Athearn has announced its latest version of a Frisco EMD SW1500 in its Ready-to-Roll line: The MSRP is $224.99 for the DC version and $294.99 for the DCC/(SoundTraxx Econami) sound version. ETA is January 2024. Rich
Thanks for posting this, I forgot announcements were on Friday. I'm glad Athearn is offering another run of these. The SW1500s made up a large portion of the switcher roster. Worth noting: these models will include upgraded LED lighting and a newly designed motor. Hopefully that will improve operating quality from the previous run.
There are misstatements in the information sheet from Athearn about the Frisco units. Our EMD SW1500 units were numbered SLSF 315-360. They did not stop as indicated at 352. Further, they were delivered in 4 production groups, not 3. Units SLSF 315-330 were delivered in October 1968, SLSF 331-346 in December 1969 (SLSF 331-342) and January 1970 (SLSF 343-346), SLSF 347-352 in March and April 1972, SLSF 353-360 in January 1973. These locomotive model units totaled 46. The locomotive production characteristics were split between 2 phases. Units SLSF 315-346 had production characteristics of phase IIa. Units SLSF 347-360 had characteristics of phase IIIb. Hope this helps. Thanks! Mark
I've noticed that none of the units have winterization windows this go-round. They didn't fit very well last time. Rich
