Athearn #25546 N 4-6-6-4, D&RGW #3803 Challenger

Detailed Information
Denver & Rio Grande Western
During the World War II industrial production was overseen and regulated by the Federal War Production Board. When the UP placed their 2nd Challenger order with Alco in 1943 the WPB stepped in and had 5 of the locomotives built for the Denver & Rio Grande Western RR to help fulfill their need for additional motive power to haul wartime traffic. These 5 locomotives were built to UP’s specifications.

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:
#3803
Coal burner
Dual smoke stacks. Era: 1944-1946.
STEAM LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:
DCC-ready features Quick Plug™ plug-and-play technology
Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more
Accurately-painted and –printed paint schemes
Full cab interior with boiler backhead with printed gauges
Individually applied piping, valves, generators, etc.
Operating eccentric cranks on both sides operating in correct direction
Headlights and indicator number boxes (number boards) with directional light change
Five pole, skewed armature motor with flywheel for smooth operation
Pivoting front and rear engines for negotiating 11″ radius curves
See-through running boards
See-through cab windows
McHenry® scale knuckle couplers
LED Lighting for realistic appearance
Fully-assembled and ready-to-run
Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power
Packaging securely holds for the model for safe storage
Minimum recommended radius: 15″
SOUND EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE
Tender-mounted DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound
Sound, units operate in both DC and DCC
Full DCC functions available when operated in DCC mode
Engine, whistle, and bell sounds work in DC
All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode
Excellent Slow speed control
Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes
CV chart included in the box
PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION
The name “Challenger” was given to steam locomotives with a 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement. This means that they have four wheels in the leading pilot truck, which helps guide the locomotive into curves, two sets of six driving wheels, and finally four trailing wheels, which support the rear of the engine and its massive firebox. Each set of six driving wheels is driven by two steam cylinders. In essence, the result is two engines under one boiler. The Union Pacific Railroad sponsored development of this type to meet the need for higher speeds in main-line service. Historically, articulated locomotives had been limited to slow speeds by factors inherent in their design. The technical breakthroughs achieved with the Big Boy enabled the carrier to develop a newer, improved Challenger that met their speed expectations.

Though originally intended for freight service, many Challengers were used in passenger service.