Well, hey everybody—today I’m taking a look at the Walthers Proto HO EMD NW2 switchers, and I’ve got two road names on the bench: Nickel Plate Road and New York Central. The whole point of having both is to show the road-name-specific detail differences Walthers Proto is doing, because there actually are a few. I go through a first-time unboxing, what you get in the packaging (including the fold-out exploded parts diagram and lubrication/cleaning info), and then I break down the details on each locomotive so you can see what’s changed from one scheme to the next. On the models themselves, I point out things like the canvas sun shades, spark arrester differences (the NYC one is a bit more prominent up top), antenna variations, and that end “cage” style detail that shows up on the Nickel Plate version but not on the NYC. I also cover the usual stuff I look for: separately applied grabs, cut bars, drop steps, cab stair paint, wipers, interior detail and figures, plus trucks and fuel tank detailing. I even weigh one—8.2 ounces (232 grams), which is pretty hefty for a short switcher. For operation, I run the DCC-equipped New York Central version and go through the ESU dual-mode setup (DC and DCC) and the function list. I start it up on F8, check lighting color temperature, hit the beacon, and do a quick smoothness check at low speed in both directions.