Atlas - 40 001 991 - Locomotive, Diesel, Alco C-628 - Family Lines - 1406

Model Information: The Atlas Alco C-628 and C-630 models share the same internal mechanisms and have very similar shells. They were introduced in 2004 and are typical modern Atlas locomotives. The mechanisms feature a split-frame design, blackened low-profile wheels LED lighting, and Accumate couplers.

The engines run smoothly and quietly and can easily pull 30 or more cars on an even grade. The shell detail is quite good including 'F' and 'R' indicators for normal operating direction.

Prototype History: The ALCO Century 628 was a six-axle, 2,750 hp (2,051 kW) diesel-electric locomotive. A total of 186 C628s were built between December 1963 and December 1968. There were 135 C628s built for U. S. railroads, 46 C628s were built for Mexican railroads and five C628s for Australia.

The C628 replaced the C624 (DL600C/RSD-41) as a part of ALCO's 'Century' line of locomotives. The C624 was intended to replace the earlier RSD-15 model, but was never built. The C628 was offered instead in August 1963.

Hamersley Iron purchased five to haul iron ore services in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Two were built in Schenectady and three by AE Goodwin in Sydney. All had been retired by 1982 with one preserved on a plinth in Dampier.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: To be truthful the Family Lines System was never actually an operating railroad, it was merely a marketing tactic which brought together the allying lines of the Louisville & Nashville, Clinchfield, Seaboard Coast Line, and a number of other smaller road (such as the Georgia Railroad, Atlanta & West Point Railroad, and Western Railway of Alabama otherwise referred to as the West Point Route). With this came a new livery (not unlike the later Seaboard scheme) applied to all with sub-lettering stenciled under locomotive cabs identifying the specific company. This marketing scheme was also short-lived, lasting only from 1972 until 1982 when these railroads merged together formally to create the Seaboard System (itself operating for only a few years).

The three main components of the System were the L&N, Clinchfield, and SCL. The L&N (the first component) was a railroad synonymous with the southern states; it served major cities from New Orleans and Memphis to St. Louis, Atlanta, and later Chicago. The L&N is also one of the few classic fallen flags to never have had its original chartered name change at any point throughout its history, serving its home state and the southeast for over 120 years. As the L&N itself disappeared into the Seaboard System in 1982 just a few years later the Seaboard itself would disappear into CSX Transportation.

Brand/Importer Information: In 1924 Stephan Schaffan, Sr. founded the Atlas Tool Company in Newark, New Jersey. In 1933 his son, Stephan Schaffan, Jr., came to work for his father at the age of sixteen. Steve Jr. built model airplanes as a hobby and frequented a local hobby shop. Being an enterprising young man, he would often ask the owner if there was anything he could do to earn some extra spending money. Tired of listening to his requests, the hobby-store owner threw some model railroad track parts his way and said, "Here, see if you can improve on this".

In those days, railroad modelers had to assemble and build everything from scratch. Steve Jr. created a "switch kit" which sold so well, that the entire family worked on them in the basement at night, while doing business as usual in the machine shop during the day.

Subsequently, Steve Jr. engineered the stapling of rail to fiber track, along with inventing the first practical rail joiner and pre-assembled turnouts and flexible track. All of these products, and more, helped to popularize model railroading and assisted in the creation of a mass-market hobby. The budding entrepreneur quickly outgrew the limitations of a basement and small garage operation. Realizing they could actually make a living selling track and related products, Steve and his father had the first factory built in Hillside, New Jersey at 413 Florence Avenue in 1947. On September 30, 1949, the Atlas Tool Company was officially incorporated as a New Jersey company.

In 1985, Steve was honored posthumously for his inventions by the Model Railroad Industry Association and was inducted into the Model Railroad Industry Hall of Fame in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, Steve was nominated and entered into the National Model Railroad Association Pioneers of Model Railroading in 1995.

In the early 1990s, the Atlas Tool Company changed its name to Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc.