Model Railroading > Who makes the best HO SD40-2 right now?

Hello All,
I am more of a transition era guy, and I only pay attention to modern passenger stuff. I got one of the Spring Mills Depot wagon top cabooses a while back in Chessie System (I remember seeing them when I was a kid) and I am looking to model a late 70s (before my time) train with a Chessie System SD40-2 as one of the units...who's is the best? Are the Intermountain SD40-2s any good? Athearn RTR? BLI? Anyone I missed? We're talking HO here.
Cheers,
Nick



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/14 10:49 by NGotwalt.

Kato also has produced an HO SD40-2. The early run had electrical contact issues (see previous thread) and I get the impression that Kato's internal quality is somewhat offset by their one-size-fits-all detailing.

Intermountain's first SD40-2s are just hitting the market, so I don't know if you'll get any reviews on those yet.

Probably BLI with Paragon2 sound. Realistic sounds, hand rails that are durable and realistic, good rail contact, and great pulling power... All for $230! :(



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/14 11:39 by judahrice.

Track down an Athearn. Best one I know and most accurate. On ebay fairly regularly.

Bruce

http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH95177

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Athearn

Posted from Android

Intermountain's SD40-2 looks pretty good to me from their latest pre production pictures. Still a little short on detail in this picture, missing horn and sun shades.

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Give me the Kato SD40-2 any day of the week. Runs like a Swiss watch and with a minimal amount of effort you can make something like this one.

I'm still waiting to get my hands on an Intermountain one so I can make a comparison.

Eric

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Beautiful work on that Eric! Love the snoots, and that's a great looking example.

I'm a long-time fan of the Kato SD40-2, but when I heard the reviews of how the Intermountain SD40-2W ran ( http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,3242732,3246302#msg-3246302 ), and saw the price of it with factory sound, I realized that their upcoming SD40-2 with the same drive would likely be a cheaper, easier route to get a smooth-running, nicely detailed SD40-2 with good sound. The recent Loksound decoders I've heard sound every bit as good as Tsunamis if not better, and IMRC's street price of $180 with sound gives me a complete locomotive that should truly be RTR, or close to it. If I went the Kato route, that $180 might get me the locomotive, a Tsunami, and a Railmaster speaker, but I'd still have detailing and sound install on top of that.

The biggest knock I heard against the IMRC SD40-2W that would also seem to apply to their SD40-2 is the light weight and resulting reduced pulling power, but that's not an issue with my layout's light grades and 15-20 car trains. My three UP units haven't arrived yet, but if IMRC can pull these off with accurate paint work, it'll be a winner as far as I'm concerned.

Joe Atkinson
Council Bluffs, IA
www.iaisrailfans.org/../Sub4WestEnd

The bolster spacing on Athearns SD40-2 is probably the worst of the bunch. It's pretty far off. Kato is probably the closest in this regard, though the Intermountain looks pretty close.

The Athearn does have the best trucks, and best tooling and is probably the easiest to detail and upgrade.

- Chris
milepost15.wordpress.com

cslemp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The bolster spacing on Athearns SD40-2 is probably
> the worst of the bunch. It's pretty far off.
> Kato is probably the closest in this regard,
> though the Intermountain looks pretty close.
>
> The Athearn does have the best trucks, and best
> tooling and is probably the easiest to detail and
> upgrade.
>
> - Chris
> milepost15.wordpress.com

So how far off is it? And what are you using for a reference?

The intermountain trucks look terrible with the giant void where the no#3 and 4 traction motors should be. The GEVOs have the same issue. At least Athearn and Kato stuck something there to at least fill things in.

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So how far off is it? And what are you using for a
> reference?

A real one and a ruler. I've got a new Athearn model and new Kato one. The difference is noticible and has been discussed on many forums. Athearn has aknowledged it. It's a result of a different era and allows the model to negotiate 18" radius curves. Their SD45-2 is correct.

SD40-2 bolster spacing is supposed to be 43' 6"
On the Athearn model is about 41' 6"

Maybe we'll get a Genesis one, if we're lucky...


-Tom



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/14 22:56 by tmurray.

...from my personal experience, the Kato's are still the best overall SD40-2's at this point in time. As some have mentioned, the earlier one's had the electrical pickup issue but that is so easy to rectify that it really isn't that big a deal. I have a small fleet of both early ones and the current 'mid build' versions and couldn't be happier with them. The newest Kato ones have details to match their chosen prototype, stuff like air conditioners, ditch lights, proper horn placement, antenna planes, and much finer handrails and grabs than the original releases; only rivet counters are going to have problems with the detailing on these models, and anything missing can be added by using detail parts to match whatever prototype your modeling - isn't that why they call us modelers...?
...these models run flawlessly ALL the time, I never have issues with them, and the strangest thing I find with Kato models is the fact their wheels only need a fraction of the cleaning that any of my other models require. The type of metal they use obviously has less propensity to attract crud than that used by the other manufacturers...

