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U50C Diesel
Pinkerton
City of New Orleans
BN C430
SP SD24
Western Pacific SD24

Brown Box Era HO-Scale Trains
U50C Diesel Prototype

If TYCO's Alco Super 630 wasn't enough muscle for your layout, looks like there may have been plans to add an even grander diesel to the company's roster of offerings. 
 
A General Electric U50C has surfaced in a collection of TYCO prototype pieces.  Decorated for its prototypical owner Union Pacific and numbered 5002, the shell appears to have been created using a pair of Athearn U-boat shells.  Notice the slots cut into the shell to hold the trucks in place.  This apparent work-in-progress effort is missing a front pilot, if one was intended to be included.
 
Typical of TYCO prototypes found, this item includes a handwritten identification on a generic TYCO brown box and a white tag on the bottom of the fuel tank labels the model's type. 
 
Certainly a very curious and interesting find.  Imagine what TYCO might have done with respect to paint jobs on a beast such as this one!
 
The 40 production General Electric U50C's were construted between 1969 and 1971 and served only the Union Pacific.  The U50C is similar in appearance to the earlier U50 built between 1963 and 1965.  The major spotting differences between these two models is the U50 features a total of four B-trucks and has its radiator section at the rear; while the U50C sports a pair of C-trucks and its radiator section is seated in the middle of the long hood.  All U50C's found themselves in the scarpyard by 1978.
 
To date, no plastic examples exist for the U50C in HO-scale.  Con-Cor has included an N-scale U50 in its line over the years.
 
Protoype information was taken from "The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide" by Jerry Pinkepank and from the GE U50C Wikipedia.com page.
Photos and Model from The Bob Beers Collection