Athearn Genesis 69354 CSX SD70M DCC/SOUND #4694 HO

Detailed Information

BNSF FEATURES:

Starting in the early 2000s, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway began repainting their former Santa Fe SD75Ms in the new Heritage II scheme. The locomotives had long, productive lives on the railroad in all types of mainline service, from unit coal trains to intermodal service out west, and have only recently begun to be retired.

• First time in Heritage II paint with the revised tooling
• SD75M body with turbo bulge
• Great for use with MAXI-III well cars (also announced this month)
• Nathan K-3 horn
• Large & small Sinclair antennas
• Spare knuckles on rear pilot
• MU receptacles & cables on each end
• HTCR trucks
• Salem air filters

#8210: 

• Special paint: green cab roof

CN FEATURES:

The Canadian National SD75Is, with their ribbed anticlimbers, Pyle early headlights, and raised walkways, are distinctive locomotives. The engines entered service in 1997 and continue as front-line power today.

• First time for CN SD75Is with the revised tooling
• SD75I body with isolated cab and turbo bulge
• Many Canadian-specific detail parts:
• Ribbed anticlimbers
• Raised walkways
• CN medium plow on front, CN rock pilot on rear
• No HVAC louvers under cab
• Pyle early headlights
• Waste oil retention tank
• Large grabirons on cab face
• K-3 horn with all bells forward
• Large & small Sinclair antennas
• HTCR-II trucks
• Spare knuckles on rear pilot

CSX FEATURES:

After their service as EMDX leasers, CSX acquired the distinctive group of burgundy SD70Ms in the early 2000s. Instead of being immediately repainted, the units received a simple patch job on the side of the cab and continued in service for many years looking much as they did when new.

• First time for CSX ex-demo units with the revised tooling
• Early SD70M body
• Nathan P-3 horn
• Small can & whip antennas
• MU receptacles & cables on each end
• HTCR trucks
• Prime air filters
• Included, painted, but not installed: Optional digital fuel gauge (added by CSX to most units sometime after acquisition. Placement varies- consult prototype photos).

#4693, 4697: 

• CN style medium plow, white cab roof

#4694: 

• SP style tall plow, burgundy cab roof

#4696: 

• SP style tall plow, white cab roof

NS FEATURES:

Norfolk Southern, always in the market for secondhand EMD power, acquired the three former NYS&W SD70Ms in late 2014. The new Thoroughbreds received a fresh coat of black and were renumbered 2797-2799. Since then, NS 2798 has been fitted with rooftop PTC antennas, a distinctive detail captured by our Genesis model.

• Former NYS&W 4050-4052
• Early SD70M body
• K5LAR24 horn
• Air Dryer
• Spare knuckles on rear pilot
• MU receptacles & cables on each end
• Prime air filters
• HTCR trucks
• SP style tall plow

#2798: 

• PTC antennas installed

#2797, 2799: 

• Sinclair & small can antenna installed with removable glue. Optional PTC antenna set included in box (it is believed that NS will retrofit these units with PTC in the near future).

UP FEATURES:

There is no shortage of variety within Union Pacific’s massive SD70M roster. In addition, the railroad has made many changes to the units over the years. Reflective yellow on the frame has replaced red, PTC antennas are becoming commonplace, and flags now grace the sides of many of the locomotive. This release of UP SD70Ms depicts units from the first order, with early (non flared) SD70M bodies. They have been observed working every conceivable assignment, from MOW & continuous rail trains, to mainline stack trains, to helper service on the former SP coast line.

