Kato USA - 176-0934 - Engine, Diesel, U30C - Union Pacific - 2861

Model Information: The GE U23C and U30C models were first released by Kato in 1989. A second release appeared in 1991. Kato reworked this locomotive in 2010 to create a more typical post-2000 model. The 2010 version features a redesigned DCC-Ready mechanism with a new detailed underframe which allows the locomotive to be fitted with body mounted, magnetic knuckle couplers. The two models have only minor detail differences in the shells.

The modern (2010+) version features:

• Locomotives feature directional white LED headlights and illuminated preprinted number boards
• Powerful Kato mechanism powered by a 5-pole flywheel motor and featuring a 9 3/4" minimum turning radius.
• Re-designed body shell to equip the locomotive with body mounted KATO magnetic knuckle couplers.
• DCC friendly and ready for drop in decoder installation.
• Smooth rolling blackened metal wheels.
• Optional untinted clear headlights and number-boards available for using DCC boards with tinted LEDs.

Note that the prototype Santa Fe (ATSF) #7500 to #7519 were actually U23C, as Kato indicated on the bottom of the box.

DCC Information:
Models produced since 2010 accept the following plug-in decoders:
- Digitrax DN163K1C : 1 Amp N Scale Mobile Decoder for Kato N scale SD40-2 locos made from year 2006 onward.
- TCS K1D4-NC

Prototype History: Introduced by GE as a competitor to the EMD SD40 and SD40-2, the U23C and U30C locomotive chassis' were one of GE's earliest locomotive successes. Nicknamed "U-Boats", these units were used in multiple services, pulling coal trains, general freight, and even as a test-power unit for the Department of Transportation's subway car experiments in Colorado.
The 3000 horsepower GE U30C was one of the earliest successes from General Electric in the diesel locomotive market. The U30C has eight tall hood doors per side, a function of the V16 GE FDL diesel motor within. With 600 units sold, the U30C proved to be a viable alternative for customers who were unable to purchase SD40s or SD40-2s from Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) due to production backlog.
Other than six tall hood doors matching six power assemblies per side, there are very few features which distinguish the U23C from the U30C.

Full GE U30C data sheet on The Diesel Workshop.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Road Name History: The Union Pacific Railroad (reporting mark UP) is a freight hauling railroad that operates 8,500 locomotives over 32,100 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Union Pacific Railroad network is the largest in the United States and employs 42,600 people. It is also one of the world's largest transportation companies.

Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP); both are headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Over the years Union Pacific Corporation has grown by acquiring other railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago & North Western, Western Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Southern Pacific (including the Denver & Rio Grande Western).

Union Pacific Corporation's main competitor is the BNSF Railway, the nation's second largest freight railroad, which also primarily services the Continental U.S. west of the Mississippi River. Together, the two railroads have a duopoly on all transcontinental freight rail lines in the U.S.

Read more on Wikipedia and on Union Pacific official website.

Brand/Importer Information: KATO U.S.A. was established in 1986, with the first U.S. locomotive model (the GP38-2, in N-Scale) released in 1987. Since that time, KATO has come to be known as one of the leading manufacturers of precision railroad products for the modeling community. KATO's parent company, Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

In addition to producing ready-to-run HO and N scale models that are universally hailed for their high level of detail, craftsmanship and operation, KATO also manufactures UNITRACK. UNITRACK is the finest rail & roadbed modular track system available to modelers today. With the track and roadbed integrated into a single piece, UNITRACK features a nickel-silver rail and a realistic-looking roadbed. Patented UNIJOINERS allow sections to be snapped together quickly and securely, time after time if necessary.

The Kato U.S.A. office and warehouse facility is located in Schaumburg, Illinois, approximately 30 miles northwest of Chicago. All research & development of new North American products is performed here, in addition to the sales and distribution of merchandise to a vast network of wholesale representatives and retail dealers. Models requiring service sent in by hobbyists are usually attended to at this location as well. The manufacturing of all KATO products is performed in Japan.

Supporters of KATO should note that there is currently no showroom or operating exhibit of models at the Schaumburg facility. Furthermore, model parts are the only merchandise sold directly to consumers. (Please view the Parts Catalog of this website for more specific information.)