HO Tower 55 GE ES44AC is a detailed powerhouse

This superbly detailed model of a General Electric ES44AC heavyduty road diesel is the initial offering in a new line of HO plastic locomotives from Tower 55. Tower 55 is a subsidiary of Overland Models, a manufacturer of brass locomotives and rolling stock.

The Explorer-series locomotive reviewed here includes an automatic dual-mode Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder and Digitrax sound system. The same locomotive is also available as a Pioneer-series, DC-only model without sound. Both versions have numerous railroad-specific details.

An innovative prototype. General Electric introduced its Evolution Series of C-C heavy-duty road diesel locomotives in December 2002. Designed to meet stringent emission requirements, these innovative new locomotives deliver 4,400 hp from a 12-cylinder diesel engine that’s more fuel-efficient than a conventional engine producing the same horsepower from 16 cylinders.

The prototype’s cooling system has a new heat exchanger to lower the diesel engine’s operating temperatures. This helps reduce emissions and maintenance. The oversize cooling system is the ES44AC’s primary spotting feature; the locomotive is otherwise similar to GE’s AC4400CW.

So far GE has sold ES44ACs to Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Canadian Pacific, and Union Pacific.

Model Railroader published drawings and a feature article on the ES44AC in November 2004. Tower 55’s model closely matches these drawings, with slight variations to match the UP versions.

An impressive start. As I unpacked this model, my first impression was that the locomotive’s detailing and finish looked great. There’s a realistic crispness about the details that really stands out. Every walking surface on the model is covered with safety tread, and there are hinges, latches, and lift rings on every door and access panel.

This model follows the same style of construction used in most of today’s plastic diesels. Its highly detailed body is a separate assembly that fits over the mechanism. Interlocking latches and the coupler boxes hold them together.

All of the decoration is first-rate, with clean lines between the colors and sharp printing, including the flags and numerous warning labels.

Mechanism. A Canon five-pole can motor is mounted above the fuel tank. Brass flywheels and universal sockets are pressed onto each motor shaft. The main printed-circuit (PC) board is mounted on top.

The truck gearboxes are acetal plastic and have rigid bolsters that support individual axle gearboxes. These axle gearboxes are shaped like prototype traction motors to provide a neat see-through effect between the drivers.

The six nickel-silver wheelsets match the National Model Railroad Association standards gauge. The RP-25 contour wheels are mounted on split axles that ride in concealed metal bearings. The six bearings on each side are hard-wired to the PC board so that all of the drivers are part of the electrical pickup system.

Electronic features. The ES44AC has a Digitrax automatic dual-mode DCC decoder and sound system that operates on either DCC or DC control systems. This is an NMRA standard decoder, so it will operate on any standard DCC system. A 16-page instruction manual explains the system’s functions and basic configuration variable (CV) adjustments. For more advanced CV programming, you’ll need to download the instructions for the DH163 decoder from the Digitrax Web site at www.digitrax.com.

Some sounds, such as the horn, have momentary functions that operate as long as the button is pressed. Others, like the bell, toggle on or off. Our sample arrived with its initial volume set high enough to distort the sound. Resetting the master volume to the one-third point made the sounds more realistic and brought out the distinctive GE engine sounds.

Performance. On DC our sample started moving on 1 volt at 3.3 scale mph, but the sound didn’t start until the throttle reached 3.5 volts. According to Brian Marsh of Overland, this is being changed. In the future, both functions will occur simultaneously. The model ran quietly throughout its speed range to a maximum speed of 90.6 mph.

Using a 28-step DCC throttle, our model began moving on step 3 at 4.1 mph, reached 56.2 mph at step 14, and a top speed of 101 mph at step 28. All of these speeds can be adjusted with the decoder’s CVs.

The drawbar pull of 4.5 ounces is equivalent to 62 free-rolling freight cars on straight, level track.

After studying this new model, I’m impressed with its quality, detail, and performance. It’s great to see that Tower 55 has taken on the production of some of railroading’s newest locomotives within only a couple years of the prototypes going into service.

HO GE ES44AC road diesel

Price
Explorer-series with sound and dual-mode DCC, $299 each; Pioneer-series DC-only without sound, $259 each

Manufacturer
Tower 55
Division of Overland Models
Inc., 3808 W. Kilgore Ave.,
Muncie, IN 47304
www.Tower55products.com
Description
Plastic and metal ready-to-run heavy-duty road diesel
Road names
All paint schemes are offered with our without DCC and sound in several unit numbers and unnumbered versions: Canadian Pacific, GE Demonstrator (no. 2005 only), Southern Pacific (Black Widow fantasy scheme), and Union Pacific (with red or yellow sill stripes)

HO GE ES44AC features

All-wheel drive and electrical pickup
Brass handrails, horn, plow, and other small details
Canon car motor with dual brass flywheels
Constant directional headlights
DC-only (Pioneer-series) models have no provision for DCC
DCC (Explorer-series) version includes an automatic dual mode decoder with Digitrax sound system that operates on both DC and DCC
Drawbar pull: 4.5 ounces
Engine weight: 20 ounces
Illuminated number boxes
Kadee scale magnetic knuckle couplers mounted at the proper height
Minimum radius: 22″
Nickel-silver RP-25 contour scale 42″-diameter wheels (correctly gauged)
Prototype-specific details
Stainless-steel windshield wipers