GE - C30-7 and the C30-7A

[railbuilderdhd]

First, I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this post as I do not know all the differences between the GE models - yet! I did see another post here for C30-7 so I figured it was the place. Let me know if I"m all messed up here.
Can someone please let me know what is the difference is between the C30-7 and the C30-7A as I just purchased a C30-7 model from Blueline BLI and wanted to know if I can be looking at the C30-7A as an alternate to model this loco as well.

Thanks,
Dave

[stillbre]

Dave,
The "A" on the end of any GE means that it has a "A"lternate prime mover set up from normal. I this case, the C30-7A has a 12-cylinder prime mover as opposed to the normal 16-cylinder 7FDL. As a result, the C30-7A is only going to have 6 engine room doors per side where the C30-7 has 8 per side. I'm not sure which sets should be removed since I've never really studied them.

[railbuilderdhd]

Josh,
Thanks that is good to know as I may be able to model the A version if the insides fix and I have a reason.
Dave

[tmurray]

Just noticed this thread..

The A has many external differences from a stock C30-7. The long hood end, the roof hatches, the battery box doors, the nose, stack and yes, the engine room doors. A B23-7 shell from Atlas can provide the correct engine room doors, but the tooling is newer and not the same as their old C30-7 so you can see the difference..

I've been trying to note all the differences and make a "close enough" replica, but am having better success with a C36-7 stand in for Conrail. Once my new basement is in some kind of order, I can post pictures.

-Tom

[railbuilderdhd]

Tom - I'm working with the BLI Blueline loco for this and that's what lead me to the question to start with. I would like to see your photos when you get a chance.
Dave

[carlmarsico]

Somewhat of a late reply....

Has anyone attempted a C30-7A yet? Like the original poster, I also have a BLI (Buyers Lament Imports) C30-7 that's begging to be kitbashed out of its misery, and I figure the RPP B23-7 (which is a later phase than Atlas B23-7) would be a good donor for the long hood from the engine room doors back, and also for the later style battery boxes. The long hood ahead of the engine room would obviously require some modifications, but I haven't had a chance to figure out how those would be done without any "Cannon-style" parts on the market to make our lives easier.

Here's some drawings for the sake of comparison:
C30-7 (long hood ahead of engine room doors is the same between phases, IIRC): <http://trainiax.net/drawings/ge/ge-c30-7-bn-ph1-a.gif>

C30-7A: <http://trainiax.net/drawings/ge/ge-c30-7a.gif>

CJM