Union Pacific Railroad

Challenger # 3985 type 4-6-6-4 

Union Pacific Challenger project announcement.

Aster Hobby USA LLC is commissioning the UP Challenger type 4-6-6-4 locomotive as the next US prototype project. Our feasibility survey has concluded. A sincere thank you to everyone having responded with the required reservation deposit to give this project a green light. There is still some time left to get on the reservation list. A $1000.00 down payment is required. Please call us, or your authorized Aster dealer as soon as possible..

The projected target price for a Challenger KIT is US $ 12500.00 A target price for a RTR (ready to run) version has not yet been established. The $ 1000.00 down payment is fully refundable should the project be abandoned for any reason.

A pilot model may be introduced by spring 2011. Projected target date for production release is end of 2011. Progress updates will be posted on this website.

The current economic situation does no longer permit large scale production and long term product warehousing. Due to the cost of this locomotive, only as many as are reserved will be produced. Therefore, if you are seriously interested in the UP Challenger, please act now.

The UP Challenger locomotive will be designed and built by Aster Hobby Co. Inc. in Yokohama Japan.

 

Some technical details of the Aster model.

The locomotive will be modeled in 1/32 scale Gauge One and will feature a alcohol fired C-type boiler, working cylinder drain cocks on all four cylinders, battery powered headlight, and all the necessary appliances featured on the latest Aster locomotives. The possibility of a passenger version    ( gray with yellow striping) depends on the number of reservations received to keep higher production cost for this version within the target price.

 

The standard Aster design will be Union Pacific Challenger # 3985 in black, as preserved today in Cheyenne WY. The grey UP Passenger (or Greyhound version shown above in color) if made available will be engine # 3977. A black version without cab numbers and tender lettering (undecorated) will also be made available by advanced reservation only. This will give you a great opportunity should you desire to decorate the locomotive kit yourself in Rio Grande or Clinchfield lettering or kit bash it into a Great Northern Z-Class.. (see photos below). 

Four  pictures below courtesy Steam Locomotive Cyclopedia Vol.1
The Challengers ordered by Union Pacific from ALCO were numbered 3950-3999. Aster Hobby Co. Inc. is modeling the only operational example # 3985 still owned and operated by Union Pacific Railroad in Cheyenne WY. Some of the UP Challengers have been used in Passenger service and painted grey with yellow striping (pictured in color above). Both Challengers # 3985 and # 3977 have been preserved as oil burners and will be modeled by Aster Hobby Co. Inc. in "as preserved condition".
The Rio Grande operated several Challenger locomotives purchased from Baldwin. In 1943, five more were purchased from ALCO on a war order. They were identical to the UP Challengers. The ALCO engines # 3800 - 3805 did not match with the Railroads operations and maintenance system and were later sold to the Clinchfield.  
The Clinchfield Railroad purchased their Challengers from the Rio Grande. Besides converting them to single smoke stack they remained identical in appearance to the UP Challengers.
The Great Northern operated two ALCO Challengers which were originally owned by SP&S Railroad. They differed from the UP Challengers from the engine pilot arrangement, compound pump location, single smoke stack, slanted crew cab, cosmetic detail and a totally different tender. With some "kit bashing" skills a Aster UP Challenger kit may be converted to resemble this great looking GN class Z ( to compliment your recent Aster GN S2.)                             
 

Some milestone dates for the Aster Challenger project:

8/2/2010 Challenger design and development in progress.

4/13/2010 Union Pacific Railroad Company grants Limited Production and Trademark Certificate to Aster Hobby. Nothing in the way now to go forward with the project.

4/6/2010 UP Challenger survey ended. The Challenger survey has concluded. We are happy to announce that because of sufficient reservation commitments the project is receiving a green light. Negotiations with Union Pacific Railroad in Omaha NE are in progress to obtain the trademark licensing permit required for model manufacturers. 

2/10/2010 UP Challenger project announced and survey started.