Athearn 86844 HO Scale EMD SW1000 Rio Grande D&RGW 149 DCC Sound

An EMD SW1000 is a 4 axle diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June 1966 and October 1972. Power was provided by an EMD 645E 8-cylinder engine which generated 1,000 horsepower. This locomotive was built on the same common frame as the EMD SW1500, giving it an overall length of 44 feet 8 inches. Over one-third of SW1000 production went to the Burlington Northern Railroad.

The SW1000 was taller than previous EMD switchers, which posed a problem for industrial customers: at many facilities, tight clearances existed, and the SW1000 exceeded them. As a result, most production went to railroads, not industries.

114 EMD SW1000 units were built for railroads and industrial operations in the United States.

Currently 2 EMD SW1000 units are owned and operated by VIA Rail Canada in the Montreal Maintenance Centre.

Rio Grande purchased ten SW1000’s in two groups, the first one in 1966 and the second group in 1968. The second group consisted of three units, numbered 147-149. They differed from the first in that they came equipped with roller bearing trucks and a slight variation in the striping on the front of the engines. This release represents the second group.

FEATURES:

• Roller Bearing trucks
• Sinclair antenna
• Spark Arrestor
• “Loop” style cut levers
• Operating ground lights
• Newly designed can motor is more powerful and quieter than before
• DCC-ready models feature 21-pin plug
• DCC & sound models feature Tsunami2 sound with dual cube speakers
• LED lighting for long life and reliable operation
• Lit ground lights
• Detailed cab interior
• Drop steps unless noted
• MU stands
• Exhaust stack
• Printed numberboards
• Fine scale handrails
• Signal hoses with silver glad hands unless noted
• Front and rear trainline hoses with silver glad hands
• Separately applied wire grab irons
• See through radiator intake grille and cab windows
• Low or high mounted windshield wipers per prototype
• Rectangular or oval builder’s plate where appropriate
• Separately applied Air tank
• 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 with 21-pin NEM connector
• Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track
• Window packaging for easy viewing
• Highly-detailed, injection molded body
• Painted and printed for realistic decoration
• Fully assembled and ready-to-run
• Interior plastic blister safely holds the model for convenient storage
• Minimum radius: 18”
• SOUND-EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE:
• Onboard Tsunami2 DCC/Sound decoder
• Cube Speaker for optimal sound quality
• Sound units operate in both DC and DCC
• Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC
• Some functions are limited in DC
• All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode
• Operating lighting functions with F5 and/or F6 (Flashing ditch lights, beacon, etc)
• Excellent low-speed operation
• 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