Going on 50 year old memories, I recall a fellow club menber that owned a GP20. Now he was a big fan of Hobbytown and had a set of RS3's that would pull the wall down. I was under the impression the GP20 was also metal, but I can find no mention of either Cary or Hobbytown making such a model. Is this a symptom of advancing age...
I did find a Hobbytown of Boston Universal type geep chassis that would fit the plastic shells of the day.
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ho-vintage-hobbytown-universal-geep-151737526
I haven't found anything about a Hobbytown of Boston metal shell, as of yet.
In my search, I also seen mentioned KMT models.
Mike.
My You Tube
Mike,
I have everything packed away now but I have two RS-3s from Hobbytown with metal shells. They showed up with a batch of stuff from a flea market and that is all I remember at this point. They do have a nice heft to them. Not sure if that helps. J.R.
I would inject the possibility that an older-Geep shell in metal might have been used on the Hobbytown chassis described, and bashed sufficiently to represent a GP20 (e.g. with a little creative-surgeon rhinoplasty).
I think most of the prevalence of the "GP20" as an HO model is an artifact of Tyco molding the shell (in plastic) rather than any demand for a metal version (as in the RS Hobbytown shell, an older and more pervasive prototype than the GP20 (or 24) would have represented in its relatively brief era).
Cary marketed a cast metal GP9 for a while. Down in the "too good to toss" box in the basement, I have a Hobbytown GP chassis with a Pittman type motor. If assembled with a Cary shell, the combination would probably weight two pounds.
My Athearn SD40-2 frames with Cary E7 bodies weight 33 ounces with 8 ounces of drawbar each. An AB pair will pull your socks off. I watched eBay for about 4 years for Cary/Hobbytown metal E7 bodies, ended up with four pairs of AB metal bodies. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Hobbytown of Boston did not offer a GP-20 in their line. In addtion to the RS-3, FA-2, PA-1 and E-7s, they also produced a "universal" power chassis usable under the modeler's choice of body shells. The earliest GP-20 models in HO were from Tyco, a plastic toy and, Tenshodo of Japan, in brass by Pacific Fast Mail, in the early 1960s.
Lawrence had a cast metal GP7 in the 1950s and perhaps someone kitbashed it into a GP20 or low nose GP18 with photos in a magazine? Kemtron had a metal GP20 but that was O scale. Gem Models had some etched brass EMD diesels for a while but I do not recall a GP20 being among them.
Dave Nelson
Hobbytown had a power chassis specifically for the GP30 And stated it would work on the GP20 and GP9. Well I never saw an Athearn GP30 to see if it fit but it did fit the Mantua GP20. It was a fixed length frame so it could not be used anywhere else. There was no metal body that was made for that frame.
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Look at the Darth Santa Fe E7 restoration thread. In it now is a 'current' Hobbytown catalog that lists item 67408, a "GP9/20/30 chassis". There is no indication of a body to use with this. Pretty sure that making the Tyco shell into less of a toy locomotive was one of the stated intents.
Hobbytown never made a GP 20 shell . They did and still produce a chassis that will fit GP7,GP9. GP 20 ,GP30 chassis drive kit 67408. It was originally for the Athearn GP7/9 , GP 30 and the Tyco/ Mantua plastic shell. I have also fit this into a couple of the Bowser FM H-16-44 metal shells. I intend to fit it into a couple of Proto GP 18 shells
I have fit this drive into many of the Athearn shells as well as the Tyco GP20 . I have also installed the drive into Proto GP9 shells. I run DC only so there is no concern about fitting decoders or sound all the more room for weight and led headlights.
I have fit the newer universal road switcher chassis kit #77408 into the GP 9 and Proto GP 18 shells as well as Atlas RS11 shells.
It may be that the Tenshodo ? GP 20 brass shell might fit the either drive but that is just a guess on my part.
Hobbytown is still running and producing kits https://hobbytownofboston.com/
Ron High