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In March and April of 1930, the Great Northern Railway received fourteen 4-8-4s from Baldwin and assigned them to the S-2 class, numbering them 2575 through 2588. The S-2s were designed and built to haul passengers on the GN mainline, pulling the Empire Builder and the Oriental Limited. They were assigned to the Montana division for service between Williston, North Dakota and Havre, Montana, and the Spokane division for service between Spokane and Wenatchee, Washington. Most of the S-2's were retired in the late 1950's. Number 2584 still survives and is on display at the Havre, Montana depot.
All fourteen of the S-2's were delivered in the gorgeous Glacier Green paint scheme with standard open cabs. By the late 1950's, all of the locomotives were repainted to the all-black paint scheme. Number 2577 received a vestibule cab in the 1930's and numbers 2582, 2586, 2587, and 2588 received the vestibule cab by the late 1940's. In this production, BLI is offering four models with the open cab and three with the vestibule cab. For the first time, we are offering one model, number 2584, in the black paint scheme with the "Great Northern Railway" logo. All of the models have hand-crafted brass bodies and die cast chassis. All models come equipped with our Paragon4 Sound/DC/DCC sound system with synchronized puffing smoke and integral GoPack capacitors.
Industry-leading Model Features:
ALL-NEW Paragon4 Sound & Control System
Synchronized Puffing Smoke with Chuff Sound
Variable Puffing Smoke Intensity and timing
Separate Whistle Smoke Feature - smoke streams from whistle area when whistle is blown
Integral DCC Decoder with Back EMF for Industry Best Slow Speed Operation in DC and DCC
Precision Drive Mechanism engineered for continuous heavy load towing and smooth slow speed operation
5-Pole Can Motor with Skew Wound Armature
Heavy Die Cast Boiler, Tender Body, and Chassis for Increased Tractive Effort
Premium Caliber Painting with Authentic Paint Scheme
Prototypical Light Operation with Separately Controllable Headlight, Reverse Light, Cab Light
Factory-installed Engineer and Fireman Figures
Prototypically Accurate Details for Each Road Number
Many Separately Applied Details such as Handrails, Ladders, Piping, Cab Glass, Whistle, Brass Bell, Markers, Numberboards, and Many Others
Equipped with Rubber Traction Tires for Increased Pulling Power
Recommended Minimum Radius: 22 inches
Accurate Prototypical Sounds for the GN S-2 Northerns
Broadway Limited Imports is proud to introduce Paragon4: The new benchmark for premium HO sound-equipped locomotives. These DC and DCC-Sound equipped locomotives feature the ALL-NEW Paragon4 sound and control system. Each Paragon4 locomotive comes with BLI's own integral DCC Decoder factory installed. Paragon4 locomotives offer Dual Mode DC and DCC operation with superb back EMF motor control, improved DC motor control, built-in capacitor pack for more reliable electrical pick-up, industry best on-board sound with Rolling Thunder functionality, Pro Lighting Mode for prototypical light control, Switcher model for precise low speed control, recordable DCC operation for automated playback, and the same excellent detail level as Broadway Limited's Paragon3 Series models.
Paragon4 Sound & Control System Features:
Operates in DC & DCC with improved DC speed control (use DCMaster for DC Sound)
Built-In capacitor pack to navigate imperfect track
Capacitor Pack automatically disabled on program track for full compatibility with JMRI Decoder Pro
Pro Lighting Mode offers individual control of all lights on model
Switcher Mode for precise low speed control.
Record & Play Operation - Records and plays back sounds and movements once or repeatedly for automatic operation
High Resolution Audio
Quillable Whistle for various whistle lengths and patterns
Choice of 3 selectable Horns
Alternate Whistle / Horn where applicable for locomotive with air horn and steam whistle - both the main whistle and alternate can be easily played
Adjustable bell ringing interval for faster or slower bell
Numerous user-mappable functions with available keys
Johnson Bar Sound at Direction Change
Multiple realistic passenger and crew sounds play on command
Grade Crossing Automatic Signal
Automatic Forward / Reverse Signal - When activated, stopping triggers and stop whistle toot. When moving forward from a stopped position, toots twice. When moving in reverse. toots three times.
Chuff sound intensity varies with load
Individually adjustable sound volumes for each effect
EZ Reset Button for quick return to factory default settings
**Specifications on this page subject to change.
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Effective October 1, 2025
Factory Direct Hobbies has a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after your item has shipped to request a return.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be in the same condition that you received it and in its original packaging. All manuals, parts, and accessories must be included.
To start a return, visit our Returns Center. If your return is approved, we'll email you instructions on how and where to send your package. Items sent back to us without first requesting a return will not be accepted and will be returned to sender.
This applies to incorrect scale, color, size, or duplicate orders:
Returns of loose track, small components, O scale items, and special-order items incur a 15% restocking fee. Return shipping is deducted whether you choose store credit or a refund.
Please inspect your order upon receipt and contact us immediately if the item is defective, damaged, or if you receive the wrong item, so we can evaluate the issue and make it right.
The fastest way to ensure you get what you want is to return the item you have and place a new order for the replacement on our website. Please note that we cannot process manual exchanges over the phone.
We will notify you once we’ve received and inspected your return, and let you know if the refund was approved.
Orders placed before this date follow the previous return policy.
If you have questions about a return or warranty, please contact our support team and include your order number so we can assist you quickly.
