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Product Information:
Rapido HO Scale EMD SW10 – Union Pacific UP #96 – DC Version
DC/Silent: 21-pin DCC Ready (no decoder or sound installed). Mo-Power capacitor system for uninterrupted operation in DCC.
HO Scale SW10 Locomotive features:
- Rebuilt hood featuring hump for cooling equipment
- Detailed radiator fans with etched-metal grilles
- Cannon and company licensed fans
- Single chime horn with bracket on cab front
- Union Pacific 96 features a Leslie RS5T horn on cab roof
- All-weather windows, cab shades where appropriate
- Highly detailed cab interior
- Lit control stand
- See-through metal etched parts
- Many road specific details
- Heavy diecast frame
- Diecast gear boxes for added weight
- Semi scale metal couplers
- Full LED lighting, including operating beacons/flashing lights where appropriate
- DC/Silent (21-pin DCC Ready) or DC/DCC/Sound (ESU LokSound) options
- Mo-Power capacitor system for uninterrupted operation in DCC power
- Suggested minimum radius: 18"
Road Specific Details – Union Pacific Steam Program Shop Switcher #96:
- Steam Program Shield on cab
- Sunshades on side windows
- Modified "condensed" diagonal pilot stripes
- White numbers on black numberboard
- Leslie RS5TR airhorn
- Beacon on cab roof
- Aluminum trucks
- Harbor Mist exhaust stacks
- Extra all-weather window, sunshades and cab arm rest in polybag
In the late-1970s, Union Pacific performed a motive power study to determine how many switch engines were needed for yard service. Their aging fleet of SW7, SW9 and TR5A switch engines, which were built between the late-1930s and early-1950s, were due for overhaul or replacement. The price of a new switch engine was at a premium during this time, so UP chose to rebuild these engines in small batches to spread out the cost.
The rebuild program commenced at UP’s former Omaha Shops, with UP 1848 serving as the first switch engine to be selected for the rebuild program. Upon entering the shops, the locomotive was nearly stripped of every component, including the trucks, prime mover and other internal components, and the cab interior. Sill handrails were added while the frame was steam cleaned. The trucks were also completely overhauled and converted to roller bearings. The older 567-power assemblies were swapped out for newer 645-assemblies, all-new cabling and wiring and two new 36”, electrically-driven cooling fans (from retired GP9s) on the unique hood hump. A new sand box was fabricated and placed on the front of the nose along with MU capabilities. The cab was updated to FRA-mandated “clean cab” standards with a new AAR control stand and even a refrigerator!
A total of 75 SW10s rolled out of UP’s Omaha Shops, all rebuilt between 1979 and 1984. The SW10s were sent to yards across the system in the 1980s. By the mid-1990s, many began to show their age. Many SW10s were sold to finance or resellers and found their way on shortlines, terminal roads and leasing services. Fifteen units were sold to Ferromex while a handful wound up on Canadian Pacific. Perhaps the most famous SW10 was ex-UP 1243, which was renumbered to 96 and assigned to the steam program in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In 2017, UP donated the 96 to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, where it continues to operate today.
Prototype photo: UP 96, Portland, OR, 2019 – photo courtesy Dan Darnell (via Rapido Trains). Artwork is preliminary and subject to change before final production.
