Santa Fe

In the early 1980’s when Amtrak was in the process of the final purge of their SDP40F fleet they struck a deal with Santa Fe in which they traded 18 of the SDP40F’s (with which the Santa Fe had not had any derailment issues) for 25 Santa Fe CF7’s and 18 of their rebuilt switchers. Initially Santa Fe reconditioned them with few external modifications but later modified the front steps and nose to ease the ability for crews to get on and off of the locomotives while changing crews.

In this release we are offering the two earliest versions of these units. Initially Santa Fe simply added front handrails and vertical steps to the front of the locomotive. This arrangement proved to be problematical when trying to perform rolling crew changes, so they then closed off the front steps and platform to prevent crews from using them for safety reasons.

 

ATSF FEATURES:

• Classification lights (Function in DCC only)

• Beacon (Flash function in DCC only)

• Number board lights

• Separate see-through air intake grills

• Air Conditioner

• Working Truck lights

• MU hoses

 

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

• #5253 Plated over steps and enclosed platform, A/C, forward beacon & horn

• #5256 Open steps and open platform, A/C, forward beacon & horn

• #5260 Plated over steps and enclosed platform, A/C, forward beacon & horn

• #5264 Open steps and open platform, A/C, forward beacon & horn

 

 

BNSF

This Legendary Liveries release has an Alternate Timeline that suggests that BNSF selected two of the ex-Santa Fe SDF40-2’s for rebuilding for use on their Business Train specials.

 

BNSF FEATURES:

• Beacon (Flash function in DCC only)

• Classification lights (Function in DCC only)

• Number board lights

• Separate see-through intake grills

• Working Truck lights

• MU hoses

 

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

• #6975 A/C, Sinclair antenna, Notched nose and modified steps

• #6977 A/C, Sinclair antenna, Notched nose and modified steps

 

Amtrak - Phase II

In the early 1970’s Amtrak needed new motive power to replace the rapidly aging locomotive fleet that they inherited. They approached EMD about creating a new locomotive to be used on most of the Amtrak routes around the country. The result was the 3,000 horsepower, steam generator equipped SDP40F. While initially a successful unit, a series of derailments soon led several of Amtrak’s host railroads to claim that these locomotives were faulty, banning them from use on their respective lines. Although this led to their early retirement, many of the units made it into Amtrak’s Phase 2 paint scheme which we are featuring in this release.

 

AMTK FEATURES:

• Oscillating headlight

• Functioning “Big Hole” Emergency light in (DCC Only)

• Classification lights (Function in DCC only)

• Number board lights

• Separate see-through intake grills

• Working Truck lights

• MU hoses

 

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

• #526 Early pointed nose body, ATS shoe, dual steam generators, ACI plates

• #537 Early pointed nose body, Icicle breakers, dual steam generators, ACI plates

• #611 Low profile body for East Coast service w/ low profile fans, air filter and dual horns

 

 

 

Southern Railway

When Amtrak was formed in 1971, Southern was one of the few roads which decided to remain independent, and continued to operate their own passenger trains using their own equipment.

This Legendary Liveries release proposes that Southern decided to take advantage of a special EMD pricing offer to construct some SDP40F’s for them concurrent with the production of the Amtrak units- in order to replace some of their own aging passenger power.

 

SOU FEATURES:

• Classification lights (Function in DCC only)

• Oscillating headlight

• Number board lights

• Separate see-through intake grills

• Air Conditioner

• Working Truck lights

• MU hoses

ROAD NUMBER SPECIFIC FEATURES:

• #7701 Low profile body for East Coast service w/ low profile fans, air filters

• #7707 Low profile body for East Coast service w/ low profile fans, air filters

 

PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Formed in 1971, Amtrak took over operation of most of America’s passenger trains with an assortment of old locomotives, primarily decades-old E-units. The carrier worked with General Motors Electro-Motive Division to design new passenger locomotives. The result was the SDP40F. Built by EMD from 1973–1974 for Amtrak and for a brief time they formed the backbone of Amtrak’s long-distance passenger fleet. With 150 built, the SDP40F became the “face” of Amtrak in the mid-1970s as they were found on the head ends of passenger trains from San Diego to Washington DC and from Seattle to Miami. Several were rebuilt and found a second life with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in freight service.

