Detailed Information

BNSF FEATURES:

• As-delivered appearance
• Small plow
• High mount number boards
• Walkway mounted ditch lights
• Late production units
• K3 horn
• BNSF/ATSF “Gullwing” style cab
• Large roof GPS dome

Delivered in 2004, BNSF AC4400CWs 5654-5717 represented the continuation of a string of GE A.C. traction purchases dating back to 1999. As A.C. traction motors are well-suited to moving heavy loads at lower speeds, the units were usually found on coal trains, although they did appear on other types of service as well. Interestingly, in 2015, forty-one units (including 5665) were leased to Metrolink to serve as lead units while their cab cars were repaired, lasting in this service for about one year.

CP FEATURES:

• As-delivered appearance
• Large plow
• Low mount number boards
• Walkway mounted ditch lights
• Early production units
• Nathan K3 horn
• Walkway capacitor box
• CP classed DRF-44
• “Dual flags” scheme

Canadian Pacific’s fleet of 438 AC4400CWs were the highest-numbered units on the roster. Canadian Pacific had the third-largest group of these machines and used them in all types of service. As of 2022, most have since entered the AC44CWM program and been rebuilt into the 8100-8280 series. #9500 is decorated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police artwork on the cab sides. “The Musical Ride” is an organization that supports front-line police operations in Canada. For more info, please visit https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/musical-ride

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

#9500

• Special RCMP artwork on cab sides

#9511

• Standard decoration

#9517

• Standard decoration

FXE FEATURES:

• As-delivered appearance
• Large plow
• Low mount number boards
• Pilot mounted ditch lights
• Mid/late production units
• K3 horn
• GE style self-steering trucks

Delivered in 1998-2000, the Mexican railroad Ferromex ordered a total of 75 AC4400CWs. Ferromex specified the self-steering truck option from GE; these were intended to provide a reduction in track wear as well as an increase in traction by allowing the wheels to “steer” independently around curves.

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.

UP FEATURES:

• Large plow
• Low mount number boards
• Pilot mounted ditch lights
• Early production units

UP has always been on the forefront on new locomotive technology. When GE announced an AC version of their popular DC Dash 9 locomotives, UP ordered 3 (9997-9999) in 1994 for testing. Pleased with the results, UP would come back in 1996 and order 149 units (6738-6887). Through mergers with SP and CNW, UP became one of the largest owners of AC4400’s with over 900 production units. A few received UP’s newer “flag” scheme as depicted with UP 6700 which was originally UP 9997, UP’s very first AC4400.

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

#6700

• Ex: UP 9997
• UP “Flag” repaint with yellow frame stripe
• Nathan K3 horn
• first UP AC4400

#6812

• As-delivered with red frame stripe
• Leslie 3-chime horn
• large roof-mounted GPS dome
• walkway capacitor box

#6837

• As-delivered with red frame stripe
• Leslie 3-chime horn
• large roof-mounted GPS dome
• walkway capacitor box

QCM FEATURES:

• Medium plow
• Low mount number boards
• Walkway mounted ditch lights
• Mid/late production units
• Long hood mounted red beacon
• 5-chime horn
• GE style self-steering trucks

The Quebec Cartier Railway (QCM) operates approximately 260 miles of track in the Canadian province of Quebec hauling large amounts of Iron Ore. Known for their fleet of Alco locomotives, QCM turned to GE for a small batch of new AC4400’s beginning in 2001 to replace their aging Alco fleet. A unique feature of these units is a red beacon mounted on the long hood which operates in the cold weather climates to warn against possible freezing coolant.

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 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
• 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 take 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.

Specifications