Route of The Century

The New York Central System is an iconic railway symbolizing fast passenger trains, dedicated fast freight service, such as The Pacemaker, and even a touch of glamor with the famous 20th Century Limited.

At its peak, the railway fielded more than 2,500 steamers, 900 diesels, and 139 electric locomotives serving customers on 10,000 miles of track.

The Central had a tidy network of lines operated by subsidiary carriers such as the Boston & Albany, the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie; the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis (Big Four), and the Michigan Central. Service ranged from St. Louis to New York, Boston, Montreal, and even Charleston West Virginia and many places in between.

After World War 2 the road embraced dieselization as a means of reducing maintenance and employee costs. General Motors, with its E and F cab units, was a major supplier for affordable train power.

The Menards® F unit set mirrors the railway’s famous Lightning Stripe livery and sets you up to recreate operations of a line that covered a quarter of the United States and two Canadian Provinces.

The Menards® F unit set mirrors the railway’s famous Lightning Stripe livery and sets you up to recreate operations of a line that covered a quarter of the United States and two Canadian Provinces.

Not just pretty faces

This precision crafted powered unit has two powered motors, a rugged die-cast metal frame, metal truck side-frames, and power pickup rollers on each wheel set.

The powered unit comes equipped with crew figures in the cab. Safety is assured along the line with a bright LED headlight, backup light, and classification lighting. Change direction, and the powered unit's headlight goes off, and a rear light illuminates. The model has working front and rear couplers.

Cast-in detailing includes portholes, rivet and seam detail, and exhaust and radiator fans. The model showcases premium painting and decoration of the New York Central livery.

Both the units unit measure 13-inches long and easily operate on O-31 diameter curves, and all contemporary track brands

The unpowered A unit perfectly mirrors the powered unit with illuminated number boards, and two crewmen in the cab. The unpowered unit’s headlight remains continuously illuminated. You can run the engines nose-front or nose-opposite as you may wish.

Radio-Equipped

The locomotive comes with an easy-to-use hand-held wireless controller. Easy for youngsters or adults to hold and use.

- Easy rotating forward-reverse directional control
- Select horn or bell sounds
- Trigger crew communications
- Adjustable volume control
- Quick battery replacement