Athearn Genesis #ATHG31790 HO AC4400CW Locomotive, with DCC & Sound, KCS #2037

Athearn Genesis #ATHG31790 HO AC4400CW Locomotive, with DCC & Sound, KCS #2037

KCS FEATURES:
As-delivered appearance
Large plow
High mount number boards
Walkway mounted ditch lights
Mid production units
5-chime horn
GE style self-steering trucks
KCS, being a long-time customer of EMD locomotives, turned to GE in late 1999 for 50 AC4400 units. They were factory painted in their then-current grey scheme. By 2006, they were renumbered to the 4575 series. KCS started to repaint them into their “Southern Belle” scheme in 2013.

AC4400CW SERIES LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:
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 lighting above the front truck (per prototype)
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
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
Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn, bell, and lights
Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes
CV chart included in the box
PROTOTYPE AND BACKGROUND INFO:
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 GE’s 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 such as 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.