THE ATHEARN UNIT

In 2007, Athearn celebrated their 60th anniversary by producing a special run of products, including an EMD GP40X locomotive decorated for Athearn and displaying their 60th anniversary logo. Being a big fan of Athearn, naturally, I had to buy one. I also got one of their '60th' boxcars; that was seen in an earlier post (and, unlike the locomotive, it's a replica of the real thing).

Here, the special unit rolls into Hillsdale yard with a short train of autoracks (car-carriers).

The unit rolls through the yard. Just as Athearn's 60th anniversary was unique, so was the GP40X. Only 23 were built by EMD in the early 80's; they were actually test units for newer technology. I added a front snowplow and a pair of BLMA A/C units to the roof to give it some character.


Here's the rest of the train, starting with an AP&W car on the head end.

BNSF and NS racks are also seen in the train.

Finally, on the tail end, are several articulated autoracks.