ScaleTrains 33080 Rivet HO GE ES44AC Ferromex "Zebra" FXE 4643
In 2002, GE released the first GEVo, a new series of locomotives that would replace the AC4400CW and Dash 9-44CW. The first two models were the ES44DC and ES44AC. The ES44C4 followed a few years later.
The new models were designed to meet the stricter diesel locomotive emissions standards imposed by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. The EPA “Tier” emissions standards are a series, or Tiers, of allowable emissions levels based upon a locomotive’s date of manufacture. In 2005, Tier 2 took effect followed by Tier 3 in 2010 and Tier 4 took in 2015.
GE developed a new diesel engine, the 12-cylinder GEVO 12, to meet the new emission standards. Both the bore and stroke were increased to produce the same 4,400 horsepower as the older 7FDL16 16-cylinder engine.
The new prime mover drives an alternator producing AC current that is rectified to DC current. On the ES44DC, this powers the traction motors. On the ES44AC and ES44C4, the DC current is “chopped” back into AC to power the traction motors. The two models share a common 73’ 2” frame and external appearance.
The external appearance is similar to the AC4400CW. In fact, the cab on early ES44s is almost identical. In 2009, GE changed the cab and nose, moving the nose door from the left side to the right side and replacing the curve seams with more square seams.
Unlike their predecessors, both the AC and DC versions of the ES44 have the large box behind the cab. The biggest visual difference is the larger “wing” structure over the radiator cab. The thicker radiators and related equipment in the radiator cab work to cool the exhaust, which reduces emissions.
Customer options and design changes have resulted in seven different dynamic brake configurations. The grilles on the sides of the radiator cab have also gone through seven configurations. The most recent units have changed the latches on the engine cab doors to match the ET44 units.
Although EPA Tier 4 standards went into effect in 2015, the ES44-series continue to be built. This is due to the Tier 4 Credits, a complicated system that allows GE to continue to build and various railroads to buy the ES44 based on the number of Tier 4 units built.
After 2 testbed units and 35 pre-production units, over 7,600 additional ES44s have been built. All of the major railroads including BNSF, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific have fleets with 100s of units. Florida East Coast, Ferromex, Iowa Interstate, and Kansas City Southern also operate ES44s. In addition, 131 were built as lease units for Citirail.
The ES44 has become the best-selling diesel locomotive of all time.
FEATURES:
- Era: Present
- Series: 4600 to 4659, built 1-2/06
- Road number: 4643
- New “Zebra” Paint Scheme with large red section on rear of inverter cabinet
- Variations in data label placement
- Wi-Tronix Violet Exterior Cab Cameras mounted to both cab sides
- Anti vandalism grilles over windows
- Fully assembled
- Multiple road numbers
- Operating LED front deck-mounted ditch lights
- Operating LED front, rear, and rectangle side walkway lights*
- Printed and LED lighted number boards*
- Single trainline hose with silver gladhand
- Front and rear raised pilot-mounted Multiple Unit (MU) receptacles
- Front dummy Multiple Unit (MU) receptacles mounted to pilot face
- See-through round-hole stepwell steps
- Walkway with front anticlimber and anticlimber support brackets
- GE “nub” tread plate on walkways
- Early handrails with wrap over stanchion heads left long rail for walkway box clearance and right long rail with wrap over head on 2nd lower stanchion
- Front nose headlight
- Left nose door with window
- Narrow profile end handrails
- Front high-mounted (cab) numberboard housings
- Left side under cab front access bolted X panel; rear door with square corrugated grille
- Early cab with optional 4 side windows; without barrel bolt latches on subbase doors
- Detailed cab interior with separate floor, rear wall, seats, control stand, and grade crossing camera
- Single cab side blue flag holder
- Tinted cab side windows
- Tall mirror mounted in front of sliding cab side windows on both sides; additional small mirror on right side
- Cab roof large square antenna dome, medium rectangle antenna dome with conduit, small tear drop dome and triangle cap antenna
- Sand box clean out door with knuckle buster latch
- Small bolted and hinged inverter cabinet door
- Etched metal see-through dynamic brake intake grilles with blower motors visible inside
- Left side dynamic brake cab: tri blower dynamic brake with flush exhaust
- Right side dynamic brake cab: door with grille, small X panel, door with grille, and door with grille
- See-through dynamic brake exhaust
- Short right side air intake grille
- Left side auxiliary cab: 3 short doors with latches on the #2 door and narrow auxiliary cab filter box door with X panel in front
- Capacitor box on walkway
- Right side auxiliary cab: 4 doors with latches on #1 and #4 doors
- Lost wax brass cast Nathan AirChime K5HLR2 horn mounted on engine cab roof
- ES44 style engine cab doors: latched first door in each set of three
- Left side exhaust cab doors: latched last door in set of three
- Flush heat exchanger housing with two piece wide slot grille
- 22 individually applied etched metal see-through radiator intake and exhaust grilles on sides and top of radiator compartment
- Flush radiator grille
- Left side radiator cab grille arrangement: Flush doors. Grilles – high square, raised large rectangle, tall, short, tall, short front angled grill, two-piece rear angled grille, no grille under brake wheel
- Right side radiator cab grille arrangement: Flush doors. Grilles – high square, raised large rectangle, raised tall, raised tall, tall, short, tall, short front angled grill, two-piece rear angled grille
- No water fill box
- Low mounted vertical rear headlight
- Rear narrow-spaced dual dummy Multiple Unit (MU) receptacles
- Accurately profiled frame with separately applied plumbing and cabling
- AEI tag mounted on bracket below the right sidesill
- Toilet drain with interior handle
- Dual Graham-White (Salem) 824 air filters
- Early GE Steerable trucks with separately applied brake cylinders, air plumbing, and rotating bearing caps
- Square handbrake chain bracket
- 5,300-gallon fuel tank with internal waste retention tank, digital fuel gauge, vertical fuel gauge, and round fuel gauge
- Dual fuel fills per side with rear fill “blanked”
- Angled top left side fuel tank top box
- Short crankcase drainpipe
- Semi-scale coupler buffers equipped with die-cast metal semi-scale standard Type E knuckle couplers
- Factory-applied wire grab irons, snowplow with grab irons, spare knuckles, 3-hose Multiple Unit (MU) clusters with silver gladhands, uncoupling levers, windshield wipers, mirrors, sunshades, air tanks, fuel tank mounted electronic bell, brake wheel, and more
- Motor with 5-pole skew-wound armature
- Balanced dual flywheels
- All-wheel drive
- All-wheel electrical pick-up
- Directional LED headlights
- Printing and lettering legible under magnification
- Operates on Code 70, 83, and 100 rail
- Packaging safely stores model
- Minimum Radius: 18”
- Recommended Radius: 22”
DCC & sound ready locomotives also feature:
- Operable using a DC power pack
- DCC ready with 21-pin connector
* Lighting features operate when using an ESU decoder with appropriate programming while operating using DCC
** During DC operation, class lights illuminate in white. Access to other colors and the ability to change colors requires an ESU DCC decoder while operating in DCC
*** Compatible with appropriately programmed ESU decoders while operating using DCC