News & Reviews News Athearn HO Wheeling & Lake Erie EMD SD40-2 diesels

Athearn HO Wheeling & Lake Erie EMD SD40-2 diesels

By Cody Grivno | January 1, 2026

Unit 1776 is one of three road numbers to be offered

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Athearn HO Wheeling & Lake Erie EMD SD40-2

Scale: HO (1:87.1)

Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $214.99; with SoundTraxx Econami sound decoder, $294.99

Era: Late 2010s+ to 2025+ (varies based on paint scheme)

Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com

Color illustrations showing nose, fireman’s side, and rear of six-axle EMD hood unit painted red, white, and blue with white and gold graphics on white background

Athearn HO Wheeling & Lake Erie EMD SD40-2 features:

  • All-wheel drive and electrical pickup
  • Celcon handrails
  • Corrugated radiators
  • Detailed fuel tank with fillers, gauges, and breather pipes
  • Ditch lights
  • Flexible rubber m.u. and train line hoses
  • Heavy, die-cast metal frame
  • Large plow on front pilot
  • Light-emitting-diode lighting
  • Minimum radius, 18”; recommended radius, 22”
  • MU stands
  • Road-number-specific exhaust stacks and dynamic brakes
  • Photo-etched stainless steel windshield wipers
  • See-through dynamic brake and radiator fans
  • Separate, factory-applied air tanks
  • Wire grab irons

Release date: June 2027

Road names: Wheeling & Lake Erie (No. 1776 [red, white, and blue] in one road number, Nos. 7001 and 7015 [orange and black] in two numbers).

News & Products is a regular feature of Trains.com for model railroad operators and builders to get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more. Model railroad product news may include HO, N, O, S, and Z scales. Product release dates and prices will vary according to each manufacturer.

If you are a manufacturer and have new product releases, please email Senior Editor Cody Grivno at cody.grivno@firecrown.com.

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