I bought a Bachmann Spectrum Series GP-30 a few years ago from ebay. I don't think I spent more that $15.
It was a B&O like the one above, ran decently and as I built my current layout, was my try-this-out workhorse while I laid track and roadbed. The first problem to tackle was the conversion from analog to DCC, and this beast would be my first exploration into conversions. Not a whole lot of fun, pretty tight inside and I had to develop methods to tap into the motor leads, chasis halves, and the light bulbs (the Spectrum series is not DCC-ready in any respect). However much I swore and carried on, the end product was a success married to my second-hand MRC Prodigy I system (which I continue to run to this day on my layout). I always intended to repaint and decal this locomotive, but never could quite decide which railroad would be represented. In looking at the GP-30's on Conrail's Day One roster, I quickly determined that it would either be a Reading, a Penn Central, or Conrail in blue - Conrail boasted almost 80 of these second generation diesels on their transition roster. While Conrail did eventually paint quite a few blue, that didn't happen overnight. I am currently modeling the summer of 1976 on my layout - and a lot of that has to do with the variety of locomotives and rolling stock you could see on a Conrail consist - the rainbow years fascinated me. I also liked the look of the GP-30. The big brow on the front and the profile from front to back wasn't like any other EMD loco. I like different - Alcos are my favorites, especially the Century Series.
I ended up buying another GP-30 that was already in Reading paint, so the choice was easy.... Penn Central it would become. So, I started looking at old photos and digging into Penn Central paint schemes. A lot of people will probably laugh - the Penn Central really only had one scheme for their locos - black with white lettering! But, I discovered that a couple of the GP-30's actually got the Red P logo (the PC tried to incorporate some of the New York Central colors by adding the red P's, and some locos actually got orange C's when the New Haven came under the PC umbrella), and 2232 was one of those stick-out-like-a-sore-thumb red ones. I bought a sheet of decals, some grimy black paint, an airbrush and an air compressor and laid waste to the B&O.
Sometimes a first stab at something isn't quite good enough. I learned a lot - about airbrushes, mixing paint, applying decals, dealing with number boards. The result was OK, but as the years went by, my GP-30 spent more time over my desk on the programming track than running in a consist.
And there it is in 2015 rolling over the bridge just below White Haven with the then newly acquired Pennsy C424 running behind. 2415 looks a lot different now itself - I've had some time to get better at the art of weathering. 2415 was running in front of a consist last weekend when I decided to see how the good-ole GP30 performed and I stuck her in the lead position. Happily, she ran great, but just looked out of place in my lash-up of bankrupt looking Penn Central and CR paintout Alcos. I decided it was time to make her look like the rest of the fleet. The Red P also had to go. Nothing with that logo made it all the way to the PC transition - I need to install the white worm logo instead. Pulled the shell off, removed the old decals, fixed a number board and then attempted to dirty the old girl up.....
Now that's more like it! Beaten, abused, bankrupt. Most of the weathering was done with Pan Pastels applied with some makeup brushes and a liberal employment of grimy black with an almost dry brush. I have to add the rear herald, but hope to have a picture of this loco pulling a consist in a few days.
As promised, I did get 2232 back together... here's a pic, and it just so happens to be at the same point in my layout where the "red P" picture was taken. It's also once again leading 2415. Quite a transformation for both.
