May have a one of a kind GP20

[Anonymous]

I do not know much about model railroading. I have recently come into possession of a GP20 that I think may be valuable. In doing some research, I have found that companies that make train products may run 1000 or 5000, or whatever amount of a certain model. I don't know if the first train that comes off the assembly line is more valuable then the last. This loco was before the first loco came out of the factory. It is a loco that was sent to the research and development department of a major train maker, and is in the original package it was received in. (nothing fancy about the package). This item also bears the marking "Approved" in writing, and the date it was approved in writing on the side of the packaging. This loco has never been run on a track. I wanted to know if it was something special, or not even of any value since it was not included in the amount of locos made during this product run of whatever the amount of locos were made. If the later is the case, then I will take it out of the box and add it to my train set this christmas. If it is of some value I may want to have it incased in plastic. -LuckyFind

[Anonymous]

If what you have is a genuine pre-production model then it is probably worth a substantial sum. Best advice I can give would be to store it safely for the time being - I'd suggest an airtight box and silica gel baggies (the things you get inside any electrical appliance box that keep the contents dry) to keep the original wrappings in good shape. Hope this is of help!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your input. Life-Like purged old inventory when they closed their Baltimore facility. This item was tossed out. It has hand written approved and dated in december 12/04, by one of the Research and Development guys. This was the final approval needed before it went into production. It was inspected, dated, and put on a shelf. Here is a link if you want to check it out. I will get a picture of the writing on the end of the styrofoam up in a day or two. I didn't think to take a picture of someones scribbling on the side of the foam. Here is the link http://www.tommydweb.com/gp20.jpg

[Anonymous]

Let me clarify...This is a production sample. The parts to this item may have been created, but they were not given the o.k. to be assembled and shipped until the paint scheme was approved. This was the final production sample received before the locos were assembled and shipped.

[Anonymous]

Would it improve the value of this Loco if I was to get the guy that approved it to sign the styrofoam container?