Dear HO Scale Customers;

Athearn is excited to announce New Wheeling and Lake Erie EMD (Electro-Motive Division) SD40-2 Diesel Locomotives

Wheeling and Lake Erie

Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company operates a fleet of SD40-2 locomotives over their 840-mile long system. Recently they painted one unit into a special scheme to commemorate the nation’s upcoming celebration of 250 years of independence.

According to their Facebook page, “This one-of-a-kind unit was designed entirely in-house, drawing inspiration from the iconic Norfolk & Western bicentennial locomotive of 1976. But this is no replica — it features a bold Wheeling twist, including chevron striping and Athearn signature flying letters. Every detail of the paint job was carefully considered and expertly applied, resulting in one of the most striking finishes on Athearn roster. Shop personnel spent countless hours sanding and buffing the clearcoat to eliminate any blemishes, also adding a polished brass bell, vintage “raised letter” number boards, and a restored Leslie air horn, bringing back an audio-visual aesthetic largely vanished from the modern railroad scene.”

WE FEATURES:

• Ditch Lights
• Different exhaust stacks and dynamic brakes per road number
• MU stands
• Large plow on front pilot
• Corrugated radiators

PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION

The SD40-2 was introduced in January 1972 as part of EMD’s Dash 2 series, responding to competing products from GE and ALCO. Reliability and versatility of the 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 made it the best-selling model in EMD’s history and the standard of the industry for several decades after its introduction. The SD40-2 was an improvement over the SD40, with modular electronic control systems similar to those of the experimental SD45X and DDA40X. The last SD40-2 delivered to a United States railroad was built in July 1984, with production continuing for railroads in Canada until 1988.

SD40-2 LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:

• Flexible rubber MU hoses for durability
• Flexible rubber trainline hose
• See-through cab windows
• Coupler cut levers
• Wire grab irons
• Exhaust stack
• See-through dynamic brake and radiator fans
• Frame mounted bell (unless noted)
• Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, & breather pipes
• Separately applied air tanks
• Fine-scale Celcon handrails for scale appearance
• Photo-etched stainless steel windshield wipers
• LED Illuminated front and rear headlights, ditch lights, and beacons (where applicable to the prototype)
• DCC-ready Non-sound version features 21-pin NEM DCC plug
• McHenry operating scale knuckle couplers
• All-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth & quiet operation
• All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow
• 5-pole motor with precision-machined flywheels and multi-link drive train for trouble free operation
• Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track
• Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power
• Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more
• Accurately –painted and –printed paint schemes
• Packaging securely holds model for safe storage
• Fully-assembled and ready-to-run
• Minimum radius: 18” Recommended radius 22”

SOUND-EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE

• Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Econami sound
• Single cube speaker for optimal sound quality
• Sound units operate in both DC and DCC
• Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC
• Some functions are limited in DC
• All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode
• Effect lighting (if applicable) using F5 and/or F6
• Excellent low-speed operation
• Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn, bell, and lights
• Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes
• CV chart included in the box

Order Due Date: February 27, 2026

Anticipated Delivery Date: July 2027

Looking for more Athearn EMD (Electro-Motive Division) SD40-2 Diesel Locomotives? Click here!