With over 3,100 units produced by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors between 1982 and 1984, the 3,000 horsepower, six-axle SD40-2 was one of the most successful diesel-electric locomotive designs ever produced. With good maintenance practices, many of these locomotives are still earning their keep today. In recent years, Union Pacific upgraded many of its SD40-2s with new and modernized components, rechristening them as SD40Ns upon completion.
Now available from ScaleTrains is its latest production of EMD SD40-2 as part of its high-end Rivet Counter series models. Each locomotive comes with an extremely high level of road-specific finely rendered details, a heavy diecast chassis housing a smooth precision drive system with can motor, flywheels, all wheels powered, and much more.
Road names for this latest release include:
- Burlington Northern (White Face) with or without deck-mounted strobes
- Burlington Northern Bicentennial #1876
- CSX (YN2) with or w/o ditch lights
- Missouri-Kansas-Texas (two versions)
- Union Pacific’s modernized “SD40Ns” with ditch lights
- Norfolk Southern (patched ex-Conrail units, multiple versions)
- Santa Fe with nose-mounted headlights.
Ditch light or strobe light-equipped versions are available for most roadnames where applicable per era/road number. DC/DCC-ready units retail for $214.99 while DC+DCC+Sound equipped SD40-2s equipped with an ESU Loksound 5 decoder are priced at $324.99. Available now at your favorite dealer or direct.
ScaleTrains, 4901 Old Tasso Rd NE, Cleveland, TN 37312; 844-987-2467; www.scaletrains.com
Beginning in 1978, MKT purchased 36 SD40-2s to haul unit coal trains with other railroads. Aside from E-units and PAs from past decades for passenger service, these SD40-2s were the only six-axle power on the railroad. Shown here is ScaleTrains rendition of MKT 621, a veritable unicorn on the roster with a unique variation of nose striping acquired during wreck repairs conducted by pool partner Burlington Northern. ScaleTrains also offers four additional road numbers of MKT SD40-2s with conventional as-delivered striping in this release.
Like many railroads, Burlington Northern painted three of its locomotives into an elaborate red, white and blue paint scheme to celebrate our nation’s 200th birthday in 1976. One of those special engines was BN 1876, which began life as BN SD40-2 6325. Now available from ScaleTrains is an HO scale replica of BN 1876. This model is available in two versions: a DC/DCC-ready engine or a DC+DCC+Sound version, which includes an ESU Loksound 5 decoder.