Introduced: circa 2005
Del Prado (Spain) released this line of "for static display" dummy locomotives sometime around 2005. There were 100 models in the series (mostly non-US prototypes). Depending on the country in which they were sold, each came with either an informational magazine or a basic info card.
I picked up one of the FP45 models from a guy in England (via eBay) for a grand total of $14.81. And I have to say, the shell detailing is fine, the paint is crisp, and I don't see anything so horribly wrong with it that it couldn't be used for some sort of custom re-power project. The Rio Grande Krauss-Maffei's seem to be particularly popular with American modelers; what with the Del Prado version being a relatively decent rendition of that unique and popular prototype (and one unlikely to ever be produced ready-to-run). Kato's SD40-2 chassis is purportedly a decent fit for the shell.
There are the USA-prototype models that I know of -
- EMD F45
- EMD FP45
- EMD P42 Genesis
- PRR GG1
- PRR 4-6-2 K4
- Rio Grande ML4000 (pictured above)
- EMD GP20
- EMD FP7
- Milwaukee Road EF-2 Bi-polar
- 4-4-0 ("The General")
Grade: None