User Manual

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assigned to railroads across the nation and under all
operating conditions gave a good accounting of them-
selves. Two examples escaped dismantling. UP 3985
has been restored and joins UP 4-8-4 844 as the only
two steam locomotives operated by a class 1 railroad
today. The other, UP 3977, has been on display in
North Platte, Nebraska since 1968 and has recently
been refurbished by a group of dedicated railfan vol-
unteers.
nized locomotives in the world. In 1936, the first group
of locomotives with the 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement
was delivered to the Union Pacific Railroad. They
were an immediate success and their roster grew to
number 105 locomotives on the Union Pacific alone.
This new wheel arrangement was given the name
“CHALLENGER”. While the origin of the name is
unclear, it proved to be an apt moniker.
The Challenger type of locomotive would serve
until the end of mainline steam service. They were
In 1936, the Union Pacific Railroad and Alco met
the needs of increased speeds and tractive effort with
the design of the Challenger. Today, the Athearn N-Scale
4-6-6-4 Challenger meets the needs of modelers and
collectors by providing an N scale model that captures
all nuances of the prototype, taking model steam real-
ism to the next level.