Rivet Counter HO Scale GE ES44AC, Iowa Interstate/America's 250th Anniversary

In 2002, GE introduced the “Evolution Series” of locomotives. Better known as “GEVOs” or ES44s, this series has become the best-selling line of diesel locomotives with production nearing 8,000 units. Our Rivet Counter™ series model renders numerous variations of cabs, dynamic brakes, doors, grilles, trucks, etc. We’ve also incorporated LED lighting effects, including front, rear, and side walkway lights; ground lights; printed and lighted number boards; and ditch lights.

Run: 8

Announced: Aug 28, 2026

Estimated Time of Arrival: July 2027

Preorder Guarantee Date: Nov 2, 2026

DCC & Sound Equipped Retail: $435.99 DC/DCC Ready Retail: $288.99

See below for your price

In stock

SKU

8-HORCES44-250-5

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Grouped product items
Item Number	Road Number	Control & Sound Options	Our Price	Availability	ETA Date	Quantity
SXT43985	510	DCC & Sound Equipped	$369.99	Preorder Preorder by 11/02/2026	July 2027
SXT43986	510	DC/DCC Ready	$244.99	Preorder Preorder by 11/02/2026	July 2027

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ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

PRODUCT DETAILS

Road Number Specific ScaleTrains

New paint scheme
Era: 2026 to Present
Series 500 - 511; built July 2008
Fully-assembled
LED-illuminated ground lights
LED-illuminated front, rear, and rectangle side walkway lights*
LED-illuminated front and rear deck-mounted alternating ditch lights**
Printed and LED lighted number boards*
Semi-scale coupler buffers equipped with die-cast metal semi-scale SBE bottom shelf knuckle couplers
Inside loop uncoupling levers with up-down brackets
Single trainline hose with silver gladhand
Dual front dummy Multiple Unit (MU) receptacles mounted to front anticlimber supports
Front raised and rear flush pilot-mounted Multiple Unit (MU) receptacles
See-through round-hole stepwell steps
Walkway with front anticlimber and support brackets
GE “nub” pattern walkway tread
Early handrails with wrap-over stanchion heads, left long rail for no capacitor box, and right long rail with bolted head on 2nd lower stanchion
Wide profile end handrails
Sand box clean out door with knuckle buster latch and hinge
Front nose headlight
Front straight grab irons mounted directly to the nose
Left nose door with window
Front high-mounted (cab) numberboard housings
Dual cab side blue flag holder
Left side under cab front access bolted X panel; rear door with square corrugated grille
Late cab with barrel bolt latches on subbase doors
Detailed cab interior with separate floor, rear wall, seats, and control stand
In-cab grade crossing camera mounted on right side
Tinted cab side windows
Tall mirror mounted in front of sliding cab side windows on both sides
Switching mirror mounted under rear sliding window on engineer side
Cab roof GE communications handler octagonal dome, dual Miner PTC antenna domes, and small button dome antenna
Inverter Cabinet with Bolted and hinged access door, top two X panels same size, three lower X panels with 4 - 6 - 4 Bolt Pattern
See-through dynamic brake exhaust
Left side dynamic brake cab: tri-blower dynamic brake with flush exhaust
Etched metal see-through dynamic brake intake grilles with blower motors visible inside
Right side dynamic brake cab: door with grille, small grille, door with grille, and door with grille
Dynamic brake cab door with low door handle and low-mounted door handle bumper
Short right side air intake grille
Left side auxiliary cab: 3 tall doors with latches on #2 door and short auxiliary cab filter box door
Right side auxiliary cab: 4 doors with latches on #1 and #4 doors
Early production engine cab doors: latched first door in each set of three
Two engine cab roof lift rings
Lost wax brass cast Nathan AirChime K5HL horn mounted on engine cab roof
Replaced exhaust with rounded corners
Left side exhaust cab doors: latched last door in set of three
Flush heat exchanger housing with single-piece narrow slot grille
Late raised radiator grille
22 individually applied, etched metal see-through radiator intake and exhaust grilles on sides and top of radiator compartment
Left-side radiator cab grille arrangement: Raised doors. Grilles – tall-short-tall-tall-tall, short front angled grill, two-piece rear angled grille, no grille under brake wheel
Right-side radiator cab grille arrangement: Raised doors. Grilles – tall, short, tall, tall, tall, tall, short, tall, short front angled grill, two-piece rear angled grille
Angled water fill box
High-mounted horizontal rear headlight
Rear wide-spaced dual dummy Multiple Unit (MU) receptacles
Accurately profiled frame with separately applied plumbing and cabling
Early GE Steerable trucks with separately applied brake cylinders, air plumbing, and rotating bearing caps
Wheel faces painted a dingy gray/brown color to represent the color of wheelsets in service
Square handbrake chain bracket
Toilet drain with exterior handle
AEI tag mounted to right sidesill under rear battery box door
Dual Graham-White (Prime) finned 075 air filters
Graham-White 994-500 air dryer
5,300-gallon fuel tank with internal waste retention tank, digital fuel gauge, vertical fuel gauge, and round fuel gauge
Dual fuel fills per side with rear fill “blanked”
Angled top left side fuel tank top box
Digital Fuel Gauges
Long crankcase drainpipe attached to the end of the fuel tank
Factory-applied wire grab irons, snowplow with grab irons, spare knuckles, trainline hoses with silver gladhands, 3-hose MU clusters with silver gladhands, uncoupling levers, windshield wipers, mirrors, sunshades, air tanks, fuel tank-mounted electronic bell, brake wheel, and more
Motor with 5-pole skew wound armature
Dual flywheels
All-wheel drive
All-wheel electrical pick-up
Directional LED headlights
Printing and lettering legible under magnification
Operates on Code 70, 83, and 100 rail
Packaging safely stores model
Minimum Radius: 18”
Recommended Radius: 22”

