GP 15

[P5se Camelback]

... the Smoke Valley units are probably the most work and least accurate (though very easy to detail to the point of surpassing the Athearn). For a time, these were the only GP15s out there. ...

Back when those Smokey Valley kits first came out, and I was helping my then-six-year-old daughter detail, paint and decal a Conrail GP38-2, we had used up a 24-exposure roll of film photographing the unit for documentation from which to apply details and decals. I used up another roll on a Conrail GP15-1 found in that same small yard in Lansdale, PA. I bought the Smokey Valley multi-part body, handrail and chassis kits with the idea of having my own locomotive to run on the small layout we were building together for her.

Life happened, there was a job change, a move, etc. She grew up and her time became totally consumed with the repetitious practice of a pitcher in Fast-Pitch Softball. [She became good enough to qualify for the U.S. National Team as a 16 year old ... but that's another story.]

I still have all of the Smokey Valley stuff and with my newly awakened interest in diesels, I'm wondering exactly which parts of the kits are not accurate and need to be replaced to properly represent a Conrail GP15-1. Your expertise in that area would be a huge help prior to unpacking that stuff and preparing for the build.