Prototype. General Motors Electro-Motive Division built the SD70ACe to give freight railroads an alternative to the General Electric ES44AC Evolution Series. Both diesel-electric locomotives were designed to meet stricter Environmental Protection Agency standards that went into effect in 2005.
Unlike the all-new GE “GEVO” engines, EMD based its design on the 16-710 engine, which had been used in the SD70 and SD70MAC for more than a decade. The new 4,300-hp 16-710G3C-2 in the SD70ACe not only has 10 percent more horsepower than its predecessor, it cuts emissions by 50 percent. Electro-Motive delivered a total of 185 SD70ACe locomotives in 2005.
An extensive article on the development of the SD70ACe (as well as the GE “GEVO” diesels) can be found in the November 2004 Model Railroader. The Kato model matches the prototype drawings printed in that article.
Appearance and paint. The Kato model is made primarily of plastic. All the molded details, including the placement of access panel doors and grills, match prototype photos. The roof-mounted radiator fans are especially well done, with fan blades visible under the grills.
All the handrails are gray flexible acetal plastic. Other separately applied details include the global-positioning-satellite dome on the cab roof and the roof-mounted five-chime air horn correctly located in the middle of the hood. The rear m.u. hoses are separate black plastic parts, but those on the front pilot are molded in gray as part of the snowplow.
The “Building America” American flag paint scheme on the model matches prototype photos. There is good color separation between the red striping and the Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray on the body shell. All the lettering is straight.I noticed that the American flag graphic and the Union Pacific shield on the sides of the body have horizontal lines running through them, which aren’t on the prototype. However, these lines are only visible to my naked eye from about two inches away.
All six of the model’s axles are powered, giving the N scale diesel an impressive drawbar pull of 1.3 ounces. None of the locomotive’s metal wheels have traction tires.
The SD70ACe looked great rounding the 15″ curves on our N scale layout. The locomotive performed smoothly through turnouts and crossovers.
The printed-circuit (PC) board is mounted on top of the split frame. White light-emitting diodes are at each end of the PC board. Plastic tubes in the body shell pipe light from the LEDs to the headlights and ditch lights.
We tested the model in DC using a Model Rectifier Corp. Tech 4 power pack. The model’s mechanism is very smooth and quiet throughout its speed range.
The Kato SD70ACe crept along at less than 1 scale mph and accelerated to 121 scale mph at 12 volts. This is faster than a prototype SD70ACe, which has a top speed of about 75 mph.
Converting the model to DCC is fairly simple. Digitrax and Train Control Systems make drop-in DCC decoders that fit the SD70ACe. Instructions on the Kato Web site focus on the Digitrax DN163K1C and DN163K1D decoders. As outlined in those instructions you’ll need to trim the decoder board slightly so that it fits into the frame. The TCS decoder (part no. K1D4-NC) should fit the frame without any modifications. However, you’ll need to remove four plastic pins from inside the body shell.
Whether on a DC or DCC layout, a pair of these smooth-performing contemporary mainline diesels would look great hauling an intermodal or unit coal train along an N scale layout.
Price: $110
Manufacturer
Kato U.S.A. Inc.
100 Remington Rd.
Schaumburg, IL 60173
www.katousa.com
Road names: (all Union Pacific) American flag (four road numbers) and heritage schemes, Chicago & North Western, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, Missouri Pacific, Southern Pacific, Western Pacific
Era: 2005 to present
Features
All-wheel drive and electrical pickup
Five-pole skew-wound can motor with dual brass flywheels
Illuminated ditch lights
Minimum radius: 9″
Operating Kato knuckle couplers at correct height
RP-25 contour metal wheelsets in gauge
Weight: 4 ounces
