Rapido HO 19520 F59PH, Metrolink #860

DCC/SOUND EQUIPPED MODEL
Ribbon scheme

In the mid eighties, GO Transit was looking to replace its aging locomotive fleet with a specially designed locomotive that could meet the growing demands for service across the Greater Toronto Area. The locomotive needed to be able to quickly accelerate while pulling up to 10 of the new Hawker-Siddeley/UTDC BiLevel coaches, and to save on fuel, power them with a separate HEP generator.

In close consultation with GO Transit, GMD developed the F59PH. Equipped with a turbocharged 12-cylinder two-stroke diesel prime mover (12-710G3A), a full-width North American comfort cab, with HEP provided by a smaller 600hp GM 8-cylinder diesel.

In 1988, GMD delivered the first sixteen F59PH units to GO Transit. They were numbered 520 to 535 and given a class designation of GCE-430g. Over the next 6 years, GMD delivered an additional 33 units to GO Transit, with some improvements, including a larger fuel tank and different rear grille arrangement. In 1994, the final four units were delivered to GO, but were very quickly sold to Dallas' Trinity Railway Express by the cash-strapped Ontario government. Other surplus locomotives were leased to West Coast Express in British Columbia and Metrolink in California.

Features:
Scaled from field measurements and diagrams of a GO F59PH
End metal handrails with plastic stanchions
Incredible underframe details including traction motor cables and other piping, and a ridiculous number of separately applied parts
All-metal etched grilles
Full cab interior
Heavy, die-cast chassis with Rapido's NEW coreless motor with dual flywheels and silky-smooth drive
Operating headlights, rear light, and ditch lights
GO units feature functioning tri-color class lights (white, green and red)
American units feature functioning red marker lights
Accurate sounds recorded from a GM 12-710G3A
DCC/Sound units come equipped with an ESU LokSound decoder