Kato USA - 176-4403 - Locomotive, Diesel, Alco RS-2 - Union Pacific - 1291

Specific Item Information: Friction Bearing Trucks

Model Information: Introduced in 1999, together with the RSC-2 that shares the same chassis. There has been only one run of these locos.
They sport the modern split frame design with a separate light board and a motor isolated from the chassis.

DCC Information: DCC ready.
Accepts the following plug-in decoders (non-sound):
- Digitrax DN163K2: 1 Amp N Scale Mobile Decoder for Kato N scale SD80/90MAC Series, RSC2, RS2. Installation here.
- TCS K2D4: BEMF decoder designed to fit Kato N scale RS2/RSC2, SD80/SD90MAC and Walthers N scale RS2, GP18. Installation here.

Prototype History: The ALCO RS-2 is a 1,500–1,600 horsepower (1,100–1,200 kW) B-B road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) from 1946 to 1950. ALCO introduced the model after World War II as an improvement on the ALCO RS-1. The locomotive was one of several road switchers in a crowded market, including the Baldwin DRS-4-4-1500, EMD GP7, and FM H-15-44. ALCO discontinued the RS-2 in 1950 in favor of the ALCO RS-3. Several examples have been preserved.

383 locomotives were produced — 374 by the American Locomotive Company, and 9 by Montreal Locomotive Works in Canada. Eight of the ALCO RS-2s were exported to Canada. The RS-2 has a single, 12 cylinder, model 244B engine, developing 1,500 horsepower (1,100 kW). Thirty-one locomotives built by Alco between February and May 1950 with the 12 cylinder 244C 1,600 horsepower (1,200 kW) engine.

From Wikipedia
Read more on American-Rails.com

Road Name History: The Union Pacific Railroad (reporting mark UP) is a freight hauling railroad that operates 8,500 locomotives over 32,100 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Union Pacific Railroad network is the largest in the United States and employs 42,600 people. It is also one of the world's largest transportation companies.

Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP); both are headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Over the years Union Pacific Corporation has grown by acquiring other railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago & North Western, Western Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Southern Pacific (including the Denver & Rio Grande Western).

Union Pacific Corporation's main competitor is the BNSF Railway, the nation's second largest freight railroad, which also primarily services the Continental U.S. west of the Mississippi River. Together, the two railroads have a duopoly on all transcontinental freight rail lines in the U.S.

Read more on Wikipedia and on Union Pacific official website.

Brand/Importer Information: KATO U.S.A. was established in 1986, with the first U.S. locomotive model (the GP38-2, in N-Scale) released in 1987. Since that time, KATO has come to be known as one of the leading manufacturers of precision railroad products for the modeling community. KATO's parent company, Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

In addition to producing ready-to-run HO and N scale models that are universally hailed for their high level of detail, craftsmanship and operation, KATO also manufactures UNITRACK. UNITRACK is the finest rail & roadbed modular track system available to modelers today. With the track and roadbed integrated into a single piece, UNITRACK features a nickel-silver rail and a realistic-looking roadbed. Patented UNIJOINERS allow sections to be snapped together quickly and securely, time after time if necessary.

The Kato U.S.A. office and warehouse facility is located in Schaumburg, Illinois, approximately 30 miles northwest of Chicago. All research & development of new North American products is performed here, in addition to the sales and distribution of merchandise to a vast network of wholesale representatives and retail dealers. Models requiring service sent in by hobbyists are usually attended to at this location as well. The manufacturing of all KATO products is performed in Japan.

Supporters of KATO should note that there is currently no showroom or operating exhibit of models at the Schaumburg facility. Furthermore, model parts are the only merchandise sold directly to consumers. (Please view the Parts Catalog of this website for more specific information.)