Athearn Genesis HO Scale Southern Pacific GP38-2 SP #4812 - W/DCC & Sound - ATHG-1825

In 1980, SP placed an order for 45 GP38-2’s from EMD. Starting in the late 1980’s, FRA regulations dictated that any lighting feature of a locomotive that is installed must operate or the locomotive cannot be used in service. To combat this, the SP (and many other roads) would simply remove any unused or mechanically problematic lighting features such as class lights and gryalights. Also during this time, SP rebuilt many of their locomotives with the removal of the “L” window cab glass, which was costly to replace if broken. Our offering shows their 1990’s appearance before the UP merger of 1996. EMD GP38-2 DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION: By the early 1970s, many first generation diesels were reaching the end of their service lives. The most common replacement locomotive became the GP38-2. EMD began production of the 16-cylinder, non-turbocharged, 2000 horsepower engine in 1972. Unlike the GP38’s engine, which drove a generator to supply power to the traction motors, the GP38-2s prime mover drove an alternator which produced AC electrical current that was rectified to DC to power the four traction motors. Another major change for the GP38-2 was the introduction…