{"product_id":"preorder-athearn-genesis-ho-g41177-u50-union-pacific-52-399-49","title":"PREORDER Athearn Genesis HO G41177 U50, Union Pacific #52","description":"DCC AND SOUND EQUIPPED \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In 1963, the diesel horsepower race had just reached 2,500 horsepower and the only way to get 5,000 horsepower was by putting two diesel engine and generator sets onto one chassis. Given the wheel slip and traction motor technology at the time, eight traction motors and powered axles were needed to convert the horsepower into pulling power. EMD had already produced the DD35, two cabless GP35s on one chassis. General Electric's answer was to do the same with two U25Bs, which created the U50. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The U50 was 83 feet 6 inches long and towered over most contemporary locomotives at 15 feet 10 inches tall. They weighed in at 559,620 pounds and produced 139,175 pounds of starting tractive effort. Inside the hood were two FDL-16 diesel engines, each with a generator, full radiator, and dynamic brake setup. The U50 rode on a two sets of two-axle AAR-B trucks mounted on a span bolster. The trucks were recycled from the scrapped gas turbines. Up front was a tall, blunt nose cab without a front walkway, which gave the U50 its unique appearance. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Due to the increase of better highways in the 1950s the trucking industry was beginning to siphon off time sensitive traffic from the railroads. Consequently, in the late 1950s the Union Pacific began seeking ways to increase the horsepower of their locomotive's in order to help improve train speeds without having to add more locomotives to their trains. One method to achieve these goals was to mount two complete prime movers on one chassis. UP asked the 3 major locomotive builders at that time to submit proposals using this concept. In response, General Electric created their 5,000-horsepower U50 model, a design which utilized two 2500-horsepower prime movers. Starting in September 1963, UP purchased a total of 23 U50's, all of which were retired by the mid-1970s. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e There were few changes made to these units during their time on the UP but one, #41, suffered from a significant fire and had to be repainted. It was the only one to receive UP's 1970s era slogan, \"We Can Handle It.\"  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e UP FEATURES:\u003cbr\u003e Beacon (Flash function in DCC only)\u003cbr\u003e Classification lights (Function in DCC only)\u003cbr\u003e Number board lights\u003cbr\u003e Working Truck lights\u003cbr\u003e Separate see-through air intake grills\u003cbr\u003e MU hoses\u003cbr\u003e #41 Only U50 to receive the \"We Can Handle It\" slogan\u003cbr\u003e #47\/52 \"Dependable Transportation\" slogan \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e GENESIS DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:\u003cbr\u003e Coupler cut levers\u003cbr\u003e MU hoses\u003cbr\u003e Trainline hose\u003cbr\u003e See-through cab windows\u003cbr\u003e Full cab interior\u003cbr\u003e Walkway tread\u003cbr\u003e Windshield wipers\u003cbr\u003e Wire grab irons\u003cbr\u003e DCC-ready features Quick Plug plug-and-play technology with 21-pin NEM connector\u003cbr\u003e Fine-scale Celcon handrails for scale appearance\u003cbr\u003e Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, breather pipes, and retention tanks\u003cbr\u003e Body-mounted McHenry operating scale knuckle couplers\u003cbr\u003e Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain for trouble free operation\u003cbr\u003e 8-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth and quiet operation\u003cbr\u003e All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow\u003cbr\u003e Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track\u003cbr\u003e LED Lighting for trouble free operation\u003cbr\u003e Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power\u003cbr\u003e Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more\u003cbr\u003e Accurately-painted and -printed paint schemes\u003cbr\u003e Fully-assembled and ready-to-run\u003cbr\u003e Illuminated truck lights\u003cbr\u003e Illuminated classification lights\u003cbr\u003e Illuminated number boards\u003cbr\u003e See-through air intakes\u003cbr\u003e 4-cube speakers\u003cbr\u003e Minimum radius: 18\" - Recommended radius: 22\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e SOUND-EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE:\u003cbr\u003e Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound\u003cbr\u003e Four cube speakers for optimal sound quality\u003cbr\u003e Sound units operate in both DC and DCC\u003cbr\u003e Full DCC functions available when operated in DCC mode\u003cbr\u003e Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC\u003cbr\u003e All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode\u003cbr\u003e Precision slow speed control\u003cbr\u003e Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn, bell, and lights\u003cbr\u003e Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes\u003cbr\u003e CV chart included in the box","brand":"Athearn","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42187369414738,"sku":"ATH-G41177-PRE","price":399.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0581\/3410\/2098\/files\/5kYrM7_ecb04ba4-c2a0-4e32-b67b-6866821390dc.png?v=1761318266","url":"https:\/\/modeltrainstuff.com\/products\/preorder-athearn-genesis-ho-g41177-u50-union-pacific-52-399-49","provider":"Model Train Stuff","version":"1.0","type":"link"}