HO AC4400CW with DCC & Sound Southern Pacific #239

Introduction

Introduced by GE in 1993 and built until 2004, when it was replaced by the Evolution Series Tier II compliant model, the AC4400CW is a staple of modern railroading. 2,834 examples were built with many still plying the rails in their as delivered configurations or as rebuilt variations. Many Class 1, regional, and foreign railroads purchased the AC4400CWs. Ownership spanned the North American Continent and with their long lives, have seen numerous paint scheme variations and ownership changes through the years. The AC4400CW went through many changes during its production. Some are easily noticeable; early units being delivered with GEs Hi-Adhesion Trucks, while later units that had the option for newly developed GE Steerable Truck. Other details are smaller and takes a careful eye to see; the addition of a door stop, how the step wells are reinforced, or the number and positioning of panels and doors.

Athearn has captured all these details thorough research and precision tooling to reproduce dozens of variations. The newly tooled Genesis AC4400CW takes its reign as the new flagship model for Athearn.

SP FEATURES:

• Nathan P-3 Horn
• High number boards
• Early body features
• Unevenly spaced rear grab irons
• Central air intake in forward position
• Early no-notch bolted on fuel tank
• Extended radiator hatch on engineers side
• Prime Air Dryer
• Vertical handrail behind invertor cabinet
• GE Hi-Adhesion trucks
• Modified outside struts on opposite sides of trucks
• Alternating flash front ditch lights (Effect in DCC)

Built between April and Nov of 1995, SP placed an order for 279 AC4400CWs from General Electric. Not only was this SPs first dive into AC technology but was their largest single locomotive order (and last) in history. GE set up a maintenance shop in Denver CO to support these units. They featured Harris Locotrol II equipment for use in DPU service; although they were used for dedicated power on Colorado coal trains, they could also be found roaming the system wherever they were needed

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

#239

• Unique spare knuckle box on rear pilot

AC4400CW SERIES LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:

• Fully-assembled and ready-to-run
• DCC-ready features Quick Plug plug-and-play technology with 21-pin NEM connector
• Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more
• Accurately painted and printed paint schemes
• LED lighting adjusted to lifelike settings.
• Illuminated number boards
• Illuminated ground lights above front trucks
• Illuminated front and rear walkway lights
• Illuminated marker lights (where applicable)
• Etched, see-through walkway steps
• Animated roller bearing caps
• Coupler cut levers
• Flexible rubber MU hoses for durability
• Flexible rubber trainline hose
• See-through cab windows
• Full cab interior
• Walkway tread
• Fine-scale Celcon handrails for scale appearance
• Windshield wipers
• Lift rings
• Wire grab irons
• Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, & breather pipes
• Sander lines
• Brass horns correct to the prototype
• McHenry scale knuckle couplers – Kadee compatible
• Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain
• All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth & quiet operation
• All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow
• Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track
• Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power
• Packaging securely holds model for safe storage

PRIMED FOR GRIME MODELS FEATURE

• Duplicated look and feel of In Service equipment
• Faded base colors matched to the prototype
• Perfect starting point for adding grime and rust

SOUND-EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE

• Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound
• Dual cube speakers for optimal sound quality
• Sound units operate in both DC and DCC
• Full DCC functions available when operated in DCC mode
• Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC
• All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode
• Precision slow speed control