Athearn #G75707 G2 SD70ACu NS #7257

NS FEATURES Rebuilt from UP SD90MAC cores at the Juniata Locomotive facility Rebuilt units have added rear ditch lights per NS prototype Rebuilt units have 5-chime horn per prototype High headlight location per NS practice All selected road numbers have deck mounted ditchlight placement NS style PTC antenna array LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES Fully-assembled and ready-to-run 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 using railroad supplied paint chips for accuracy Coupler cut levers Flexible rubber MU hoses 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 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 LED lighting for realistic appearance Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power Packaging securely holds model for safe storage SOUND EQUPPED 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 Precision slow speed control Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn bell and lights PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION In September of 2014 Norfolk Southern purchased 100 ex-Union Pacific SD90MAC locomotives from EMD/Progress Rail to assist in the high volume traffic that NS was experiencing. As AC traction was being more accepted by the railroad which previously had relied solely on DC power the 90MACs fit the new direction of motive power for the railroad. Starting in 2016 NS began the SD70ACU capital rebuild program using the SD90MAC units as cores. All major components were either overhauled or replaced including an overhaul of the 710G3C prime mover. Most notable in the rebuild is that from the electrical cabinet forward all new components were used including a new ACe style isolated cab with AAR-style control stand. The new electrical cabinet contains Mitsubishi electronics replacing the 90MAC’s original Siemens equipment. Later starting in 2018 Canadian Pacific announced a plan to acquire 30 SD70ACU units from EMD/Progress Rail using their laid up fleet of SD90MAC locomotives as core units. That number was later increased from 30 to 60. They also acquired 2 ex-Union Pacific units in 2019. In September of 2019 CP unveiled two Heritage painted locomotives in the Tuscan and Grey paint schemes one unit 7010 using the Canadian Pacific script lettering and the other unit 7015 utilizing the Roman font. CP has painted 10 units in this scheme 5 with the script style lettering and 5 with the Roman style lettering. In November of 2019 CP painted 5 SD70ACU’s into 5 separate military inspired paint schemes. These units commemorate the Army Navy Air Force and a special tribute locomotive for D-Day wearing camo and the Allied invasion stripes used on June 6 1944. All Canadian Pacific units have been completed in 2020 and can been found plying the rails of Canada and the US with a few having even reached Mexico!