Of these, relevant to this review, the first group of the Southern units was considered Phase Ib models, while the second group was Phase IIb variants. First, regarding the cab, per Union


some 29 different North American rail- roads by the end of production in 1963, as compared to the 478 GE U25Bs and 27 Alco RS-27s produced. Both the company’s reliability record, in regard to its proven 567 prime mover, and the marketing department’s ploy had cer- tainly paid off, with the GP30 holding the field for EMD until its true 2,500- hp GP35 arrived on the scene in 1963. Like many other railroads of the era, Southern Railway sided with reliability, passed on both the U25B and RS-27 and went wholeheartedly with the GP30. The railroad purchased 120 cab units — coming in second only to UP’s ros- ter of 152, which included 40 cabless booster units built exclusively for “Un- cle Pete.” EMD delivered the Southern GP30s in two groups: numbers 2525– 2584 between August and November 1962 and numbers 2585–2644 from September through November 1963. In contrast to the bulk of the units built, Southern’s GP30s, as well as Norfolk & Western’s 44 GP30s, arrived with a high short hood. Unlike most diesels on the Southern roster of that era, the short hood was deemed forward rather than the long hood. Why Southern requested a high short hood has never been clear to me, but there are several theories out


92 RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN


there, including: the road’s belief the ar- rangement offered better safety for the crew in case of a collision; additional space for equipment or later upgrade, such as a steam generator; or simply due to aesthetics — Southern management just liked the look. Whatever the reason might have been, EMD did make one noticeable adjustment to its high short hood design, as compared to low short hood units, in that the cowling atop the cab was moved back about 12 inches. As with most diesel prototypes, pro- duction phases play an important role in accurately rendering any road-spe- cific GP30, and a brief discussion is in order. While the major demarcation in production alterations surrounds the cab, many minor changes occurred to the rest of the GP30 carbody. As a re- sult, diesel-electric aficionados have de- lineated up to nine different sub-phases with some additional slight variations in the designations existing between in- dividual interpretations. As such, for this review, I have used the Phases as described by noted railfan Robert Sar- berenyi in his GP30 roster, found at www.trainweb.org/jaydeet/gp30.htm.


Pacific’s request for a third crew seat early in 1962, EMD moved the rear wall back on the fireman’s or left side of the cab by 10 inches to accommodate the additional crewmember. The builder later made the larger cab a standard feature beginning in November 1962, the Phase Ib, while still maintaining the older two-piece panel below the inertial air intake (located directly behind the left side of the cab). A single cover plate replaced the latter detail before the end of November 1962. In addition, the ear- ly Southern units had square sandbox filler hatches located on the hood ends. In contrast, the second group of Southern GP30s was Phase IIb mod- els, to which RMC’s sample road num- ber 2603 and the other three road numbers being offered (2611, 2613, and 2614) belonged. EMD Phase II production commenced in June 1963 and displayed the previous Phase up- grades. However, these units had a re- designed inertial air intake grille featur- ing two vertical stiffeners rather than the single horizontal brace as shown on all as-delivered Phase I examples. The later Southern GP30s also arrived with round sandbox filler hatches lo- cated on the top ends of their hoods. Keeping these Phase variations in mind, the Walthers rendering boasts an abundant amount of detail, including its usual heaping helping of separate- ly applied parts: wire handholds; see- through cooling fan grilles with freely rotating fan blades beneath; scale width handrail formed from durable engineer- ing plastic; hand-painted crew figures seated in the cab; multiple-unit cables and trainline air hoses on the footboard pilots; end platform drop steps; and well-detailed Blomberg trucks, just to name a few. For a Southern unit, the model manufacturer has correctly out- fitted RMC’s high short hood sample with a bell and its associated bracket mounted on the end of the short hood. A firecracker-style antenna appears on the roof, and round sand filler hatches are visible on top of the hood ends. The proper Nathan M5-R24 air horn sits


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