Espeenut Wrote:
. The newest Kato ones have
> details to match their chosen prototype, stuff
> like air conditioners, ditch lights, proper horn
> placement, antenna planes, and much finer
> handrails and grabs than the original releases;
> only rivet counters are going to have problems
> with the detailing on these models, and anything
> missing can be added by using detail parts to
> match whatever prototype your modeling - isn't
> that why they call us modelers...?
>


It's not a lack of detail that I don't like on the Kato's - it is the poor rendering of the details that can't be changed. Their shells are just not very crisp in that respect.

Just to add a little more information to what Tom has already mentioned.

Another reason why the Athearn SD40-2 bolster spacing is incorrect is that, without substantial modifications, the rear gear tower won't fit within the confines of the hood when the bolster is positioned correctly. Since the SD45-2 has a longer hood, this isn't an issue and Athearn was able to position the trucks correctly without redesigning their gear tower.

But I'm sure the 18" radius bit is also correct. The 40-2 is based on old tooling.

- Chris
milepost15.wordpress.com

tmurray Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PHall Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So how far off is it? And what are you using for
> a
> > reference?
>
> A real one and a ruler. I've got a new Athearn
> model and new Kato one. The difference is
> noticible and has been discussed on many forums.
> Athearn has aknowledged it. It's a result of a
> different era and allows the model to negotiate
> 18" radius curves. Their SD45-2 is correct.
>
> SD40-2 bolster spacing is supposed to be 43' 6"
> On the Athearn model is about 41' 6"
>
> Maybe we'll get a Genesis one, if we're lucky...
>
>
> -Tom

NYSWSD70M Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Espeenut Wrote:
> . The newest Kato ones have
> > details to match their chosen prototype, stuff
> > like air conditioners, ditch lights, proper
> horn
> > placement, antenna planes, and much finer
> > handrails and grabs than the original releases;
> > only rivet counters are going to have problems
> > with the detailing on these models, and
> anything
> > missing can be added by using detail parts to
> > match whatever prototype your modeling - isn't
> > that why they call us modelers...?
> >
>
>
> It's not a lack of detail that I don't like on the
> Kato's - it is the poor rendering of the details
> that can't be changed. Their shells are just not
> very crisp in that respect.

Agreed, I have a sizeable collection of both Athearn's and KATOs. Frankly, Athearn's recent runs beat KATO's hands down in terms of detail, but KATO makes up some of that lost ground in reliability/pulling power.

I haven't seen any of the IMRC ones yet... I was thinking about getting one or two CONRAIL units, but I'm not sold on that until I see if they did the correct trucks for CR units.

While I'm typing this out, I would offer some rebuttal to those that always hide behind the "isn't that why they call us modelers" quip. Yeah, they call us modelers, but if I have to pay in excess of $200 to get one of these models on my layout, that thing had better be as accurate as they can make it out of the box. Being a "modeler" was one thing when you could get them for $25 bucks at your local pusher and finish out the details for another $25 or so.

But with the premium the manufacturers are asking now, plus the limited runs and preorder periods that can easily be more than a year, they can do alot better than they did 10 years ago.

My personal preference is the Kato SD40-2 & SD38-2's. The Athearn models are better detailed at this point, but I am not happy with the 'leaning tree' issues they have with their handrails. Also, as an NS modeler, Athearn doesn't have the triple clasp trucks that were used on the former N&W units, where Kato does on the SD38-2's. I have enough undecorated Kato SD40-2 shells to match my SD38-2's to build my fleet. The other thing I like about the Kato drive, as others have mentioned, is the pulling power and the smoothness offered. The Kato design allows for easy modification. And in regards to the electrical pick-up issues on the first run, they do offer a retrofit kit to correct this.

I do have a pair of the IMRC CN SD40-2W's and I have two issues with them. One is that they are too light for my taste, I am working on figuring out how to add more weight to the one I have pulled apart at this point. And the second issues is the side frames of the trucks. The shape is not correct an the inboard end and they lack the inboard traction motors leaving a huge gap underneath.

Regards,
Russ



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/14 14:26 by NSTopHat.

They all suck... That's why despite the fact that the SD40-2 is one of my favorite locomotives, I have yet to add one to my fleet of HO scale locomotives.

Genesis model needed!!

Cheers! Mark