DCC & sound equipped locomotives also feature:

ESU-LokSound 5 DCC and Sound decoder with “Full Throttle”
Two (2) cube-type speakers
Accurate GEVO-12 prime mover and auxiliary sounds, horn, bell, and more
ESU-designed PowerPack with two (2) super capacitors***
Operates on both DC and DCC layouts

DCC & sound ready locomotives also feature:

Operate using DC
DCC ready with 21-pin connector

* Lighting features operate when using an ESU decoder with appropriate programming while operating using DCC

** In DC operation, both front ditch lights illuminate; rear ditch lights (if equipped) do not illuminate

*** Compatible with appropriately programmed ESU decoders while operating using DCC

PRODUCT VIDEOS

PROTOTYPE HISTORY

In 2002, GE released the first GEVO, a new series of locomotives that would replace the AC4400CW and DASH 9-44CW. The first two models were the ES44DC and ES44AC. The ES44C4 followed a few years later.

The new models were designed to meet the stricter diesel locomotive emissions standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA “Tier” emissions standards are a series of allowable emissions levels based on a locomotive’s date of manufacture. In 2005, Tier 2 took effect, followed by Tier 3 in 2010 and Tier 4 in 2015.

GE developed a new diesel engine, the 12-cylinder GEVO 12, to meet the new emission standards. Both the bore and stroke were increased to produce the same 4,400 horsepower as the older 7FDL16 16-cylinder engine.

The new prime mover drives an alternator that produces AC, which is rectified to DC. On the ES44DC, this powers the traction motors. On the ES44AC and ES44C4, the DC is “chopped” back into AC to power the traction motors. The two models share a common 73’ 2” frame and external appearance.

The external appearance is similar to the AC4400CW. The cab on early ES44s is almost identical. In 2009, GE changed the cab and nose, moving the nose door from the left side to the right side and replacing the curved seams with more square seams.

Unlike their predecessors, both the AC and DC versions of the ES44 have a large box behind the cab. The biggest visual difference is the larger “wing” structure over the radiator cab. The thicker radiators and related equipment in the radiator cab help cool the exhaust, reducing emissions.

Customer options and design changes have resulted in seven different dynamic brake configurations. The grilles on the sides of the radiator cab have also gone through seven configurations. The most recent units have changed the latches on the engine cab doors to match the ET44 units.

Although EPA Tier 4 standards went into effect in 2015, the ES44 series continues to be built. This is due to the Tier 4 Credits, a complicated system that allows GE to continue to build and various railroads to buy the ES44 based on the number of Tier 4 units built.

After 2 testbed units and 35 pre-production units, over 7,600 additional ES44s have been built. All of the major railroads, including BNSF, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific, have fleets with 100s of units. Florida East Coast, Ferromex, Iowa Interstate, and Kansas City Southern also operate ES44s. In addition, 131 were built as lease units for Citirail.

The ES44 has become the best-selling diesel locomotive of all time.

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