MTH 30-1846-1 - USRA 0-6-0 Steam Switcher "Reading" #1462 w/ PS3 (Slope Tender)

Product Description

Announced Date:

June 2023

Released Date:

June 2024

Individually Boxed:

Yes

Road Name: Reading

Road Number: 1462

Product Line: RailKing Scale

Scale: O Scale

Features:

Die-Cast Boiler and Chassis

Die-Cast Tender Body

Authentic Paint Scheme

Real Tender Coal Load

Die-Cast Locomotive Trucks

Engineer and Fireman Figures

Metal Handrails and Decorative Bell

Decorative Metal Whistle

Metal Wheels and Axles

(2) Remote Controlled Proto-Couplers

Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting

Constant Voltage Headlight

Operating Firebox Glow

Lighted Cab Interior

Operating Tender Back-up Light

Precision Flywheel Equipped Motor

Synchronized Puffing ProtoSmoke System

Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments

Wireless Drawbar

Near Scale Sizing

Onboard DCC Receiver

Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring Freight Yard Proto-Effects

Unit Measures: 17 1/2” x 2 7/8” x 3 1/2”

Operates On O-31 Curves 

Steam DCC Features

Headlight/Tail light

Bell

Whistle

Start-up/Shut-down

Passenger Station/Freight Yard Sounds

All Other Lights (On/Off)

Master Volume

Front Coupler

Rear Coupler

Forward Signal

Reverse Signal

Grade Crossing

Smoke On/Off

Smoke Volume

Idle Sequence 3

Idle Sequence 2

Idle Sequence 1

Extended Start-up

Extended Shut-down

One Shot Doppler

Coupler Slack

Coupler Close

Single Horn Blast

Engine Sounds

Brake Sounds

Cab Chatter

Feature Reset

Labor Chuff

Drift Chuff

Overview:

During World War I, Uncle Sam nationalized the railroads when they proved unequal to the task of moving massive amounts of men and materiel for the war effort. The agency that ran the trains was the United States Railroad Administration, or USRA, and one of its chief accomplishments was the creation of 12 steam engine designs that lasted for decades. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, USRA locomotives were “the first successful standardization of American motive power” — and the only standard designs until the diesel era.

With 255 engines delivered to 23 railroads, production numbers for the government-issue 0-6-0 were the second-highest of any USRA design. And more than any other USRA engine, the six-coupled switcher was found from coast to coast, from Maine to Texas, and on railroads large and small. Its short wheelbase enabled it to slip into industrial and wharf sidings where larger engines couldn’t go, and the cut out or sloping tenders used on many roads offered better visibility for backup moves. Owners were generally quite pleased with the quality of the government’s design, and many 0-6-0s lasted into the 1950s.

The RailKing USRA 0-6-0 sports Imperial-level details like legible builders plates and a real coal load, as well as all the operating features you’d want in a steam switcher: smooth, steady operation down to 3 scale miles per hour; remote Proto-Couplers front and rear; chuffing sounds and puffing smoke synchronized with the drivers at a correct four chuffs per revolution; adjustable smoke intensity; great pulling power; directional headlight and backup light; and authentic stream-era sounds.