By Harry K. Wong
In 2012, Norfolk Southern celebrated the 30th anniversary of its formation in a big way. Under the direction of then-CEO Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern painted twenty locomotives each wearing a special scheme commemorating a predecessor railroad. Ten brand-new GE ES44ACs were selected to be part of the heritage fleet. Five of these GEs were painted at Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pa., while the other five were painted in Chattanooga, Tenn., at the former Southern Railway paint shop. Beginning in 2016, Norfolk Southern started adding Positive Train Control (or “PTC”) antenna arrays to its heritage fleet.
Today, all ten of NS’s heritage ES44ACs wear roof-mounted JEM Communications PTC “pizza-box” antenna farms atop the cab. For the first time in HO scale, ScaleTrains is offering Norfolk Southern ES44ACs equipped with these PTC arrays – the most modern examples of the Norfolk Southern heritage fleet. Offered as part of ScaleTrains’ premium Rivet Counter series, each locomotive comes ready-to-run with illuminated LED headlights, ditch lights and walkway lights. From top to bottom, these locomotives feature an extremely high level of road-, era- and unit-specific details and lettering including separately applied see-through walkway steps, see-through side grilles at the radiator section, wire-form grab irons, m.u. and air hoses, etched metal windshield wipers, etched radiator grilles, and much more, all on a heavy die-cast metal chassis with a precision drive system.
NS ES44AC 8098 celebrates the role of Conrail in forming the current Norfolk Southern Railway System. Conrail was formed in 1976 bringing together a number of major Class I railroads of the Northeastern United States including Penn Central, Erie-Lackawanna,Reading Railroad, L&HR and the Central of New Jersey. Conrail became part of the NS system in 1999.
All ten NS GE heritage liveries are offered for this latest production including: NS/Conrail, NS/Central of Georgia, NS/Lehigh Valley, NS/Nickel Plate Road, NS/Interstate Railroad, NS/Southern Railway, NS/(old Norfolk Southern), NS/Norfolk & Western, NS/Monongahela, and NS/Pennsylvania Railroad. DC/DCC-ready silent models retail for $199.99 while DC+DCC+Sound locomotives equipped with ESU Loksound 5 decoders are $299.99 each. Available now from authorized dealers or direct while supplies last.
ScaleTrains, 4901 Old Tasso Rd NE, Cleveland, TN 37312; 844-987-2467; www.scaletrains.com
