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Description:
Here is one of the more unusual Norfolk Southern locomotives Athearn produced — Athearn Ready To Roll #79886, Norfolk Southern #9906 in its distinctive gray primer appearance.
This is not a fantasy paint scheme.
The real Norfolk Southern #9906 was a GE C40-9W built in 2004 and actually operated in this unfinished gray primer appearance before receiving Norfolk Southern’s standard black paint. Period photographs document the locomotive in service wearing this exact oddball look, including the sparse black 9906 / NS stencil-style lettering that gives it such a military, utilitarian appearance.
The final photo in this listing is a photograph of the real Norfolk Southern #9906 sitting in an actual rail yard in its gray primer paint. It shows just how closely Athearn reproduced the prototype — gray body, black underframe, yellow handrails, minimal markings and that unmistakable stenciled road number.
That last photo is the real animal.
Athearn modeled a very specific and temporary chapter in the life of NS 9906, which is what makes this release much more interesting than a standard black Norfolk Southern Dash 9.
Features include:
* Athearn Ready To Roll
* HO Scale
* Item #79886
* Norfolk Southern #9906
* GE Dash 9-40CW / C40-9W prototype
* Authentic gray primer appearance
* Distinctive stencil-style NS and 9906 lettering
* DCC Quick-Plug Equipped / DCC Ready
* Detailed handrails, plow, trucks, fuel tank and body details
* Original Athearn box
The locomotive itself presents very nicely. The original box does show some shelf/storage wear and some paper/adhesive residue on the clear window area, so please review all photos carefully.
The factory packaging is marked DCC Quick-Plug Equipped, meaning the locomotive is DCC ready. It is not being represented as having a decoder installed unless specifically stated otherwise.
For Norfolk Southern collectors, Dash 9 fans, and anyone who likes prototype oddities, this is one of those locomotives that immediately starts a conversation.
Most people are used to seeing Norfolk Southern locomotives in black.
This one earned attention simply by showing up gray.
And the final photo proves the real NS 9906 actually looked that way.
SCV Trains — carefully described, honestly represented, and ready for its next railroad.
