Bachmann - 63154 - Engine, Diesel, S-4 - Santa Fe - 1528

Model Information: Bachmann introduced this model in 2013. After the successful roll-out of their earlier 44T and 70T models (which in our opinion don't run very well), it seemed they found a marketplace and decided to produce more switchers. Some folks have found that these run very well but our experience has been mixed (with the 44Ts). All of the Bachmann switchers have nice detail. Also Bachmann customer service is excellent and if you receive a bad unit, they are very prompt and courteous in swapping a good loco for a bad one. These models feature low-profile blackened wheels, magnetic operating couplers (EZ-Mates are not our personal favorite but they work) and smooth, quiet operation. They are NOT easy to disassemble, like most modern Bachmann units, so tuning may prove difficult.

These engines have standard modern features as well as a factory standard DCC-Decoder. Unlike with Atlas locomotives, there is no DCC-Ready option. Given Rapido Trains bad experience with releasing DCC-only locomotives, we expect that Bachmann is also receiving some negative feedback. This does not seem to deter Bachmann, as all of their recent releases have been DCC-only.

Road Name History: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (reporting mark ATSF), often abbreviated as Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. Chartered in February 1859, the railroad reached the Kansas-Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado, in 1876. To create a demand for its services, the railroad set up real estate offices and sold farm land from the land grants that it was awarded by Congress. Despite the name, its main line never served Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the terrain was too difficult; the town ultimately was reached by a branch line from Lamy.

The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport, an enterprise that (at one time or another) included a tugboat fleet and an airline (the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway). Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean. The ATSF was the subject of a popular song, Harry Warren & Johnny Mercer's "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", written for the film, The Harvey Girls (1946).

The railroad officially ceased operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, who model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann's brand is the largest seller, in terms of volume, of model trains in the world. Bachmann primarily specializes in entry level train sets, and premium offerings in many scales. The Spectrum line is the high quality, model railroad product line, offered in N, HO, Large Scale, On30, and Williams O gauge all aimed for the hobbyist market. Bachmann is the producer of the famous railroad village product line known as "Plasticville." The turnover for Bachmann model trains for the year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $46.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005.