Athearn Genesis 2.0 G31648 HO Scale AC4400CW Chicago NorthWestern “OLS” C&NW 8816 with DCC Sound

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; 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.

An earlier purchaser of the AC4400CW, the units purchased by Chicago & Northwestern were again dressed in the attractive “Lighting Stripe” paint scheme, but now with the addition of an Operation Lifesaver decoration on the long hood. The AC traction paired well with the long heavy coal trains CNW was pulling out of the Powder River Basin. Many of these units lasted well after the UP acquisition of CNW in their original paint or with minor patching. These early versions rode on the first iteration of the Hi-Adhesion trucks with struts on all four corners of each trucks that were both shorter and inboard of the brake cylinders compared to later variations.

FEATURES:

• Holden K5H Horn
• Early body features
• Desk style control stand
• Fuel tank without notch
• Unevenly spaced rear grab irons
• Front ditch lights
• Fuel tank bolted to the frame
• Low number boards
• Extended range dynamic brakes
• Lipped exhaust tub
• As delivered Antenna package
• GE Hi-Adhesion trucks
• Inside struts on all truck sides
• Central air intake in forward position
• 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
• 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

SPECIFICATIONS:

• DCC: Equipped
• SOUND: Tsunami2
• PROTOTYPE MANUFACTURER: GE
• Axles: 6
• LIGHTED: LED Lighting
• Minimum Age Recommendation: 14 years
• Is Assembly Required: No