Deciphering, or wading through, the numbering and naming conventions and, indeed, logic of some model railroad products and manufacturers can be either a labor of love or an exercise in futility. Or both.Associated Hobby Manufacturers, or AHM, is as guilty of "what were they thinking" on this subject as any. Case in point: In the late sixties and early 70's AHM introduced the now famous 5075 series of A-3 0-4-0 Switchers. Comprised of six road names lettered 5075B-G, these great running locos featured full Walschaerts valve gear, unique three-side illuminated front and rear lighting fixtures, front and rear Coupler Release Bars and guide posts on all four corners. The included paperwork included a nicely written history of the A-3 Series.
Enter the one and only member of the 5076 Series, our lonely little C&NW 0-4-0. Lacking guide posts and with a conventional one direction headlamp fixture it does have full Walschaerts valve gear and is otherwise identical to the 5075 locos. The tender body, however, has a plastic guide rail, non-functional tail light fixture and is riveted to the frame so, even if one should desire, adding a working tail lamp is very difficult. The box and paperwork also lack any further designation than "C&NW 0-4-0" and no historical info is provided.That's it. I can only add, why? Great little loco though...............