• UP lightning stripe scheme
• Early SD70M body
• Nathan K-3 horn
• Air Dryer
• Spare knuckles on rear pilot
• Prime air filters
• HTCR-II trucks
• EMD low plow
• Late style fuel tank & breather piping

#4005, 4089: 

• Red sill stripe, GPS dome, small can & Sinclair antennas, “Under Warranty” on cab

#4429, 4331: 

• Yellow sill stripe, PTC antennas, “www.uprr.com” on cab

LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:

• Fully-assembled and ready-to-run
• Front / rear trainline and MU hoses with silver ends
• Coupler cut levers with loops per prototype
• Sunshades and sunshade tracks per prototype
• Roof details such as antennas, air conditioners, beacons, and conduits per prototype
• Operating ditch lights
• MU receptacles and cables per prototype
• Rear pilot spare face knuckles and brackets per prototype
• Early or late anticlimbers
• 3 or 4 step walkways
• AEI tags mounted on the frame or jacking pads per prototype
• Safety tread on the walkways
• Several types of fuel tanks, all featuring separate gauges, sight glasses, and breather piping
• Anti-glare panel painted on the nose
• Windshield wipers
• Tinted or clear cab windows per prototype
• Detailed and painted cab interior with control stand, display screens, detailed crew seats
• Standard or Freight-style brake wheel
• See-through radiator fans
• Lift rings
• Factory installed wire grab irons
• Fine-scale Celcon handrails for scale appearance
• Underframe mounted bell- regular or electronic
• Low mount stepwell lights (non-operating)
• Dual sanding lines
• Rear pilot drop grab iron (MU hose retainer) per prototype
• DCC-ready features Quick Plug™ plug-and-play technology with both 8- and 9-pin connector
• McHenry lower-shelf scale knuckle spring couplers
• Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more
• Accurately painted and printed paint schemes
• Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain for trouble free operation
• All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth and quiet operation
• All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow
• Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track
• Incandescent bulbs for realistic appearance
• Bidirectional constant lighting so headlight brightness remains constant
• Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power
• Packaging securely holds for the model for safe storage
• Minimum radius: 18”
• Recommended radius: 22”

SOUND EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE:

• Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound
• 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
• Excellent Slow speed control
• Operating lighting functions with F5 and/or F6 (Flashing ditch lights, beacon, etc)
• 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 HISTORY:

Continuing upon the successful SD60-series, in 1992 EMD debuted the next step in locomotive evolution with the SD70. While outwardly similar at first glance to the SD60, the D.C.-drive SD70 featured several external design refinements from the predecessor model. Battery boxes were relocated to the left-hand side walkway immediately behind the cab. A large, boxy forward traction motor blower housing replaced the angular version used on SD60s, the raised walkway duct on the left hand walkway was eliminated, and an intake for the rear traction motor blower on the left hand side of the carbody, directly under the rear radiator intake grill, was added.

Internally, the SD70 boasted improvements as well; a 16-710GB prime mover, rated at 4,000hp, was coupled to a new alternator design, the AR20. New D70TR traction motors were standard, and controlling all of this power and locomotive function was EMD’s new EM2000 microprocessor, which boasted more memory, twice the processing speed, and improved locomotive self-diagnostic capabilities compared to the processor suite used in the SD60. Even more revolutionary was the inclusion of EMD’s patented “Radial” truck design, the HTC-R. This design, which made its debut under EMD Demo SD60 #3, replaced the venerable HT-C truck, and is unique in its ability to shift, or “steer”, the wheelsets laterally through curves, resulting in greatly reduced wheelset and track wear, and coupled with the new D70TR traction motors and EM2000 microprocessor, greatly improved adhesion.

Continuing with previous practice, EMD built a set of Demonstrator SD70Ms, EMD 7000-7002, all equipped with the North American safety-cab (hence the “M” in their model designation), and decked out in an attractive gray, silver, and burgundy paint scheme. These units travelled all over North America, showing off the latest technology from EMD. Eastern giant Norfolk Southern liked what it saw, and was the first to order SD70s, but with a twist; instead of having them equipped with the increasingly popular (and soon to be standard) “M” cab, they opted for standard, or “Spartan” cabs on their initial orders. The first production SD70s, NS 2501-2506, built in 1993, were quickly followed by additional units; NS 2507-2531, also built in 1993, and NS 2532-2556, built in 1994. They could be found in a variety of assignments over the NS system, and even saw run-through service on connecting roads, such as Southern Pacific, making appearances on the West Coast.

Specifications