Kato USA - 176-4392-S - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD NW2 - Frisco - 253

Specific Item Information: Kobo NW-2 Switcher with Pre-Installed DCC + Sound

Model Information: Kato introduced the NW2 switcher in 2007. This was Kato's first North American "Yard Switcher" and required Kato engineering a challenge to match the quality of their earlier releases using less physical space. The engine comes in DCC-Ready and DCC-Equipped (a rarity for Kato) versions.

This is a standard modern engine with flywheels, split-frame, blackened wheels and knuckle couplers. It runs smoothly and quietly and has been very popular with Kato fans (it being the first Kato switcher). The modern LED's light up the number-boards as well as the directional lights. It even sports interior cab details.

DCC Information: For the DCC-ready versions, owners can install the DN123K3 decoder.

Prototype History: The EMD NW2 is a 1,000 hp (750 kW), B-B switcher locomotive manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. The NW2 was manufactured from February 1939 to December 1949, and 1145 were produced – 1121 for the U.S., and 24 were exported to Canada. The 1,000 hp (750 kW) was achieved by using a 12-cylinder, model 567, and later, a model 567A engine.
EMD also offered a cow-calf version of the NW2 known as the TR, TR2, and TR3; 3 TR cow-calf paired sets, 36 TR2 cow-calf paired sets, and 2 TR3 cow-calf-calf sets were produced. The TR sets were built prior to World War II and the TR2 and TR3 sets were built postwar.

EMD’s NW2 switcher’s lifetime was nearly cut short just three years after its introduction, with the establishment of the War Production Board in 1942, which dictated that EMD was to halt all production of switching locomotives, manufacturing only road diesels during the years of 1942 to 1945. However, such was the popularity of this end cab switching locomotive that after the restriction was lifted, the NW2 sprung back as many railroads placed orders for this little 1000hp powerhouse; today these locomotives can still be found enjoying continued service in rail yards. They were to wear paint for 88 different railroads ... from class 1 giants such as UP (with 95 units, the largest user) all the way down to short-line and industrial roads with but 1 on the roster.

From Wikipedia
Read more on American-Rails.com.

Road Name History: The St. Louis - San Francisco Railway (reporting mark SLSF), also known as the Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to April 17, 1980. At the end of 1970 it operated 4,547 miles (7,318 km) of road on 6,574 miles (10,580 km) miles of track, not including subsidiaries Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway or the Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad; that year it reported 12,795 million ton-miles of revenue freight and no passengers. It was purchased and absorbed into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1980.

The St. Louis - San Francisco Railway was incorporated in Missouri on September 7, 1876. It was formed from the Missouri Division and Central Division of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. This land grant line was one of two railroads (the other being the M-K-T) authorized to build across Indian Territory. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, ATSF, interested in the A & P right of way across the Mojave Desert to California, took the road over until the larger road went bankrupt in 1893; the receivers retained the western right of way but divested the ATSF of the St. Louis-San Francisco mileage on the great plains. After bankruptcy the Frisco emerged as the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, incorporated on June 29, 1896, which also went bankrupt. On August 24, 1916 the company was reorganized as the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway, though the line never went west of Texas, being more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from San Francisco.

From Wikipedia

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.)

Commissioner Information: Kobo Customs is Kato's department in charge of custom models