UPDATE ... March 2024: 3rd Rail SD40-2's

@GG1 4877 posted:

There is no commitment of funds to make a reservation.  Not sure where that information came from.  The commitment is to pay for the model after it is produced and then it will be delivered to you with a very flexible refund policy if you are not satisfied.  If indeed the road name you placed a pre-order on gets cancelled you are only out the disappointment that the road you were looking for didn't get enough orders.

Road names are cancelled prior to start of production so Scott reaches out to customers directly and asks if they would like to order another road name or cancel their pre-order.  You will not miss out on your second choice because your first choice got canceled.

This is how it works for Sunset.  That is why Sunset is like no other manufacturer in this scale or pretty much any other scale.  Name another manufacturer who does this much output where you deal with the owner directly?

The reality is one engine can and has made a difference between a road name going forward or not going forward.  Lessons learned from past projects will make this even more likely in the future.

As for 2nd runs?  The E7 had 3.5 runs if you include the version made for the "Train of Tomorrow".  F7s had two runs.  There is a second run of F3s being offered with limited road names.  On the other hand, the FL9, FT, FP7, and SD7/9 have never been offered for second runs as much as some of us would like that.  PAs, E5s, 6s, 8s, and 9s have yet to be re-run.  In short, 2nd runs are a big if.  The same is true for a lot of the GGD passenger train sets.  I'd like to see some re-runs that I missed out on.  Not counting on it.

For all of us who support Sunset in our various roles it is our hope is that good quality models get produced for people who truly enjoy quality product that performs well.  It has never been anything less than that.

At this point in my life I don’t spend money I don’t already have on any of my hobby purchases, therefore I would make a personal commitment to keep the money available in my train purchase fund to pay for the reserved engine.  So, if the reserved engine is not produced I may have missed out on an opportunity to purchase something else because I would not spend any of the committed money to make that other purchase.  

Thanks for the nudge TrainBub!  I was "on the fence" about reserving more MoPac SD40-2s, but no longer - email sent yesterday.  I've been collecting specific items over the years for an eventual 2R layout for retirement.  This is likely the best chance to get high quality 2R models in both my favorite road and loco that may not come around when I'm laying track 10 years from now.   

Time for me to be a squeaky wheel.  I posted pics of my N-scale units on the 2R thread, so apologies for reposting here.  I figured I'd keep up the momentum with MP modelers and get these pics in front of Jonathon.  I originally told Sunset I'd take late version with dynamic brakes thinking they may have a higher chance of getting produced, but MP had many more SD40-2s that were non-DB.  Here are my preferred versions in order:

#1:  Late version, non-DB, brake wheel, corrugated radiator grilles, bell at rear of long hood.

#2:  Late version, w/DB, brake wheel, corrugated radiator grilles, bell at rear of long hood (#6000-6019 had lights on the short hood like DRGW).

#3:  Early version, non-DB (either double eagle like 3092 or sawblade logo on cab), ratchet brake, chicken wire grilles, bell more forward on long hood).

Not to assume that MoPac will make the cut, but it could easily be reversed for me if SLSF or MKT were getting produced instead.  I like Frisco and MKT and love their paint schemes, but I can't justify the expense for secondary roads on my future layout.  If MP was cancelled I'd likely pass on a second choice. 

While each modeler's situation is different, I think Sunset's reservation policy is more than fair.  I understand the point of having funds earmarked for a model that may get cancelled, but that's better than trying to get your cancelled reservation deposit refunded that has been tied up for months in someone else's bank account.

~Tim

@Tim Mc posted:

Thanks for the nudge TrainBub!  I was "on the fence" about reserving more MoPac SD40-2s, but no longer - email sent yesterday.  I've been collecting specific items over the years for an eventual 2R layout for retirement.  This is likely the best chance to get high quality 2R models in both my favorite road and loco that may not come around when I'm laying track 10 years from now.   

Time for me to be a squeaky wheel.  I posted pics of my N-scale units on the 2R thread, so apologies for reposting here.  I figured I'd keep up the momentum with MP modelers and get these pics in front of Jonathon.  I originally told Sunset I'd take late version with dynamic brakes thinking they may have a higher chance of getting produced, but MP had many more SD40-2s that were non-DB.  Here are my preferred versions in order:

#1:  Late version, non-DB, brake wheel, corrugated radiator grilles, bell at rear of long hood.

#2:  Late version, w/DB, brake wheel, corrugated radiator grilles, bell at rear of long hood (#6000-6019 had lights on the short hood like DRGW).

