HO AC4400CW Locomotive, QCM #28 Overview
The Quebec Cartier Railway (QCM) operates approximately 260 miles of track in the Canadian province of Quebec hauling large amounts of Iron Ore. Known for their fleet of Alco locomotives, QCM turned to GE for a small batch of new AC4400's beginning in 2001 to replace their aging Alco fleet. A unique feature of these units is a red beacon mounted on the long hood which operates in the cold weather climates to warn against possible freezing coolant.
Introduced by GE in 1993 and built until 2004, when it was replaced by the Evolution Series Tier II compliant model, the AC4400CW is a staple of modern railroading. 2,834 examples were built with many still plying the rails in their as delivered configurations or as rebuilt variations. Many Class 1, regional, and foreign railroads purchased the AC4400CWs. Ownership spanned the North American Continent and with their long lives, have seen numerous paint scheme variations and ownership changes through the years. The AC4400CW went through many changes during its production. Some are easily noticeable; early units being delivered with GE's Hi-Adhesion Trucks, while later units that had the option for newly developed GE Steerable Truck. Other details are smaller and takes a careful eye to see such as the addition of a door stop, how the step wells are reinforced, or the number and positioning of panels and doors.
Athearn has captured all these details thorough research and precision tooling to reproduce dozens of variations. The newly tooled Genesis AC4400CW takes its reign as the new flagship model for Athearn.