Athearn has scheduled an October release date for another pro-
duction run of its Union Pacific FEF-class 4-8-4 steam locomo-
tives with 7-axle centipede tenders. Six of the locomotives will
be offered in three paint schemes: Numbers 837 and 8444 in
UP’s greyhound livery shown above with elephant-ear smoke lift-
ers; locomotives 842 and 844 also have smoke lifters and will be
painted black with a grey smoke box; numbers 825 and 832 are
also black with a grey smoke box but without smoke lifters.
A summary of key features on the HO scale ready-to-run model
include lighted number boards, metal handrails, adjustable cab
windows, full details and printed gauges on the boiler back-
head, and blackened metal wheels. A front coupler pocket
(included) can be inserted to mount an operating coupler.
Individually-applied details include brass-painted bell and whis-
tle, piping, valves, generator, steps, air pump, air tanks, reverse
gear, and an uncoupling bar. A DCC decoder with SoundTraxx®
Tsunami® sound is mounted in the tender. Sounds include syn-
chronized exhaust, whistle, bell, blow-down, air compressor,
dynamo, and pop-off valve sounds. User-controlled functions
include whistle, bell, wheel squeal, coupler crash, injector,
water stop, and light dimmer. A minimum radius of 22” is
recommended. All versions have an MSRP of $549.98 each.
Atlas Model Railroad
Company
)
has scheduled a third
quarter release of a
GP40-2(W) locomotive.
The HO scale model