#3:  Early version, non-DB (either double eagle like 3092 or sawblade logo on cab), ratchet brake, chicken wire grilles, bell more forward on long hood).

Not to assume that MoPac will make the cut, but it could easily be reversed for me if SLSF or MKT were getting produced instead.  I like Frisco and MKT and love their paint schemes, but I can't justify the expense for secondary roads on my future layout.  If MP was cancelled I'd likely pass on a second choice.

While each modeler's situation is different, I think Sunset's reservation policy is more than fair.  I understand the point of having funds earmarked for a model that may get cancelled, but that's better than trying to get your cancelled reservation deposit refunded that has been tied up for months in someone else's bank account.

~Tim

Thanks for helping with a MP reservation for this model. It’s tough to get a MP model to fly - especially one in Jenks Blue. Any of the examples you've show are Fine by me.  I think if the MP model is in the run, we will get one version.  
The fact that it’s taken a Long Time to now get to perhaps the threshold of production is a good indication that this run will be one and done. I look forward to seeing this model Finally go into production !!!!!
Cheers !!!

@GregM posted:

At this point in my life I don’t spend money I don’t already have on any of my hobby purchases, therefore I would make a personal commitment to keep the money available in my train purchase fund to pay for the reserved engine.  So, if the reserved engine is not produced I may have missed out on an opportunity to purchase something else because I would not spend any of the committed money to make that other purchase.  

How you choose to make purchases is of course entirely your choice.  I was simply explaining how Sunset's reservation process works.   

Based on Richard's firm order for Feromex SD40-2, I removed NdeM, which had no reservations to date and replaced it with Feromex.

Some other roads will also be dropped due to too few reservations at this time and we will contact each customer to offer substitutions or just placing their reservations in a 2nd category  SD40-2b - which we can access for a possible second run. But I have to tell you, this usually doesn't pan out and we never seem get enough interest for these lightly reserved roads. The numbers tell the story.

Overall the SD40-2 / SD-40T-2 has enough orders to move forward (350) and we are beginning work on the matrix of details for each road name.

The following projects are moving forward at this time:

F3-Run #2 - In Production arriving July

Krauss Maffei - In production Arriving Sept

C&O Hudson - In production Arriving Sept

Amfleet / Viewliners - In production Arriving  July

SP Daylight - Will be next in line after Amfleet/Viewliners - finishing in the fall.

120 Ton VGN Gondola's we hope to deliver by end of the year.

Hiawatha Run #2 - End of the Year

C&O Chessie Cars - Design is done, Production in early 2022.

1948 20th Century Ltd - Design is done, End of the year / Early Next year

EAB/E1AB - Design is done, Tooling begins - End of the year / Early Next year

SD40-2 - Design has yet to begin so production will be late this year, early next year.

Milwaukee Road EP-3: Design order has been made, 2022 production

B&O Capitol Ltd. 2022

1948 Broadway Ltd 2022

T&P / MOPAC Eagle Cars 2022 Late

Southern Crescent Cars 2023

FA/FB: 2022

NYC R2: 2022

NYC H10 Mikado: 2022

Dash-9: 2023

SP MM-3 Steam will be produced in 2022. Design has been ordered.

It's been suggested to offer the Mopac E6 again, so customers can order confidently both the engine and the Eagle cars. We're going to offer this as an E5/E6 Rerun for 2022-2023. Then we will schedule the T&P / Mopac Cars.

Richard, Bradley and I have been working on the SDP40F, FP45 and F45 project outline. We will announce these in the coming months and see where they take us. We will release these engines one at a time, so as to give our customers the chance to order all of them in succession and it also helps us maximize sales so we or you don't have to drop one for the other. they will not be cheap as they are short runs and all new tools.

We are going to double down on our detail confirmations on these projects so we can avoid any mistakes. This slows things down a bit but should result in less errors in detail, painting and lettering. I am committed to improving, always.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer. It's so nice to get out and do normal things once again.

Keep well.

@sdmann posted:

Based on Richard's firm order for Feromex SD40-2, I removed NdeM, which had no reservations to date and replaced it with Feromex.

Some other roads will also be dropped due to too few reservations at this time and we will contact each customer to offer substitutions or just placing their reservations in a 2nd category  SD40-2b - which we can access for a possible second run. But I have to tell you, this usually doesn't pan out and we never seem get enough interest for these lightly reserved roads. The numbers tell the story.

Overall the SD40-2 / SD-40T-2 has enough orders to move forward (350) and we are beginning work on the matrix of details for each road name.

