HO AC4400CW Locomotive, UP #6837 Overview
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 âflagâ scheme as depicted with UP 6700 which was originally UP 9997, UP's very first AC4400.
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 takes 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.