MTH 20-21670-1 O Sierra Railroad VO 1000 Diesel Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0 #40

VO 1000 Diesel Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0 - Sierra Railroad (Public Delivery Track)

Engine No. 40

Roadname: Sierra Railroad
Product Item Number:
20-21670-1
Catalog: ZZ2 2022 Uncataloged Items
Product Line: Premier
Scale: O Scale
Delivery Status:
Delivered: MAY 2023
This product is compatible with all O Gauge 3-Rail track systems including those systems offered by Atlas and Gargraves and Lionel and Ross Custom Switches.

The Baldwin Locomotive Works had been building steam engines for a century before it sold its first production diesel in 1937. While most of Baldwin’s diesels were ultimately disappointments to its customers, the engines’ unique looks won the hearts of American railfans and modelers. Nothing else on rails looked like the baby-faced 24-wheeled Centipedes or the Raymond Loewy-styled Sharknoses. The distinctive VO-1000, perhaps the most muscular looking of all first-generation diesel switchers, was Baldwin’s most successful product. The U.S. military and over 30 class one railroads bought 548 copies of the 1000 hp. engine between 1939 and 1946.

All Baldwin diesels were powered by variations of the same De La Vergne diesel motor. Acquired by Baldwin in 1931, the De La Vergne Engine Company had started life in 1880 making mechanical refrigeration machines for breweries. Its power plant for Baldwin’s locomotives was unique among diesels of its time. In order to make the fuel burn slower and give their 4-cycle engine a longer power stroke, De La Vergne’s designers used massive cylinders more than a foot in diameter and added a separate combustion chamber above each cylinder. To allow the fuel more time to burn, they ran the engine at a maximum speed of 625 rpm — just over half the speed of most competitive diesels. In the October 1936 issue of Baldwin Locomotives Magazine, the company claimed that “slow combustion gives low fuel consumption, absence of smoke, quick pick-up, and smooth idling.”

Ultimately the massive De La Vergne motor proved to be both a blessing and a curse. Teamed up with equally heavy-duty traction motors supplied by Westinghouse, Baldwin’s prime mover found its niche in low-speed lugging assignments, which it handled relatively well. But those were just the types of assignments in which crews tended to abuse equipment and push an engine to its limits. As a result, Baldwin engines eventually developed a reputation for high maintenance costs. The VO-1000 switcher, with its normally aspirated 8-cylinder engine, was actually one of Baldwin’s most dependable locomotives, and many served for decades. The turbocharged models that succeeded the VO-1000, however, were plagued with problems that included excessive piston wear. By 1956 it was clear that Baldwin was no longer a contender in the diesel business, and the nation’s oldest locomotive builder threw in the towel.

Features:

Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Body
Die-Cast Truck Sides, Pilots and Fuel Tank
Metal Chassis
Metal Handrails and Horn
(2) Handpainted Engineer Cab Figures
Authentic Paint Scheme
Metal Wheels, Axles and Gears
(2) Remote-Controlled Proto-Couplers
Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting
Directionally Controlled Constant Voltage LED Headlights
(2) Precision Flywheel-Equipped Motors
Operating ProtoSmoke Diesel Exhaust
Onboard DCC/DCS Decoder
Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments
1:48 Scale Proportions
Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring Freight Yard Proto-Effects
Unit Measures: 14 1/2” x 2 1/2” x 3 1/2”
Operates On O-31 Curves

Diesel DCC Features

F0 Head/Tail light
F1 Bell
F2 Horn
F3 Start-up/Shut-down
F4 PFA
F5 Lights (except head/tail)
F6 Master Volume
F7 Front Coupler
F8 Rear Coupler
F9 Forward Signal
F10 Reverse Signal
F11 Grade Crossing
F12 Smoke On/Off
F13 Smoke Volume
F14 Idle Sequence 3
F15 Idle Sequence 2
F16 Idle Sequence 1
F17 Extended Start-up
F18 Extended Shut-down
F19 Rev Up
F20 Rev Down
F21 One Shot Doppler
F22 Coupler Slack
F23 Coupler Close
F24 Single Horn Blast
F25 Engine Sounds
F26 Brake Sounds
F27 Cab Chatter
F28 Feature Reset

Note: Pictures may be of another Road Number.