Kato USA - 176-9002-LS - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD F40PH - Virginia Railway Express - V34

Specific Item Information: ESU LokSound DCC Installed

Model Information: All locomotives are equipped with body mounted KATO magnetic knuckle couplers Locomotives feature directional Golden White LED headlights and illuminated preprinted numberboards Locomotives are equipped with shock absorber construction for smooth and prototypical motion on the track Locomotives have a powerful five pole motor with all wheel electrical pickup and blackened wheels Additional alternate snow plow piece included for tight radius operation Locomotives are DCC friendly (Compatible Decoders can be found on this page)

Prototype History: The EMD F40PH is a four-axle 3,000 - 3,002 hp (2.2-2.2 MW) B-B diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in several variants from 1975 to 1992. Intended for use on Amtrak's short-haul passenger routes, it became the backbone of Amtrak's diesel fleet after the failure of the EMD SDP40F. The F40PH also found widespread use on commuter railroads in the United States and with Via Rail Canada. Additional F40PH variants were remanufactured from older locomotives by Morrison-Knudsen and MotivePower Industries between 1988 - 1998.

Amtrak retired its fleet of F40PHs in the mid-1990s in favor of the GE Genesis, but the locomotive remains the mainstay of Via Rail's long-distance trains and is a common sight on commuter railroads throughout the United States.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) (reporting mark VREX) is a regional/commuter rail service that connects the Northern Virginia suburbs to Union Station in Washington, D.C., via two lines: the Fredericksburg Line from Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the Manassas Line from Broad Run/Airport station in Bristow, Virginia.
Service to Manassas began on June 22, 1992; the Fredericksburg service started on July 20, 1992.
VRE is owned by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission. The NVTC and PRTC are governmental entities that were created by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Local governments (such as counties and cities) within each commission's geographic area are members of each commission.

VRE opened in 1992 as a commuter rail service to connect Washington D.C. to suburbs in northern Virginia. Two lines are served, one to Fredericksburg and the Manassas Line to Bristow. There are a total of 18 stations over 90 miles of line. Today, trains are powered with a fleet of twenty MP36PH-3C’s. There are 100 coaches, 20 of which have cabs for push-pull service.

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.)