special MTHRRC Offer: O Gauge 263E Locomotives Now In-Stock

Check Out It Out In Action In All-New Video