According to an article in the September/October 2009 Diesel Era magazine, the original owners of General Electric's U28B included: CB&Q; GN; L&N; Milwaukee; New York Central; N&W; P≤ Rock Island; and SP.

The ad presented is a December 1970 Athearn teaser for its coming group of U-boats to HO-scale. The nose light package found on the Athearn U28B shell favors the appearance of the CB&Q and L&N prototypes. Southern Pacific's U28B's included a similar nose light, but the SP locos were early Phase I models with a bodystyle similar to that of the U25B. The four U28B diesels rostered by the Southern Pacific were originally GE Demonstrators. The roadnumber is accurate for a Norfolk & Western U28B and the Pelver Blue is in the ballpark, however the N&W bought high-nose examples of this GE U-boat. N&W rostered 30 U28B's, making them the second largest fleet, behind only Rock Island's 42 unit collection of U28B's. Athearn's BN U28B carried roadnumber 5450, which was the first in the series of Burlington Northern's U28Bs from the CB&Q roster. The BN 5450 was CB&Q 106. The Burlington purchased 20 examples of GE's U28B. The BN would inhert that group, plus six Great Northern U28Bs. The Western Pacific owned U30-B diesels, but Athearn produced a U28-B for the WP.