The Piko 97820 is an HO Scale model of the Southern Pacific Krauss-Maffei ML4000 diesel-hydraulic locomotive, number 9022, in D&RGW patch paint, in a non-sound configuration. This ready-to-run locomotive recreates the revolutionary diesel-hydraulic that Krauss-Maffei of Germany developed with the Southern Pacific and the Denver and Rio Grande. It is supplied non-sound and DCC-ready, so a decoder can be fitted for digital control. At the start of the 1960s these machines packed 4000 horsepower, far more than typical American diesels of the day, using hydraulic transmissions to avoid the complexity of electrical traction motors. Item 97820 runs on a silky-smooth and powerful PIKO mechanism that gives great low speeds and precise control, and it rides on RP25 wheels with PIKO knuckle couplers.
