All About Aurora Postage Stamp Trains
GE U-28 Diesel
Prototype Information
The U28C was developed by General Electric in 1965; a total of 71 units were built for six North American railroads. It was preceded by the U25C, GE's first six-axle road-switcher diesel locomotive.
Model Information
4873 Santa Fe- 4874 Penn Central
- 4875 Louisville & Nashville
- 4876 Northern Pacific
While they were announced in 1969, I believe they reached the market no earlier than 1970; actual product photos appeared for the first time in the ATI service manual. Thus, to my knowledge, they were never released under the Postage Stamp Trains brand, which may explain why a number of train sets were never released as well. American Tortoise ran advertisements such as this:
In the early 1970s, American Tortoise became the sole importer of these locos, which were sold under the Minitrix and Model Power brands. Production continued until the late 1990s, when Trix went bankrupt, and their new owner, Märklin, ended production of all North American models.