Penn Central Power 2

U30C  #6538 joins the fleet!

I was going to write about the rest of my PC locomotive fleet in this installment but will instead focus on my most recent addition, which was obtained just last week!    I won an eBay auction for an Athearn Blue Box U28C that was never used and still in its original box with all of the accompanying details.    I’ve seen locomotives like this listed for 30-40 dollars but was able to obtain it for $12.50.  Couldn't pass up that deal!

Many thanks to John R. of the New York Central Train Layout blog for alerting me about this sale and also for much of the information that follows.   John is an excellent researcher and provided me with prototype information about Penn Central’s large U Boats.

The new loco is Athearn’s U28C numbered 6533.  Here is the pristine shell in the box after I removed it from the chassis to do some work on it.   

Since I already have one of these units numbered as 6533 (I've had it for many years as noted in a previous post) I decided to renumber the new one as 6538.  At first I thought it would be a simple matter of replacing the last 3 with an 8, but checking my Microscale PC locomotive decal sheets I quickly observed that the Athearn  numbering did not match their style.  

I decided to completely remove the stock numbers and replace all four digits for 6538 using the decal sheet.   Applying 91% alcohol with a Q-tip, I swabbed the old numbers and then followed up by carefully rubbing them off with a pencil eraser.   It took about five minutes work on each side of the loco.  I washed the shell thoroughly with mild soap and water and let it dry for a day before decaling.

 

When I informed John that I had renumbered the locomotive as #6538 he provided some surprising information.    He told me that,  “Certain General Electric units ( 6528-6531) in the U28C series were upgraded from 2,800 hp to 3,000 hp. Five units numbered from 6535-6539 were delivered new to the PRR in 1967 and designated as U30Cs. The bodies of the U28C and U30C are basically identical and best identified by their numbers."

Turns out that my decision to renumber #6533 to become #6538 changed the designation of the locomotive from a U28C to a U30C and upgraded the unit 200 horse power!   I thought that was great!

Once the new numbers were thoroughly dry I installed the handrails.  I find this to be a tedious job and realize why I appreciate F units so much!   It’s been years  since I’ve installed handrails on an Athearn unit…and it occurs to me I didn’t wear bifocals then!   Once that was finally done,  I weathered the units with artist chalks and acrylic paints

   

Here is U30C #6538 fully assembled with yellow safety handrails and weathered.

I like to add printed number boards made with Microsoft Word.    The U’s spot horn hook couplers in this pic but I converted them to Kaydees after this was taken.

        The new unit meets its cousins, U28C #6533 and U38C #6554

6538 and 6533 take it to the road! (Headlights photo shopped)

  

Some more information from John that will be useful for the locomotive card I'll make for the new unit.

GE U30C  3,000 HP  C-C axles

Weight: 395,000 lbs,   Tractive Effort: Maximum 98,875 / Continuous: 85,000

Gear Ratio: 74:18,       Speed: Maximum 70 mph, Continuous 10.2 mph

Coupled Length: 67'3", Fuel Capacity: 4,000 gals, Engine: FDL16

Maintenance Base: Selkirk

The Penn Central boasted some big power and now I'm pleased to have added another large six axle unit to my roster.   I'll be running 6538 at the head end of thru-trains on the Kings Port Division and also include it in power runs back to Selkirk.