MTH 30-20890-1 - AS-616 Diesel Engine "Milwaukee Road" w/ PS3 #561 - Custom Run for MrMuffin'sTrains

Product Description

Announced Date:

July 2021

Released Date:

Jan 2023

Individually Boxed:

Yes

Road Name: Milwaukee Road

Road Number: 561

Product Line: RailKing Scale

Scale: O Scale

Formerly 30-208MILW

Features:

Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body

Die-Cast Truck Sides, Pilots and Fuel Tank

Metal Chassis

Metal Handrails and Horn

(2) Handpainted Engineer Cab Figures

Authentic Paint Scheme

Metal Wheels, Axles and Gears

(2) Remote-Controlled Proto-Couplers

Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting

Directionally Controlled Constant Voltage LED Headlights

Lighted LED Cab Interior Light

(2) Precision Flywheel-Equipped Motors

Operating ProtoSmoke Diesel Exhaust

Onboard DCC/DCS Decoder

Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments

1:48 Scale Proportions

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

Unit Measures: 14 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 3 3/4"

Operates On O-31 Curves 

Diesel DCC Features

F0 Head/Tail light

F1 Bell

F2 Horn

F3 Start-up/Shut-down

F4 PFA

F5 Lights (except head/tail)

F6 Master Volume

F7 Front Coupler

F8 Rear Coupler

F9 Forward Signal

F10 Reverse Signal

F11 Grade Crossing

F12 Smoke On/Off

F13 Smoke Volume

F14 Idle Sequence 3

F15 Idle Sequence 2

F16 Idle Sequence 1

F17 Extended Start-up

F18 Extended Shut-down

F19 Rev Up

F20 Rev Down

F21 One Shot Doppler

F22 Coupler Slack

F23 Coupler Close

F24 Single Horn Blast

F25 Engine Sounds

F26 Brake Sounds

F27 Cab Chatter

F28 Feature Reset

Overview:

Built from 1950-1954, the AS-616 was Baldwin's best-selling and final stab at the burgeoning road switcher market, which had been pioneered by Alco's RS-1 and came to be dominated by EMD's GP7 and GP9. In theory - and in practice with EMD Geeps - a road switcher was the perfect all-around diesel, equally adept at low-speed yard work or hustling mainline freight. And indeed, AS-616 stood for "All-Service, 6 axle, 1600 horsepower" But the AS-616, like all Baldwin diesels, became typecast by its owners in one particular role: low-speed lugging of heavy loads, both in the yard and in mainline drag freight service.

This role stemmed from the De La Vergne diesel motors that powered all Baldwin units. Acquired by Baldwin in 1931, the De La Vergne Engine Company had started life in 1880 making mechanical refrigeration machines for breweries. Its power plant for Baldwin's locomotives was unique among diesels of its time. In order to make the fuel burn slower and give their 4-cycle engine a longer power stroke, De La Vergne's designers used massive cylinders more than a foot in diameter and added a separate combustion chamber above each cylinder. To allow the fuel more time to burn, they ran the engine at a maximum speed of 625 rpm - just over half the speed of most competitive diesels. In the October 1936 issue of Baldwin Locomotives Magazine, the company claimed that "slow combustion gives low fuel consumption, absence of smoke, quick pick-up, and smooth idling."

Ultimately the massive De La Vergne motor proved to be both a blessing and a curse. Teamed up with equally heavy-duty traction motors supplied by Westinghouse, Baldwin's prime mover found its niche in low-speed, heavy tonnage lugging assignments, where engine crews admired Baldwin diesels because they just wouldn't quit. But those were just the types of assignments in which crews tended to abuse equipment and push an engine to its limits. As a result, Baldwin engines eventually developed a reputation for high maintenance costs. The early VO-1000 switcher, with its normally aspirated 8-cylinder engine, was one of Baldwin's most dependable locomotives; but the turbocharged models that succeeded it, including the AS-616, were plagued by problems that included excessive piston wear and chronic oil leaks. In the early 1950s, when diesel power was new and railroads were trying engines from all manufacturers, 19 U.S. and Latin American railroads purchased 221 AS-616s (including 7 cabless B-units). But by the middle of the decade, it was clear that Baldwin was no longer a contender in the diesel business, and in 1956 the nation's oldest locomotive builder threw in the towel.

Relive the excitement and variety of the early diesel years with the RailKing Scale AS-616. Thanks to Proto-Sound 3.0, our model features authentic Baldwin prime mover sounds and the ability to duplicate the low-speed lugging power of its prototype - as well as the ability to hustle along virtually as fast as you care to run it.