Athearn HO 87232 SD40, Colorado and Southern #876

In 1966, EMD updated its locomotive catalog with entirely new models, all powered by the new 645 diesel engine. The SD40 had 3,000 hp from a turbocharged V16. 856 examples of this locomotive model were built for American railroads, 330 were built for Canadian railroads, and 72 were built for Mexican railroads.

At first glance these SD40's look like run-of-the-mill Chicago, Burlington & Quincy locomotives. But they were actually members of the Colorado & Southern Railway's locomotive fleet. The tiny C&S letters just in front of the road numbers on the battery boxes are the only outward sign of different ownership. Long a subsidiary of parent CB&Q, in October 1967 C&S took delivery of their first 4 SD40's, numbers 875-878 and added 9 more in April 1968, numbers 879-887, for a total of 13 units. The C&S became part of the Burlington Northern system in in March 1970. It maintained its subsidiary status until the end of 1981 when it was formally absorbed into the BN system. Many of these SD40's retained the CB&Q red and white paint scheme into the early to-mid 1970s and they kept their 3-dgit numbers until C&S became part of the BN.

C&S FEATURES:
Chicken wire radiator grills
MU hoses
Rear pilot mounted handbrake

SD40 LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:
Bi-directional LED lighting
Coupler Cut Levers
Rubber MU hoses
Exhaust stack
Curved radiator fan grab iron
Fine scale handrails
Photo-etched stainless steel windshield wipers
Separately applied wire grab irons
See-through dynamic brake, radiator fans and cab windows
Frame mounted bell (unless noted)
Detailed 4,000 gallon fuel tank (unless different capacity is noted)
Flexicoil-C trucks with high or low brake cylinders (per prototype)
Separately applied air tanks
McHenry scale knuckle couplers - Kadee compatible
All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth & quiet operation
All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow
DCC-ready features Quick Plug plug-and-play technology
Improved 5-pole skew wound can motor with flywheels and multi-link drivetrain for trouble-free operation
Non-sound version features 21-pin NEM DCC plug
Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track
Highly-detailed, injection molded body
Painted and printed for realistic decoration
Fully assembled and ready-to-run
Minimum radius: 18: - Recommended radius: 22"
Newly designed can motor is more powerful and quieter than before
DCC & sound models feature Tsunami2 sound with dual cube speakers
LED lighting for long life and reliable operation