Spring 2025 Recap - New Products Announcements

After a whirlwind start to the year—traveling through more than a dozen states and three countries across Asia, all in pursuit of trains—it’s a good moment to pause and recognize just how essential each and every one of you is to what we do.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of spending an incredible weekend at the Midwest O Scale Meet in Chicago. It was a great time reconnecting with longtime friends, meeting new faces in the hobby, and sharing some exciting announcements. Among the highlights: new O Scale projects on the horizon and a major update for HO Scale fans—we now have finalized CAD for the Harriman/IC Sub Project!

The momentum didn’t stop there. I also made it back to my home club in San Leandro, CA, for the San Leandro Historical Railway Society’s spring train show. It was great to be back on familiar ground, surrounded by fellow enthusiasts and plenty of inspiration. While in the area, I also toured an absolutely stunning custom 2-Rail O Scale layout built by the team at Images of the Past. If you haven’t seen their work, I highly recommend checking them out: https://imagesrr.com.

I’ll be sharing photos and videos from both weekends on my Instagram and Facebook over the coming weeks, so if you’re not already following, now’s a great time to hop on board!

Click on the photos below for more details on each project.

First up—and in response to many passionate requests—we’re thrilled to officially announce the Golden Gate Depot O Scale Union Pacific Heritage Fleet!

This set will showcase a wide range of modern-day heritage passenger equipment, including power cars, domes, and more—all modeled with a new level of prototypical accuracy we’re excited to establish as the new standard for our offerings. The core release will be a numbered set, with optional add-ons like baggage cars, business cars, additional power units, and dome coaches to expand your consist.

To complement the Heritage Fleet, we’re also excited to announce a prototypical set of Union Pacific Modern Auxiliary Water Tenders—available for the first time in both 2-Rail and 3-Rail O Scale.

These auxiliary fuel and water tenders will be crafted in high-quality ABS plastic with fine brass detailing, delivering a level of realism that rivals the well-known HO offerings from ScaleTrains. Built to true prototype standards, these tenders are the perfect match for your modern-day UP excursion consists.

The Encore run of the 3rd Rail EMD E8/E9s has officially arrived!

Leading the charge are the iconic Union Pacific Heritage (Executive) units—#949, #951, and #963B—joined by models from over a dozen other roadnames. Each locomotive is meticulously detailed to reflect the unique characteristics of its prototype, combining precision craftsmanship with smooth, prototypical performance.

Highlights include:

• ABS bodies with roadname-specific detailing

• Fixed pilots and fully detailed cab interiors

• Large Canon motor with horizontal drive for smooth starts and realistic operation

• Powerful metal drive system

Sound Options:

• 3-Rail: ERR Cruise, E8 Railsounds, and smoke units

• 2-Rail: ESU DC/DCC with full sound package

As always, these are built to reservation only, so don’t miss your chance to secure yours.

Our final big GGD O Scale announcement this quarter: The Southern Pacific Lark is coming back for a re-run!

This release will include two distinct sets—one Eastbound and one Westbound—each with unique road numbers. Buyers will also have the option to choose between Southern Pacific and Southern Pacific Lines liveries for added authenticity and customization.

Like our other premium releases, the Lark will be offered as a numbered set, with additional cars—including 10-5 sleepers, 4-4-2s, and 13BD sleepers—available separately, all with different road numbers to help you build out a full and varied consist.

HO Scale News

Next up, we’re thrilled to share that the Harriman 2.0 Project is in the final stages of design and the beginning stages of production!

We’re excited to announce that CAD is now available to view, giving you a closer look at the details. Please note that reservations will close on June 15, 2025, to ensure we meet our promised Winter 2025 delivery. These models will be built to order, so there will be no extras available once the reservation period ends.

Golden Gate Depot HO Scale 1949 Southern Pacific Shasta Daylight

For the first time ever, Golden Gate Depot will be producing a 1949 Southern Pacific Shasta Daylight in Ready-to-Run, precision-detailed HO Scale aluminum.

Yes, you read that correctly—aluminum body with all the intricate detailing of a brass passenger car. After years of refining our aluminum techniques in O Scale, we’re proud to announce we’ve cracked the code for HO!

Key features include:

• Ball bearing trucks for smooth, quiet operation

• Surface-mounted LEDs for realistic lighting

• Complete, detailed interiors for maximum realism

• And more!

You saw how smoothly our first run of Harriman coaches rolled, and we’re bringing that same level of precision to these Shasta Daylight cars. They’ll glide just as effortlessly.

I've already seen the prototypes for the slumber coaches—while they’re impressive, the factory is currently working on a 48-seat Shasta Chair car to showcase what we’re capable of. Trust me, you’re going to be amazed.

To kick off this new aluminum series, we’re starting with the Shasta Daylight, but stay tuned for other iconic name trains from a variety of roads in the future!

Train #9 & #10 will be offered in 9-car sets, with properly numbered 48-seat chair cars available as add-ons (5 available per direction). Don’t miss out on this milestone release!

GGD HO Scale Southern Pacific 70' Head End Equipment

This project is going to be just as exciting as the Harriman 2.0 one, we are offering 5 different cars with multiple liveries and an expected delivery of Spring 26' if reservations can be met in the next few months. Design is starting in the next few weeks.

GGD HO Scale Amtrak Viewliner II's

Reservations are still being collected on the HO Scale Amtrak Viewliner II project as well. These too have an expected delivery of Spring 26' if numbers can be met soon.

The HO Scale Sunset Models Consolidation project is moving along well too. Unfortunately, we are going to have to cut the D&RGW and Western Pacific offerings.

The Southern Pacific C-11/C-12 and Cotton Belt K Class reservations are filling up and numbers are getting near to where we need them to start design. This project as well, is expected in Spring 26' since reservations are coming in well.

We also have dozens of stunning Coach Yard cars, professionally painted BLCO models, and a variety of brass steam locomotives currently in stock! Click the photo of the Dome Diner to be directed to our current in-stock page and see what’s available.

As always, we truly appreciate your continued support and passion for the hobby. Whether you’re adding to your collection, or just getting started, we’re grateful to have you as part of the Third & Townsend Models family. Stay tuned for even more exciting releases and updates as we continue to bring new and innovative products to the model railroading world. Until next time, keep your tracks running smooth and your collections growing—thank you for being a part of this incredible journey!

Happy modeling,

-Jay