The following projects are moving forward at this time:

F3-Run #2 - In Production arriving July

Krauss Maffei - In production Arriving Sept

C&O Hudson - In production Arriving Sept

Amfleet / Viewliners - In production Arriving  July

SP Daylight - Will be next in line after Amfleet/Viewliners - finishing in the fall.

120 Ton VGN Gondola's we hope to deliver by end of the year.

Hiawatha Run #2 - End of the Year

C&O Chessie Cars - Design is done, Production in early 2022.

1948 20th Century Ltd - Design is done, End of the year / Early Next year

EAB/E1AB - Design is done, Tooling begins - End of the year / Early Next year

SD40-2 - Design has yet to begin so production will be late this year, early next year.

Milwaukee Road EP-3: Design order has been made, 2022 production

B&O Capitol Ltd. 2022

1948 Broadway Ltd 2022

T&P / MOPAC Eagle Cars 2022 Late

Southern Crescent Cars 2023

FA/FB: 2022

NYC R2: 2022

NYC H10 Mikado: 2022

Dash-9: 2023

SP MM-3 Steam will be produced in 2022. Design has been ordered.

It's been suggested to offer the Mopac E6 again, so customers can order confidently both the engine and the Eagle cars. We're going to offer this as an E5/E6 Rerun for 2022-2023. Then we will schedule the T&P / Mopac Cars.

Richard, Bradley and I have been working on the SDP40F, FP45 and F45 project outline. We will announce these in the coming months and see where they take us. We will release these engines one at a time, so as to give our customers the chance to order all of them in succession and it also helps us maximize sales so we or you don't have to drop one for the other. they will not be cheap as they are short runs and all new tools.

We are going to double down on our detail confirmations on these projects so we can avoid any mistakes. This slows things down a bit but should result in less errors in detail, painting and lettering. I am committed to improving, always.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer. It's so nice to get out and do normal things once again.

Keep well.

Excellent update !!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
This scheduling  note helps me plan my train $ budget - I’m sure others too.
Cheers !!!

Thanks for the update Scott, that was very helpful

The timeframe really helps me set aside funds

Are you considering a 2nd on those GP9?

So, now you know where the bubble is.  I've guaranteed that Ferromex will be 1 of the 20.  Also BN (not BNSF) and Santa Fe (again, not BNSF) together have between 75 and 100 reservations. So that leaves 17 variations.

2nd GP9s?  At least 3 years in the future.  Limited to 20 variations the 1st run would not have happened so you can go from there.

Thanks to your guarantee on Ferromex Richard, I'm changing my reservation.  That is a great paint scheme.

Agreed that GP7/9s may be a while off if at all.

I was wondering about the delivery of the Amfleets and Viewliners, so as always thank you very much Scott. Your frequent communication with us makes me even more excited to get those cars. It makes me a strong believer in the quality of your products, as well as your customer service.

In addition to that, it is very good to hear that you and your team are thinking about doing some of Amtrak's original locomotives they ordered since its formation. I'm very surprised that to this day very little was done for these locomotives in 3-rail. I'm sure MTH's FP-45 was reasonable for it's time, but they never did anything to update it visually. And then of course the Williams version, which I love very much, is semi-scale and really fits best with other "traditionally sized" trains. So thank you very much for even considering these locomotives. I can only pray at this point that they do come into fruition.

@GG1 4877 posted:

Thanks to your guarantee on Ferromex Richard, I'm changing my reservation.  That is a great paint scheme.

Agreed that GP7/9s may be a while off if at all.

Thanks Jonathan!  3-rail I assume?  If anyone is thinking about one in 3-rail you will need to reserve because I'm only interested in 2-rail.  Only reservations will cause 3-rail Ferromex to happen.

Thank you for the update Scott! That helps all of us know when to expect these runs and should help out with orders. I know it helps me to space out the sets.

I will also add a shameless plug for the Illinois Central Death Star paint scheme. I currently have 4 on order if anyone is on the fence or interested.

@rdunniii posted:

Thanks Jonathan!  3-rail I assume?  If anyone is thinking about one in 3-rail you will need to reserve because I'm only interested in 2-rail.  Only reservations will cause 3-rail Ferromex to happen.

You know me too well Richard.  3 rail if it's not CNJ or PRR.   All my GP7s are 2R.  I'm thinking two in Ferromex to go with the ATSF one I already had and dumping the 2R Conrail.  It was WAY out of era for my 2R modeling.  Only by 20 years, but still.   

@rdunniii posted:

So, now you know where the bubble is.  I've guaranteed that Ferromex will be 1 of the 20.  Also BN (not BNSF) and Santa Fe (again, not BNSF) together have between 75 and 100 reservations. So that leaves 17 variations.