The design of the SDP40F was based on the EMD FP45 passenger locomotive. Both shared the EMD 645E3 diesel engine, although the SDP40F had 16 cylinders instead of 20. The space saved from the smaller prime mover was given over to increased water capacity. The SDP40F had an underbody tank split between water and diesel fuel, carrying 2,000 gallons of water and 2,500 gallons of diesel. A second 1,500 gallon water tank sat in the carbody, forward of the steam generators which produced the steam needed for supplying heat (and sometimes cooling) and hot water for the train.

Eventually, the SDP40F was phased out as all-electric cars, such as the Amfleet, displaced the old steam heat rolling stock. While the SDP40F was designed with conversion to head-end power (HEP) in mind, the bad press they received, cost to upgrade and overhaul the units, and Amtrak’s satisfaction with the versatility of the HEP-equipped F40PH ultimately doomed the SDP40F. Amtrak was able to trade in the SDP40Fs to EMD as more F40PH units were acquired in the late 1970s. The last SDP40F was retired from Amtrak in the early 1980s.

In 1984, Santa Fe Railway traded lower-power locomotives to Amtrak for 18 SDP40Fs, horsepower-for-horsepower. The SDP40Fs were reconditioned in the railroad’s San Bernardino, California shops to the designation SDF40- 2 for use as freight locomotives. Santa Fe replaced the hollow HTC bolsters with conventional HTC bolsters, converted the below-frame combination fuel/water tank to an all-fuel tank, removed the above-frame water tanks (replacing these with concrete ballast) and used the engines for nearly 15 years. They were also given front steps and platforms. Their noses were notched after a second maintenance shop visit in order to improve boarding access. In exchange, Amtrak received 43 smaller locomotives for use in switching service.

 

SDP40F SERIES LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:

• Illuminated ground lights

• Illuminated number boards

• Illuminated classification lights

• Front and rear trainline hoses

• Non-skid end walks

• Front and rear three-hose M.U. hose clusters with silver ends

• Detailed and painted cab interior with control stand

• 4,500 gallon split fuel/water or rebuilt fuel only tank

• HTC sideframes with high brake cylinders and air lines

• Flush-mounted portal window glass

• Minimum radius: 18” — Recommended radius: 22”

 

GENESIS DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:

• Coupler cut levers

• Trainline hose

• Full cab interior

• Windshield wipers

• Sander lines

• MU hoses

• See-through cab windows

• Walkway tread

• Wire grab irons

• Lift rings

• DCC-ready features Quick Plug plug-and-play technology with 21-pin NEM connector

• Fine-scale Celcon handrails for scale appearance

• Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, breather pipes, and retention tanks

• Body-mounted McHenry operating scale knuckle couplers

• Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew wound motor, precision machined flywheels, and multi-link drivetrain for trouble free operation

• Eight-wheel drive with precision gears for smooth and quiet operation

• All-wheel electrical pickup provides reliable current flow

• Wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track

• LED Lighting for trouble free operation

• Heavy die-cast frame for greater traction and more pulling power

• Scaled from prototype resources including drawings, field measurements, photographs, and more

• Accurately-painted and –printed paint schemes

• Fully-assembled and ready-to-run

• Packaging securely holds the model for safe storage

 

SOUND-EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE

• Onboard DCC decoder with SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound

• Dual sugar cube speakers for optimal sound quality

• Sound units operate in both DC and DCC

• Full DCC functions available when operated in DCC mode

• Engine, horn, and bell sounds work in DC

• All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode

• Precision slow speed control

• Program a multiple unit (MU) lashup with lead unit only horn, bell, and lights

• Many functions can be altered via Configuration Value (CV) changes

• CV chart included in the box

 

LEGENDARY LIVERIES

What are Legendary Liveries? An Athearn exclusive, they are the ultimate answer to “What if?” Featuring some of the most popular railroad paint schemes of all time, these models are perfect for collecting, protofreelancing, or just plain fun! Whether company proposed paint schemes, canceled locomotive orders, or alternate takes on history, Legendary Liveries are fun and unique additions to any roster. Enjoy these items, and answer the ultimate railroad question of: “What if?”

 

 

 

Order Due Date: August 26, 2022

Anticipated Delivery Date: October 2023

 

Looking for more Athearn EMD SDP40F Diesel Locomotives? Click here!

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