Bachmann - 51-0612-G4 - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD GP50 - Erie Lackawanna - 8458

Specific Item Information: Non prototypical model. EL ceased to exist in 1976, whereas GP50 was released in 1980. Besides high-hood versions were only delivered to Southern.

Model Information: This is a 1980's vintage model and mechanism from Bachmann. It is a split frame design but has no lightboard at all. It uses an open-sided, skew-wound 3-pole motor It runs OK and has pickup from all 8 wheels but is a little noisy.
Except for the Southern model, the high-hood versions are non-prototypical.

First run released in 1987 (stock number 51-0612-xx).
Second run released a few years later in the 1990's (stock number 612xx). The gearing was changed from white plastic to black plastic.
It has been re-released again in the 2000's with knuckle couplers (same stock numbers as the second run).

DCC Information: DCC installation for this model is difficult.

Prototype History: An EMD GP50 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD). It is powered by a 16-cylinder EMD 645F3B diesel engine, which can produce between 3,500 and 3,600 hp (2,610 and 2,685 kW). 278 examples of this locomotive were built by EMD between 1980 and 1985. BN 3110-3162 were all delivered with five cab seats, the final five of these having the cab lengthened 23 in (584 mm) vs. the standard EMD cab. The GP50 retains the same overall length of 59 feet 2 inches (18.03 meters) as the EMD GP38, EMD GP38-2, EMD GP39, EMD GP39-2, EMD GP40 and EMD GP40-2.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: The Erie Lackawanna Railway (reporting mark EL), known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route".

Like many railroads in the northeast already financially vulnerable from the expanding U.S. Interstate Highway System, the line was severely weakened fiscally by the extent, duration and record flood levels due to Hurricane Agnes in 1972. It would never recover, and most of the corporation's holdings were subsumed into the federal rescue purchases creating Conrail in 1976, ending its days as an operating railroad company.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, who model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann's brand is the largest seller, in terms of volume, of model trains in the world. Bachmann primarily specializes in entry level train sets, and premium offerings in many scales. The Spectrum line is the high quality, model railroad product line, offered in N, HO, Large Scale, On30, and Williams O gauge all aimed for the hobbyist market. Bachmann is the producer of the famous railroad village product line known as "Plasticville." The turnover for Bachmann model trains for the year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $46.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005.