Athearn Genesis 2.0 HO scale EMD SD70M-2
Athearn has released an upgraded version of its Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) SD70M-2 in its Genesis 2.0 line. The HO scale model has new walkway variations; see-through etched-metal steps; and additional light-emitting diode lighting effects, including illuminated number boxes, ground lights, and marker lights (the latter on select Canadian National units).
Electro-Motive Diesel produced the 4,300hp SD70M-2 from 2005 to 2010. Though similar in appearance to the SD70ACe, the SD70M-2 is equipped with DC traction motors. By the end of the production run, just 331 of the six-axle road units were built. Original owners were Canadian National, CIT Group (EMD demonstrators), Florida East Coast (FEC), and Norfolk Southern.
Our sample is decorated as FEC no. 105, part of the railroad’s 104 through 107 series built by EMD under order number 20076923 in August 2008. The four units were painted in the red, white, and blue RailAmerica paint scheme. Four other FEC SD70M-2 diesels, 100 through 103, were built in 2006 and painted blue and yellow.
The arrival of 24 General Electric ES44C4 diesels in 2014 marked the end of the SD70M-2s on the FEC. The 100 through 107 were returned to the lessor. The 105 bounced between lease service and storage from 2015 to 2021.
In late 2021 the 105 and 107 were acquired by the Florida Gulf & Atlantic RR (FGAR), a 430-mile Class III line owned by RailUSA that operates in the Florida panhandle and southern Georgia. In 2022, the 105 was repainted red, white, and blue (sans pinstripes) with the FGAR herald on the long hood.
Athearn’s EMD SD70M-2 features an injection-molded plastic body and diecast metal underframe. The model has Celcon handrails and stanchions, wire grab irons picked in yellow, metal lift rings and windshield wipers, and a cast brass five-chime air horn.
Rubber m.u. and trainline hoses, plastic uncoupling levers, and m.u. cables are on the front and rear pilots. The front pilot also has a snow plow, while the rear is fitted with spare Type E and F coupler knuckles.
The FEC model has an isolated cab with a nose-mounted headlight. This is one of four cab styles Athearn offers on the model. The engineer’s side of the cab has a small vent not found on the fullsize 105. The RailAmerica logos on the front and back were on the prototype from late 2008 through early 2011.
While the front window glazing is clear, the glazing on the sides and rear of the cab is tinted. Additional cab details include wind deflectors, mirrors, and sunshades.
The cab roof, which on the FEC model has an antenna dome on top, is a separate piece secured with magnets. The cab interior consists of a floor, engineer’s console and desk, control stand, conductor’s console, three seats, a rear wall, and forwardfacing camera. There are no crew figures.
The long hood is a multi-piece assembly. For example, the radiator housing consists of separate fans, radiator fan housings, fan rings, conduits, panels, and large lift rings. See-through etchedmetal parts include the dynamic brake grills, air compressor compartment grill (conductor’s side only), and rear door grills. The FEC model has a CN-style electrical cabinet behind the cab on the conductor’s side.
Not to be overlooked are the underbody details. The model is equipped
with HTCR-4 truck sideframes fitted with sand lines, brake cylinders, and shock struts.
The fuel tank is secured to the chassis with a single screw. Details on the tank include fillers, gauges, and breather pipes. Additional underbody parts include the frame rails, air tanks (engineer’s side only), air filter, and electronic bell.
To separate the shell from the chassis, I removed the front and rear draft-gear boxes plus two additional screws, one on each end of the fuel tank. With no tethered wires, the shell slips right off.
Centered in the chassis is a Genesis five-pole skew-wound motor with two brass flywheels and a multi-link drivetrain. The SoundTraxx Tsunami 2 sound decoder is clipped to a printed-circuit board mount above the motor.
Dual, downward-facing cube-type speakers are in a plastic housing over the rear truck. An injection-molded plastic no. 2 traction motor blower, visible through the dynamic brake grill, is located above the rear truck.
Two small printed-circuit (PC) boards with contact pins are attached to weights on the underframe. Corresponding contact pads are screwmounted to the underside of the shell. Wires from the pads go to the LEDs for the headlights, ditch lights, and ground lights.
Our sample is painted in the shortlived FEC RailAmerica scheme. (Fortress Investment Group purchased FEC in 2007. The firm also controlled shortline operator RailAmerica. However, FEC wasn’t a RailAmerica property.) There was some minor red overspray on the engineer’s side number board. The front headlight housing should be red, as should the vertical faces on the raised frames around the radiator fans. The horizontal strip between the bottom of the radiator panels and top of the radiator section doors should also be red, not white.
The color separation lines were mainly crisp, with some minor distortion in the pinstripes passing through the handbrake recess. Warning label placement matched prototype photos I found online.
I compared the model to prototype drawings in the July/August 2007 issue of Diesel Era magazine. For the most part, the model’s dimensions matched or were within scale inches of the published data. The calipers in our shop indicated the radiator fans were a scale 4" too tall.
The SD70M-2 we received is equipped with a dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami 2 sound decoder, so I tested it in both environments. For direct-current testing, I used an Athearn power pack. The sounds came on at 7V, which is typical of dual-mode models. At 8.6V the road locomotive ran at a 1 scale mph. The SD70M-2 topped out at 47 scale mph at 13.2V.
I turned to an NCE PowerCab for Digital Command Control (DCC) testing. At step 1, the unit moved at 4 scale mph. At step 28, the unit achieved a top speed of 82 scale mph. The full-size SD70M-2 has a top speed of 70 mph.
The model tips the scales at 1 pound, 3.1 ounces and has a drawbar pull of 3.52 ounces. That’s equivalent to 49 free-rolling freight cars on straight and level track.
For real world testing, I ran the SD70M-2 on our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy and Wisconsin & Southern layouts. The unit handled a mainline freight and industrial switching without any issues. The locomotive was able to muscle 11 50-foot boxcars up the curving 3 percent grade at Winter Hill.
The Athearn Genesis 2.0 EMD SD70M-2 diesel is offered in a mix of paint schemes covering original and secondary owners. The detail-rich HO scale model is well-suited for those modeling contemporary Class I and regional railroads. – Cody Grivno, senior editor