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GE U25-C Diesel
Burlington
No. 5056 -1965 Release
No. 5054-D
No. 5054-04
GE U25-C Diesel
Louisville & Nashville
No. 5054-G -1973 Release
No. 5054-G & GD -Powered & Dummy
No.
5054-07
GE U25-C Diesel
Northern Pacific
No. 5055 - 1965 Release
No. 5054-C
No. 5054-C & CD -Powered & Dummy
No. 5054-03
GE U25-C Diesel
Pennsylvania
No. 5054 -1965 Release
No. 5054-B
No. 5054-02
GE U25-C Diesel
Santa Fe
No. 5054-E
No. 5054-05
Of all the roadnames offered by AHM on its U25C, the Santa Fe example is the
one absolutely non-prototype. Decorated in passenger red and silver and carrying ATSF roadnumber 350, this c-truck boat
appears to have taken its looks from the GE U28CG. Santa Fe bought ten and owned the only U28CG diesels built in 1966.
These Santa Fe U28CG's originally wored the red and silver dress and were numbered in the 350-series, as is found on the AHM
U25C.
GE U25-C Diesel
Seaboard Coast Line
No. 5054-F -1973 Release
No. 5054-F & FD -Powered & Dummy
No. 5054-06
GE U-25C Diesel
Simulated
Gold
No. 5058-$26.98
This C-truck General Electric U-Boat was introduced in the
1965 with three roadnames (Pennsy, Northern Pacific, and CB&Q). Built by Rivarossi for AHM, the U25-C originally sold
for $16.95 for the Powered version.
You'll find a review of the original AHM U25-C in the June
1966 issue of Model Railroader. The review is positive of the model and notes its scale speed range was 6 mph to 170
mph. The review does point out the weakness of the thick metal stamped handrails and knocks the deep flanges.
The 1977 retail for the U25-C was $39.98. AHM also
offered a set with a powered and non-powered example in the '70s that retailed for $49.96.
By the 1980 AHM Catalog,
the U25-C is gone. Rivarossi did offer this model again in the '80s under their own name. To my knowledge, the Rivarossi
offering did not include any roadnames that were different from those produced for AHM.
The original buyers of the General Electric U25C
included: Atlantic Coast Line; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad; Louisville & Nashville;
Northern Pacific; Oro Dam Project; and the Pennsylvania Railroad. GE built 113 examples of the U25C between September 1963
and December 1965.
The single lens nose headlight makes this U25C's shell correct in general for the Northern Pacific.
The Louisville & Nashville; LS&I; Pennsylvania and Oro Dam U25C diesels had no nose headlight. The ACL and CB&Q U25C diesels
had a two lens headlight on their noses.
General Electric's production of U25C diesels included three phases, according to a review of
this model in the January/February 1993 edition of Diesel Era magazine. The AHM model includes the larger fuel tank,
which was not part of the Phase I features. The louvers located behind the cab on the long hood appear to put the shell in
Phase II territory. Owners of the Phase II body, included ACL, Oro Dam, LS&I, and NP. Given the already noted Northern Pacific
style single lens nose headlight, the Rivarossi-made shell represents the NP Phase II U25C example. The Northern Pacific
purchased two groups of U25C's from GE. The first set, numbered 2500-2514 were Phase II bodies. These NP U25C's would survive
into the Burlington Northern in the 1970s. The Phase III U25C is noted as the most common by Diesel Era magazine.
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