Description
xThe EMD E8A was already a venerable locomotive at the time of Amtrakâs inception, being renowned for their smooth ride, great speed, and reliability among 1st generation diesels. Around the time of the bankruptcy of the Penn Central railroad, Amtrak inherited many of its locomotives, including the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad passenger E8âs that would have pulled the Broadway Limited in days past. It was these E8s that comprised much of Amtrakâs locomotive fleet in the non-electrifed track of the northeast, and until new power could be developed, it was these 1950s locos that continued to serve the railroad until the early 1980s.
Like its locomotives, all of Amtrakâs rolling stock was inherited from predecessor railroads such as Penn Central. Since there wasnât time enough to implement uniform branding on Amtrakâs fleet come May 1st, 1971, most trains were comprised of varied rolling stock from multiple railroads resulting in a colorful, or rainbow-like appearance. By 1972, Amtrak developed its Phase I livery and began repainting its fleet of heritage coaches, however due to the size and service demand of the fleet, this process took several years causing Amtrakâs ârainbow eraâ to last well into the decade. To replicate this colorful time period, Kato USA will be releasing an 8-car set featuring a combination of Amtrak Phase I and Penn Central coaches with optional pre-installed lighting!
Features
x- Locomotives will be equipped with a mix of body and truck mounted KATO magnetic knuckle couplers.
- Locomotives feature directional Golden White LED headlights and illuminated preprinted numberboards where appropriate.
- C&NW units: Prototypical âblankedâ number board spaces to imitate their late appearance.
- Locomotives have a powerful five pole motor with all wheel electrical pickup and blackened wheels.
- Locomotives are DCC friendly.
- Drop in DCC compatible
CLICK HERE for an Exploded Parts Diagram.
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