Got this one after I got the black 2584, this one has no issues like the flickering light in the cab like on 2584 and it runs great pulling my ore cars.
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Recently, our suppliers have made a major policy change and are no longer accepting product returns for non-paying end customers. After much consideration, we unfortunately must also change our policies to align with the realities our suppliers have created.
As our preorder offerings have grown, we’ve found that a large percentage of preorder reservations are canceled or left unpaid without notice. We pay our suppliers for every preorder item that arrives at our warehouse, so when a customer does not pay for their item, we are left no choice but to absorb that cost. We have tried our best to cope with the effects of this change; however, after more than a year of trying, we have found we cannot continue to do so.
We understand that this is an unwelcome change, and no one wants to pay earlier than necessary. However, this is unavoidable in order for us to be able to continue to offer the wide variety of preorder options you’re used to getting from Factory Direct Hobbies. We must now ask that customers pay a 10% good-faith down payment toward the price of their item. This non-refundable good-faith payment is applied to the price of the product, and the balance (plus shipping and any applicable taxes) will be invoiced approximately 30-45 days before the item is slated to arrive at our warehouse.
We thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have questions or would like further clarification, feel free to contact us through the gold chat bubble.
The good-faith down payment is not refundable if you choose to cancel your preorder or do not pay your invoice.
However, if a manufacturer cancels a project for which you have made a down payment, you will receive a refund for your down payment.
Yes. We know that paying ahead of time can be unnerving when delivery dates are distant, and not every project makes it to the production line. Rest assured that, in the event the manufacturer cancels your preorder project, you will be refunded your 10% down payment.
Hobbies should be fun, not stressful!
The manufacturing process involves many different moving parts, and this complexity often renders production timelines unpredictable. Therefore, some level of unpredictability in timing is inherent to preordering hobby products. Down payments are not refundable in cases of routine manufacturing, delivery, or other short-term delays.
However, we know it can be frustrating when a project gets delayed for many months. In the event a project is delayed more than 6 months beyond the delivery window originally estimated by the manufacturer, we will handle refunds of down payments on a case-by-case basis.
Friendly Reminder: Should you choose to cancel a preorder, it will no longer be reserved for you; in the event the item becomes available on our website, all customers will have equal access to purchase the item.
Nope! The policy is not retroactive: if you already made a preorder reservation before this policy update, you do not owe a down payment for that reservation. However, any future preorders you make will require the 10% good-faith down payment.
We make every effort to keep our website updated with information that reflects manufacturers' current estimated delivery schedules. To find the estimated delivery month of an item, you can visit our Preorder Section and use the filters to narrow down your selection.
However, we encourage you to directly visit the manufacturer's site for the most current delivery dates.
Approximately 30-45 days before your preorder items land at the warehouse, we'll email your invoice to you to pay in full. At this point, you'll be able to provide your shipping address and select your preferred shipping method.
Your item will be reserved for 7 days, beginning when your invoice is sent. After 7 days, your preorder will be canceled.
Recently, our suppliers have made a major policy change and are no longer accepting product returns for non-paying end customers. We have tried our best to absorb the effects of this change; however, after more than a year of trying, we have found we cannot continue to do so. After much consideration, we unfortunately must also change our policies to align with the realities our suppliers have created.
As a result, we must now ask that customers pay in full prior to the supplier finalizing shipment to FDH, about 30-45 days ahead of product arrival. This gives us the time we need to cancel with our suppliers any unpaid orders prior to shipment.
We understand that this is an unwelcome change and no one wants to pay earlier than necessary. However, this is unavoidable in order for us to be able to continue to offer the wide variety of preorder options you’re used to getting from Factory Direct Hobbies.
One silver lining is that this change will result in preorder items getting to your door even faster, as all payment processing will be well out of the way and the usual several day wait after product has arrived will be eliminated. We thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have questions or would like further clarification, feel free to contact us through the gold chat bubble.
Manufacturing schedules can sometimes be unpredictable. In the event your preorder item does not arrive at our warehouse within 60 days of your invoice payment, then you will have the option to cancel your preorder and receive a refund OR you may elect to continue waiting for the item.
Friendly Reminder: Should you choose to cancel a preorder, it will no longer be reserved for you; in the event the item becomes available on our website, all customers will have equal access to purchase the item.
We know life happens, and missing out on a great item can be a drag!
We're here to help; just contact us via the gold chat bubble and we'll do all we can to work with you!
If you have an account with factorydirecthobbies.com, you can view all your preorders, as well as your active orders. Login to your account, and select the “My orders” option. All your preorders and active orders will be listed along with the current status of each order. If you have further questions about your order, please feel free to reach out to us through the gold chat bubble.
Although we try to keep our preorder arrival estimates as accurate as possible, we encourage you to visit each manufacturer’s website to find the most up-to-date delivery information.
For instance, with Athearn and Walthers, you can enter the part number into their websites and navigate to the item. Most of the time, the delivery date will be listed there. Broadway Limited has a published delivery schedule, as does Rapido.
Yes. Rewards can be used on both your 10% good-faith down payment and on the balance of your preorder at invoicing time.
Yes! Preorders are awarded reward dollars at the same 5% rate. You'll receive your reward within several days of paying the balance of your preorder invoice.
If we still haven't answered your question, please click the gold messaging bubble in the bottom right of our site, and we'll help in any way we can!
