Fresno’s Fuckery with Fairly Filtered Fuckheads from the Flagship City - FresnoSubber/Fresno-and-Co.-Trainbuild-Tomfuckery GitHub Wiki
Alright. Think of this as a spiritual (Hi Spiritual Dragon :trollface:) successor to Laz’s Guide to Limaisms but instead with Railpowers. That is what this is.
Now why don’t we start off with the more common ones and work our way down to the RP7BD, which had no examples built.
Prologue: History Lesson!!! (and shit like that).
The world’s shittiest history lesson.
Railpower was formed in 2001 solely to improve railroad motive power to be cleaner yet just as efficient as the locomotives at that time. They figured a good start would be with switchers. That was Railpower’s main gimmick.
Then RJ Corman ate it in 2009.
lol.
oh and RJ Corman thought enough was enough and killed them in 2020.
then in 2025 some weird ass railroad out of California that just so happens to snort Railpower branded cocaine bought it from the East Coast. Wasn’t on my bingo card, wasn’t on anyone’s bingo cards, but i guess it’s back.
Engines & Mechs
So, let’s address the Hybrid Elephant in the room first. The GG20B, GK10B, and GG10B all used the Caterpillar C9 diesel engine to generate electricity for the batteries. The batteries are what is powering the locomotive. These engines produced 300 horsepower.
If you didn’t want to feel the dread of thinking that you committed a sin like 95% of you probably, there’s what the gensets have. Railpower, with the help from Deutz AG, usually equipped their locomotives with Deutz TCD 2015 series V8s. One engine produces 667 horsepower, with 3 of them producing 2001 horsepower.
You could technically throw any small engine in a Railpower as a genset, but if you didn't want a Deutz in your Railpower, they'll likely give you a unit with QSK19s on deck. These were mandatory post-2015, when EPA Tier 4 Emissions Standards came into effect.
Except if you’re talking about the RS23BD. What the fuck were they doing in Erie? Anyways, the RS23BD uses a QSK60… Wait RJ actually made a normal locomotive? What the fuck???
then there’s Sierra 193. what the fuck is this.
All Railpower genset products are diesel-electrics, and all are usually rebuilt from EMD GP9s and GE B-Boats, although, in theory, you could turn ANY hood unit into a genset (although why would you turn an ES44AC into one if I see one I will ask if you are genuinely okay).
Can you tell this was made before Sierra 193 started testing? Because it was.
Electricals
This one is a little weird. I guess Railpower did their own electronics??? I have no clue. One thing that remains the same however is the traction motors, which is why it’s CRITICAL that you do research on the core unit too, and not just what you want from Railpower.
Chapter 1: 4 Axles
RP20BD
By far, Railpower’s most popular diesel product was the RP20BD, with 129 units.
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | Use EMD General Purpose units or the BXX-7 |
| Trucks | The GPs use Blomberg Bs, the B-Boat uses an FB-2 |
| Engine Sounds | Really depends. Railpowers used QSK19s and Deutz TCD2015V08s. We do have a QSK19 soundset so use that, but for the Deutz, you’re best off using the MWM RHS518. |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Traction Motor sounds | Blomberg B equipped units tend to use the D77 traction motor, while the FB-2 use 752s. |
RP18GP
god fucking damnit up. at least it’s a lot more specific than the norm.
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | EMD General Purpose |
| Trucks | Blomberg Bs |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Engine Sounds | Cummins QSK19 (you really couldn’t Tier 4 a Deutz Railpower?) |
| Traction Motor sounds | EMD D77 |
RP14BD
a lie. there's only 1334 horsepower.
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | EMD General Purpose or SW1500 |
| Trucks | Blomberg B, maybe Flexicoil B |
| Engine Sounds | Really depends. Railpowers used QSK19s and Deutz TCD2015V08s. We do have a QSK19 soundset so use that, but for the Deutz, you’re best off using the MWM RHS518. |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Traction Motor sounds | EMD D77 |
RP7BD
why in the ever-loving fuck would you make this
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | EMD General Purpose or SW1500 |
| Trucks | Blomberg B, maybe Flexicoil B |
| Engine Sounds | Really depends. Railpowers used QSK19s and Deutz TCD2015V08s. We do have a QSK19 soundset so use that, but for the Deutz, you’re best off using the MWM RHS518. |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Traction Motor sounds | EMD D77 |
RS23BD
an rj cormanism is an rj cormanism. the only normal locomotive that Railpower ever fucking made.
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | EMD General Purpose or SW1500 |
| Trucks | Blomberg B, maybe Flexicoil B |
| Engine Sounds | The Cummins QSK95 or the CAT 3512 work. Using anything else is punishable by death. |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Traction Motor sounds | EMD D77 |
Chapter 2: 6 Axles
RP20CD
literally only exists because UP, NS, and CSX complained about not being able to use the 4 axle shits for hump service
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | Use Fox's SD40-2 Frame |
| Trucks | HTC |
| Engine Sounds | Really depends. Railpowers used QSK19s and Deutz TCD2015V08s. We do have a QSK19 soundset so use that, but for the Deutz, you’re best off using the MWM RHS518. |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Traction Motor sounds | EMD D77 |
RP27CD/RP28CD
NRE and Brookville would’ve pissed themselves if Railpower ever sold this behemoth.
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | Use Fox's SD40-2 Frame |
| Trucks | HTC |
| Engine Sounds | Really depends. Railpowers used QSK19s and Deutz TCD2015V08s. We do have a QSK19 soundset so use that, but for the Deutz, you’re best off using the MWM RHS518. |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Traction Motor sounds | EMD D77 |
Chapter 3: Hybrids and Horseshit
Railpower's main goal was to blow up come up with a railroad alternative to diesel. They caught on a bit less than Hybrid Cars but whatever.
GG20B
the only thing that could even be considered close to a success with this hybrid tomfuckery.
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | Use EMD General Purpose units or the BXX-7 |
| Trucks | The GPs use Blomberg Bs, the B-Boat uses an FB-2 |
| Engine Sounds | Don't use an engine sound. Use Mag's HEP Soundulator and slap in a KTA-19 or a 4BT into that sucker. The C9 was used purely as a generator for the batteries. |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern is the usual choice for Railpower products. |
| Traction Motor sounds | Blomberg B equipped units tend to use the D77 traction motor, while the FB-2 use 752s. |
GG10B
confused unga bunga
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | EMD General Purpose or SW |
| Trucks | Blomberg B, maybe Flexicoil B too |
| Engine Sounds | Don't use an engine sound. Use Mag's HEP Soundulator and slap in a KTA-19 or a 4BT into that sucker. The C9 was used purely as a generator for the batteries. |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Traction Motor sounds | D77 |
GK10B
my name’s not shane kid.
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | EMD SW series |
| Trucks | AAR Type A or Flexicoil B |
| Engine Sounds | Don't use an engine sound. Use Mag's HEP Soundulator and slap in a KTA-19 or a 4BT into that sucker. The C9 was used purely as a generator for the batteries. |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Traction Motor sounds | D77 |
Sierra Northern 193 (No designation yet)
demon.
| Component | Equivalent Model |
|---|---|
| Base | Use the BXX-7 |
| Trucks | FB-2 |
| Engine Sounds | Dude I don’t fucking know, fan sounds???? |
| Control Stand | EMD Modern |
| Traction Motor sounds | 752 |