Hallmark Models - 594 - Locomotive, Diesel, GE Dash 8 - CSX Transportation - 7514

Model Information: This brass model was introduced by Hallmark in 1993. Like most brass locomotive models, this engine lacks window-glazing and couplers. It does, fortunately, have pockets for easy installation of MTL couplers. All wheels are geared and provide pickup. The loco is driven by a can motor. All gears are metal. It has Directional lighting. Reported as not a very good runner and pretty noisy.

DCC Information: No provision for DCC whatsover

Prototype History: The Dash 8 Series is a line of diesel-electric freight locomotives built by GE Transportation Systems. It replaced the Dash 7 Series in the mid-1980s, and was superseded by the Dash 9 Series in the mid-1990s. All models of the Dash 8 Series are powered by a 16- or 12-cylinder, turbocharged, GE 7FDL 4-stroke diesel engine.

The design of the Dash 8 Series is based upon that of the Dash 7 Series. The biggest changes introduced during the production of the Dash 8 Series were the first use of a microprocessor-equipped engine control unit in a diesel locomotive, and the adoption of a modular system in the construction of the vehicle body. The Dash 8 locomotive bodies were assembled from several modules, creating a combination to fit the length of the chassis. On models with a traditional narrow short hood, the part of the equipment room immediately behind the cab is taller than the top of the rounded cab roof, giving those models a distinctive appearance. On all models, that part of the equipment room houses the cooling fans for the dynamic braking system. Traction motors of Dash 8 locomotives were powered by direct current.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: CSX Transportation (reporting mark CSXT) is a Class I railroad in the United States. The main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation, the railroad is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns about 21,000 route miles (34,000 km). CSX operates one of the three Class I railroads serving most of the East Coast, the other two being the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and Canadian Pacific Railway. It also serves the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Together CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway have a duopoly over all east-west freight rail traffic east of the Mississippi River. As of October 1, 2014 CSX's total public stock value was slightly over $32 billion.

CSX Transportation was formed on November 1, 1980, by combining the railroads of the former Chessie System with Seaboard Coast Line Industries, and finally with the Seaboard System Railroad in 1986. The originator of the Seaboard System was the former Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which previously merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1967, and later with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, as well as several smaller subsidiaries such as the Clinchfield Railroad, Atlanta & West Point Railroad, Monon Railroad and the Georgia Railroad. The origin of the Chessie System was the former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, which had merged with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the Western Maryland Railway.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Hallmark Models was the importing arm of Bobbye Hall's Hobby Shop of Dallas, Texas. When Bobbye Hall retired in her nineties, both the importing business and the shop closed down.

Manufacturer Information: Samhongsa was a Korean manufacturer of model trains, well know for its brass models, imported notably by Hallmark Models. The company ceased its activity in the early 2000s. Some of the employees continued the brass model business as Sam Model Tech.