Monthly RailKing 2019 Ready-to-Run O Gauge Catalog Product Spotlight

May 14, 2019 - Each month throughout the year, M.T.H. will be spotlighting various items from our RailKing 2019 Ready-to-Run O Gauge Train Set and Accessory Catalog.  This week's feature will focus on the RailKing George Bush Funeral Train, and select RailKing rolling stock including the Flat Car with Christmas Trees. Each of these items is currently slated to begin delivering in July 2019..

George Bush Funeral Train - On October 18, 2005, at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, the Union Pacific Railroad unveiled locomotive 4141. It was only the sixth time in UP history that a diesel had been decorated in colors other than the road’s signature Armour Yellow paint.  continue reading		Flat Car w/Christmas Trees - If you've been a fan of our traditionally themed Christmas cars over the past ten years, then these 2019 Christmas cars are the perfect way to start building or adding to your very own Christmas train. You'll find a wide selection of cars and locomotives in addition to these colorful flat cars with lighted trees.  continue reading

Each of the above RailKing Line items can be ordered through any M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

To see the entire 2019 Ready-to-Run O Gauge RailKing lineup, click here.

Premier O Scale GP-40 Diesel Locomotives Now In Stock

Check Out It Out In Action In All-New Video

May 14, 2019 - Both under the hood and under the frame, the GP40 exemplified EMD’s product line in transition. Along with its less-powerful sister, the GP38, the Geep 40 was the first EMD locomotive with the model 645 diesel motor. Its predecessor, the 567 diesel that had powered EMD locos since the late 1930s — named for its 567 cubic inch displacement per cylinder — had become inadequate to meet customers’ demands for higher horsepower.

Remarkably, the 645 was the same external size and weight as the motor it replaced, with the power increase achieved largely by increasing the cylinder bore. In its normally aspirated form, with a Roots blower pressurizing the incoming air, a 16-cylinder 645 cranked out 2000 horsepower; this was the motor in the GP38. The same engine with a turbocharger, however, put out 3000 hp in the GP40, with lower fuel consumption and emissions and improved high-altitude performance; the tradeoff was higher maintenance costs for turbo-equipped engines.

A design problem with turbochargers is "turbo lag": because the turbo’s air compressor is powered by engine exhaust gas, the turbo doesn’t become effective until the engine gets up to speed. In Alco diesels, this issue produced thick black smoke as the motors ramped up, earning them the nickname "honorary steam engines." In the 645 motor, EMD’s engineers solved the problem with a gear train and over-running clutch, which drove the turbo at low engine speeds until the exhaust gas took over.

While the GP40 heralded the introduction of a new motor, it also marked the beginning of a long goodbye to the four-axle road diesel. Under the frame, railroads were seeing that six-wheel trucks, once an expedient for spreading out engine weight on lighter-duty track, were more suited to the increasing tonnage and speed of modern freight service. The GP40 and its successor, the GP40-2, were the last high-horsepower, four-axle Geeps to sell in large quantities. During a six-year production run that began in 1965, over 1200 GP40s were sold to U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads. Notably absent from the list of original owners, however, were western heavy haulers Santa Fe and Union Pacific; both roads purchased fleets of six-axle EMD SD40s and SD40-2s. Although the lighter-duty, four-axle GP38 series continued to be a strong seller, the transition to the six axle, high-horsepower unit — which would become the standard road diesel of the 21st century — began in the era of the GP40.

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

These locomotives are still available from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer. They can also be ordered from the M.T.H. online store by clicking on the item number when you click on the above item numbers.

O Gauge Items Just Released During The Week Of May 5, 2019

May 15, 2019 - To review last week's list of the O Gauge items M.T.H. Electric Trains released during the week of May 5, 2019 click HERE. You'll find these at your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

As always, you can stay apprised of the latest shipping dates by checking the M.T.H. Shipping Schedule. Once items have shipped, use the M.T.H. Product Locator to find a retailer reporting the item in stock.

2019 Volume 2 O Gauge Catalog Now Online

See It Online

Order items through any M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

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

May 15, 2019 - 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

2019 Ready-to-Run Train Set Catalog Now Online

See It Online.

Order items through any M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.