MTH PREMIER UNION PACIFIC CHALLENGER 4-6-6-4 STEAM ENGINE O GAUGE 20-3892-1 NEW

Description: MTH: 20-3892-1 Premier Union Pacific #3975 (Coal Tender) 4-6-6-4 Challenger Steam Engine w/ ProtoSound 3.0 O Gauge The first Challengers were conceived in 1936 as fast freight engines to replace the Union Pacific's fleet of three-cylinder 4-12-2 locomotives. With an extra center cylinder for added power and a top speed of 45 mph, the 4-12-2s had been successful freight engines when built in 1926. But a decade later they were considered slow and difficult to maintain. So American Locomotive Works (Alco) was commissioned to build what became one of the most successful fleets of articulated engines on any railroad. Forty Challengers were built in the 1930s. The pressure of wartime traffic brought an order for 65 more with bigger tenders and many minor improvements. The Challengers were steam power at its zenith. They incorporated all the technology that represented super-power steam, including roller bearings on all axles and drive rods - but none of the foolishness that characterized some of the desperate efforts to save steam in the post-war years. Most Challengers were assigned to freight duty, but a number were designated for passenger service, hustling 20-car trains across mountains and deserts to California and Oregon at speeds up to 70mph. It was in a roundabout way that six Challengers ordered by the UP ended up hauling coal through the Appalachians for the Clinchfield Railroad. In the midst of World War II, the War Production Board refused the Rio Grande's request to order new articulateds of its own design from Baldwin Locomotive Works. Instead, the Board diverted the last six Challengers in UP's order to the Rio Grande - which turned up its nose at the locos and decided to lease them for the duration rather than buying them. After war's end, the Rio Grande returned the unwanted engines to the government. In 1947, the War Assets Administration sold the orphan locos to the Atlantic Coast Line and Louisville & Nashville Railroads, which put the Challengers to work on their jointly-owned subsidiary, the Clinchfield, Carolina & Ohio. Thus a group of engines intended to speed over western deserts and mountains ended up thundering through Appalachia. Did You Know? The UP apparently expected to get the remaining six Challengers they had ordered after the war - but the U.S. government, who owned them, stored them in Salt Lake City until striking the deal that sent them to the Clinchfield. Features:Intricately Detailed, Die-Cast Boiler and ChassisIntricately Detailed, Die-Cast Tender BodyUser Installed Smoke DeflectorsAuthentic Paint SchemeReal Tender Coal LoadDie-Cast Locomotive TrucksHandpainted Engineer and Fireman FiguresMetal Handrails, Whiste and BellMetal Wheels and AxlesRemote-Controlled Proto-CouplerO Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting PadsPrototypical Rule 17 LightingConstant Voltage LED HeadlightOperating LED Firebox GlowOperating LED Marker LightsOperating LED Numberboard LightsLighted LED Cab InteriorOperating Tender LED Back-up LightPowerful 7-Pole Precision Flywheel-Equipped MotorSynchronized Puffing ProtoSmoke SystemSteaming Quillable WhistleLocomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH IncrementsWireless Drawbar1:48 Scale DimensionsOnboard DCC/DCS DecoderProto-Scale 3-2 3-Rail/2-Rail Conversion CapableProto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring Quillable Whistle With Freight Yard Proto-Effects PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONSRoad Name: Union Pacific Road Number: 3975Gauge: O Gauge Power: ElectricEngine Type: SteamMin Curve: O72Dimensions: 32" x 3 1/8" x 4 1/8" Brand new in the MTH box!!! Check out our eBay Store for more NEW Lionel, MTH, Bachmann, Atlas and more. We combine shipping on multiple items!! *SHIPPING PRICE INCLUDES SIGNATURE REQUIRED INSURED DELIVERY. Insurance is Included in S&H Price Please wait for our invoice before payment is sent. We offer discount shipping on multiple items but can ONLY combine shipping if you wait until you are done bidding and receive our final invoice to pay. All items must be paid within 7 days. For Great Customer Service click the "Contact seller" link in our listing! Shipping price is for Domestic USA only. Hawaii, Alaska, APO's, and Puerto Rico may incur additional S&H International: We Ship Worldwide HOBBYSPEED Value Added Authorized Lionel Dealer INDIANA, PA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Price: 1698.84 USD

Location: Indiana, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-08-02T04:34:09.000Z

Shipping Cost: 59.95 USD