MTH 20-21873-1 - Alco PA A Unit Diesel Locomotive "Santa Fe" #55L w/ PS3 (Plated)

• Road Name: Santa Fe - Plated
• Road Number: 55L
• Product Line: Premier
• Scale: O Scale

Features:

• Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
• Die-Cast Truck Sides, Pilots and Fuel Tank
• Metal Chassis
• Metal Handrails and Horn
• Moveable Roof Fans
• Metal Body Side Grilles
• (2) Handpainted Engineer Cab Figures In Each A Unit
• Authentic Paint Scheme
• Metal Wheels, Axles and Gears
• (2) Remote-Controlled Proto-Couplers
• O Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
• Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting
• Directionally Controlled Constant Voltage LED Headlight
• Lighted LED Cab Interior Light
• Illuminated LED Number Boards
• Lighted LED Marker Lights
• Operating LED MARS Light
• (2) Precision Flywheel-Equipped Motors
• Operating ProtoSmoke Diesel Exhaust
• Onboard DCC/DCS Decoder
• Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments
• 1:48 Scale Proportions
• Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring Passenger Station Proto-Effects
• Unit Measures: 16 3/4” x 2 5/8” x 3 3/4”
• Operates On O-31 Curves 

• F0 Head/Tail light
• F1 Bell
• F2 Horn
• F3 Start-up/Shut-down
• F4 PFA
• F5 Lights (except head/tail)
• F6 Master Volume
• F7 Front Coupler
• F8 Rear Coupler
• F9 Forward Signal
• F10 Reverse Signal
• F11 Grade Crossing
• F12 Smoke On/Off
• F13 Smoke Volume
• F14 Idle Sequence 3
• F15 Idle Sequence 2
• F16 Idle Sequence 1
• F17 Extended Start-up
• F18 Extended Shut-down
• F19 Rev Up
• F20 Rev Down
• F21 One Shot Doppler
• F22 Coupler Slack
• F23 Coupler Close
• F24 Single Horn Blast
• F25 Engine Sounds
• F26 Brake Sounds
• F27 Cab Chatter
• F28 Feature Reset

Overview:

The PA was Alco's glamour girl. While Electro-Motive's E-units easily beat Alco's passenger engine in terms of popularity, the PA is widely regarded as the most beautiful first-generation diesel - period. Perhaps no other locomotive looked so right at the head of the streamlined trains of the late forties and fifties that were the last hurrah of American long-distance passenger service. The 294 PA's and cabless PB's built between 1946 and 1953 powered some of America's most famous name trains, from the Pennsylvania's Broadway Limited to the New Haven's Merchants' Limited.

The muscular PA profile and its elegant nose, with the characteristic grille around the headlight, were designed by Ray Patten, General Electric's head of industrial design. At the time, GE and Alco were partners in the locomotive business, with GE making the electrical equipment for all Alco diesels. Patten's design was described as "a locomotive so distinctive and so powerful looking that it actually helps railroads sell their services to passengers and shippers."
Under the hood of the PA beat a 16-cylinder model 244 prime mover that developed 2000 hp. Depending on their gearing, PA's could hustle a passenger consist along at up to 100 mph.

Long after all other PA's had gone to scrap, four restored ex-Santa Fe units remained in service on the Delaware & Hudson into the late 1970's. Sold to the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico (FNM) in 1978, most of the units eventually deteriorated to junk status, although one remained operational. But in April of 2000, Doyle McCormack - who also happens to be the engineer of 4449, the restored Southern Pacific Daylight - and the Smithsonian Institution repatriated two of the junked units for rebuilding.

Recreate the excitement of first-class passenger travel with Premier Alco PA locomotives and matching Premier passenger sets. Our ProtoSound 3.0 sound and control system brings you the authentic sounds of an Alco prime mover and station announcements for name trains of the 1940s and '50s - along with the ability to start your train so gently you won't spill the water in the diner and then accelerate up to scale speeds of over 100 mph, just like the prototype.