MTH #70-2144-1 Alco PA A-Unit Diesel With Proto-Sound 3.0 - Southern Pacific #6009

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 of General Electric. At the time, GE and Alco were partners in the locomotive business, with GE making the electrical equipment for all Alco diesels. While Alco would later fall by the wayside, GE went on to become America's largest locomotive builder by the early 1990's. 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. One of the units will be restored to Santa Fe livery for static display, while Doyle is bringing the other PA back to life in the Nickel Plate Road "Bluebird" scheme. Recreate the excitement of first-class passenger travel with these RailKing Alco PA locomotives and matching 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. Intricately Detailed, Durable Polycarbonate Body Detailed Truck Sides, Fuel Tank & Pilot Metal Handrails and Horn Moveable Roof Fans Metal Body Side Grilles (2) Handpainted Engineer Cab Figures Authentic Paint Scheme Metal Wheels, Axles and Gears (2) Hook & Chain Coupler Assemblies (2) Remote-Controlled Proto-Couplers G Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting Directionally Controlled Constant Voltage LED Headlights Illuminated LED Number Boards Lighted LED Cab Interior Light Lighted LED Marker Lights Operating LED MARS Light (2) Powerful 5-Pole Precision-Flywheel Equipped Skew-Wound Balanced Motors Operating ProtoSmoke Diesel Exhaust Onboard DCC/DCS Decoder Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments 1:32 Scale Proportions Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring Passenger Station Proto-Effects Unit Measures: 26" x 5 5/8" x 4" Operates On R3 (2390mm/94.0" Diameter) Curves Diesel DCC Features 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