Locomotives will be equipped with a mix of body and truck mounted KATO magnetic knuckle couplers
Locomotives feature directional Golden White LED headlights and illuminated preprinted numberboards where appropriate
Locomotives have a powerful five pole motor with all wheel electrical pickup and blackened wheels
Locomotives are DCC friendly
Drop in DCC compatible
Prototype & Model Overview:
The EMD E8A was already a venerable locomotive at the time of Amtrak’s inception, being renowned for their smooth ride, great speed, and reliability among 1st generation diesels. Around the time of the bankruptcy of the Penn Central railroad, Amtrak inherited many of its locomotives, including the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad passenger E8’s that would have pulled the Broadway Limited in days past. It was these E8s that comprised much of Amtrak’s locomotive eet in the non-electried track of the northeast, and until new power could be developed, it was these 1950s locos that continued to serve the railroad until the early 1980s.
