Athearn’s HO SD70ACu leads April 20 roundup, ACF hoppers follow

Athearn’s HO Genesis EMD SD70ACU is the model in this roundup that matters most, especially if your roster leans toward modern mainline power. The diesel came as a direct-current model with a 21-pin NEM connector or as a SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound version, and Athearn packed it with Celcon handrails, a detailed cab interior, LED lighting, prototype-specific details, see-through air intakes, and wire grab irons. Road names included Canadian Pacific, Ferromex, and Norfolk Southern, with Canadian Pacific tribute and block-lettering schemes carrying preorder tags of $394.99 and $389.99 and delivery windows stretching to November 2026 and May 2027.

This was the one to watch if you run contemporary freight and want motive power that looks right on the shelf and in motion. Progress Rail describes the SD70ACU as a modernized version of the SD90MAC, and that backstory matters because the prototype has a real second life in current service. Canadian Pacific ordered 30 upgraded SD70ACU locomotives, and Norfolk Southern later operated a large group of ex-Union Pacific conversions, with records tying NS 7279 to ex-UP 3510 and noting the purchase of 100 ex-UP SD90MACs in September 2014 for the rebuild program. Athearn also lists the model for 18-inch minimum-radius track, with 22 inches recommended, so tight layouts should pass unless they can spare the extra space.

The freight-car side of the roundup was just as practical. Athearn’s ACF 2970 two-bay Center Flow covered hopper came in single-car and three-pack formats, with body-mounted McHenry couplers, photo-etched running boards, machined metal wheels, and a detailed brake system. American Car & Foundry introduced the Centerflow design in the 1960s, building on a 2-bay covered hopper type that first entered service in the 1950s, and the 2,970-cubic-foot capacity is exactly why the model carries the 2970 designation. The same car also showed up in N scale as NAHX #90403, which gave smaller-layout modelers the same dense-bulk commodity look for cement, sand, and similar traffic.

At the back end of the roundup, Athearn’s UTC 33,000-gallon LPG tank car filled the modern-industry niche. The car used rotating-bearing-cap trucks, metal walkways, and printed placards, and Athearn split the run into early, flat-panel, and late body phases. One preorder group carried a July 2027 ETA and road names such as Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., General Electric Rail Services, and Trinity Industries Leasing. Put together, the roster pointed straight at operators building long modern freight consists, with the SD70ACU as the headline power and the hopper and tank car releases supplying the traffic that makes a layout feel busy instead of staged.