First built for Union Pacific in the late 1980s by General Electric, the DASH 8-40C diesel locomotives were identified by an enlarged exhaust stack and the mounting of the dynamic brake grids in a square-like unit behind the cab, which housed an enlarged equipment blower fan. These six-axle, 4,000 hp engines are still in service today in North America.
The 4,000hp Dash 8-40CW was produced by General Electric between 1989 and 1993 as a follow-up to the successful Dash 8-40C locomotive. The most distinguishing feature of this model was the introduction of GE’s version of the wide-nose “North American Safety Cab.” This style of cab would become a common sight on railroads across the country. Four major railroads purchased the Dash 8-40CW in fairly large quantities, including Conrail, CSX, Santa Fe and Union Pacific. Most of these units are still in regular mainline and heavy-haul freight service today. Due to various mergers, they can also be seen operating for new owners Norfolk Southern and BNSF.
Features:
- Separate coupler cut lever
- Directional lighting
- Golden white LEDs
- Painted safety rails
- Blackened metal wheels
- Dual flywheel equipped 5-pole skewed armature motor with a low friction mechanism
- Factory-installed AccuMate® magnetic knuckle couplers
DCC OPERATION FEATURES (GOLD LOCOMOTIVES ONLY):
- Supports all DCC-programming modes
- DCC includes RailCom and RailComPlus, with 14, 28 or 128 speed steps and with 2-digit and 4-digit addressing.
- Flexible mapping of function keys F0 to F28.
- A total of 6 DCC function outputs are available, and all can be function mapped (disable, brightness, light effects) individually
- Follows all NMRA DCC standards and recommended practices.
SOUND FUNCTIONALITY FEATURES (GOLD LOCOMOTIVES ONLY):
-
Over 20 sound effects are available, including engine start-up and
shutdown, prime mover sounds through all eight notches, bell, air horn, air compressor, dynamic brakes and more. - There are up to 16 user-selectable horns, 2 user-selectable bells, and 2 user-selectable synchronized brake squeals.
- Equipped with ESU’s Exclusive “Full Throttle” features for ultimate realism in prototype running.
AccuMate® couplers are made under license from AccuRail, Inc.
