Aurora Postage Stamp - 4831 - Locomotive, Steam, 4-6-2, Pacific K4 - Santa Fe - 3420

Model Information: This model was first released by Minitrix in 1970. It remained in production until 1999 and has been imported by a variety of different brands. As is typical of 1st generation locomotives in N Scale, this model does not run particularly well nor does it support DCC in any form. Minitrix chose the Pennsylvania Railroad's enduring K4 Pacific as a prototype for its model.

DCC Information: This engine is not DCC-Compatible.

Prototype History: Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The 4-6-2 locomotive became almost globally known as a Pacific type. The type is well-suited to high speed running. The world speed record for steam traction of 126 miles per hour (203 kilometres per hour) has been held by a British Pacific locomotive, the Mallard, since 3 July 1938.

The Pennsylvania Railroad's K4s 4-6-2 "Pacific" (425 built 1914–1928, PRR Altoona, Baldwin) was their premier passenger-hauling steam locomotive from 1914 through the end of steam on the PRR in 1957.

Attempts were made to replace the K4s, including the K5 and the T1 duplex locomotive, but none was really successful, and the K4s hauled the vast majority of express passenger trains until replaced by diesel locomotives. The K4s was not powerful enough for the heavier trains it often pulled from the mid-1930s onward, so they were often double or even triple headed. This was effective, but expensive—several crews were needed. The PRR did have the extra locomotives, many having been displaced by electrification.

From Wikipedia

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: In 1967, Aurora Plastics Corporation started importing the Minitrix N Scale product line. These trains were marketed as Postage Stamp Trains. It was a bold entry into what would become a very active market in the new N-Scale model train market. The basic starter set took advantage of N-Scale’s small size by packaging everything necessary for a small model railroad in a book-like box. The larger starter sets were packaged in more conventional boxes. Aurora went out of business in 1977.

The Body styles of this product line were made in Austria by Roco, imported into the United States by Minitrix and then rebranded by Aurora. Some of the exact same molds were also produced by Roco for Atlas who branded them using their own name.

A lot of information can be found on All about Aurora Postage Stamp Trains web site by David K. Smith.