Athearn Genesis 31651 - HO G2 AC4400CW w/DCC & Sound, CSX #17

CSX FEATURES:

• Front ditch lights
• Prime air dryer
• Low number boards
• Equipped with a CSX standard ‘tow-chain’

CSX purchased more AC4400CWs than any other railroad, spanning almost the entire production period. This includes three of the first six produced which have distinctive spotting features compared to all other units. A lightning bolt graphic was applied under the road number making these easy to identify as AC traction motors. Unique to CSX, all these units are equipped with hooks to carry a length of chain under the walkway.

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

#1

• Named Spirit of West Virginia
• One of the original six AC4400CWs built
• Re-trucked and renumbered from the originally delivered 9100 series
• Holden K5H Horn
• early body with central air intake forwards
• unique angled grab irons on top of the nose
• radiator grills on right side are evenly sized (a feature that didn’t last with later models)
• unevenly spaced rear grab irons
• vertical handrail behind invertor cabinet
• extended range dynamic brakes
• early no-notch fuel tank
• bolted on fuel tank
• PTC antenna array
• GE Steerable trucks.

#17

• K5LAR24 horn
• PTC antenna array
• early body features
• central air intake in forward position
• early no-notch fuel tank
• bolted on fuel tank
• unevenly spaced rear grab irons
• vertical handrail behind inverter cabinet
• lipped Exhaust tub
• extended dynamic brakes
• GE Hi-Adhesion trucks
• struts on all 4 corners of each truck
• delivered with inside struts but modified to outside braced struts. This model represents the later modified version.

#420

• K5LAR24 horn
• late body features
• central air intake moved rearward
• late fuel tank with notch
• fuel tank welded to frame
• evenly spaced rear grab iron
• handrail behind invertor cabinet jogged for capacitor box
• two handrails above inverter cabinet
• late antenna package
• GE steerable trucks.

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 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

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

PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION

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.