2nd GP9s?  At least 3 years in the future.  Limited to 20 variations the 1st run would not have happened so you can go from there.

Well, this a nice start to the final line-up. BN and Santa Fe big numbers. Pretty predictable. Does “Not BNSF” mean it’s dropped ? Not including SF Kodachrome with SF imply SF-K won’t fly ?  Ferromex. Wow !!! That’s an interesting trump card and replacing NDM. So be it. Numbers of Reservations RULE !!!!!  
That leaves the rest of us waiting on a final line-up - I hope not too long. Canceled road name reservations can be moved in the SD40-2 offering, perhaps boosting another road and making a difference .... OR can be used on another project that also could use some more reservations !!!! I hope Scott can move on this soon and firm up the SD40-2 line up.

GP7-9 run 2 ?   Pass.
I look forward to eventually seeing the Alco FAs done and am Excited to see Scott say the E5,6 Will See a Run 2 !!!!!!

Cheers !!!!!! 😜

@TrainBub posted:

Well, this a nice start to the final line-up. BN and Santa Fe big numbers. Pretty predictable. Does “Not BNSF” mean it’s dropped ? Not including SF Kodachrome with SF imply SF-K won’t fly ?  Ferromex. Wow !!! That’s an interesting trump card and replacing NDM. So be it. Numbers of Reservations RULE !!!!!  

...

Cheers !!!!!! 😜

No clue what BNSF numbers are.  I asked what the two biggest were.  Between the 500 different paint varieties for BNSF I shall keep my distance.  It will be the one in the picture as far as I know but there will be people who question that decision vociferously.

Are those possible E5/E6 reruns only going to be Mopac? Or are there going to be other road names offered?

@Cogen1981 posted:

Are those possible E5/E6 reruns only going to be Mopac? Or are there going to be other road names offered?

I has to be all.   The run 2 would Never fly with MP alone.

@TrainBub posted:

Well, this a nice start to the final line-up. BN and Santa Fe big numbers. Pretty predictable. Does “Not BNSF” mean it’s dropped ? Not including SF Kodachrome with SF imply SF-K won’t fly ?  Ferromex. Wow !!! That’s an interesting trump card and replacing NDM. So be it. Numbers of Reservations RULE !!!!!  
That leaves the rest of us waiting on a final line-up - I hope not too long. Canceled road name reservations can be moved in the SD40-2 offering, perhaps boosting another road and making a difference .... OR can be used on another project that also could use some more reservations !!!! I hope Scott can move on this soon and firm up the SD40-2 line up.

GP7-9 run 2 ?   Pass.
I look forward to eventually seeing the Alco FAs done and am Excited to see Scott say the E5,6 Will See a Run 2 !!!!!!

Cheers !!!!!! 😜

I’ll be darned. Scott’s posted “standby reservations accepted for possible second run” for GPs. So.... MP fans and I appeal to Jenks blue MP SD40-2 reservations. The MP GP in Jenks did not get enough reservations to get done. Here’s a possible 2nd chance to get the later paint MP GP. It’d be great to lash up with the SD40-2. Give it a look.  The GP models are Superb !!  Cheers 😜

If MP SD40-2 makes the final 20, numbering becomes important relative to which model is produced - with or without dynamic brakes. Each had specific numbers. The dynamic brake models (at least initially) were used for coal service and were labeled SD40-2c. They ventured deep into Colorado and I believe into Wyoming (Powder River Basin) for coal drags.

Just this week I signed up for .... Death Star .... Have an MTH SD40-2 Death Star dummy, hopefully they look good together.

Hey TrainBub,

I gave Scott info on the Mopac SD40-2c units assuming they would prefer to make later versions with dynamic brakes as most roads had DB.  He passed the info on to Jonathan.  I'd be OK with non-DB as well, but prefer the late/modern version on either DB or non-DB.  If I've missed anything, please let me know.  Here's what I provided, much is courtesy of Kevin Eudaly's Missouri Pacific Diesel Power:

All Mo-Pac SD40-2s with dynamic brakes (#6000-6073) were delivered in the Jenks (dark cerulean) blue late scheme with the screaming eagle over sawblade logo on the cab, wider 5" Scotchlite striping & chevrons, large cab numbers on the long hood, and corrugated radiator grilles (no chicken wire grilles).  They all had bells mounted high on the long hood before the left-hand radiator grille.

20 DB units made in 1976 (#3216-3235, renumbered in May, 1978 to #6000-6019) had both standard cab lights between the number boards and lights on the short hood (like DRGW SD40T-2s).  They also had rotary beacons on the cab roof and early EMD-style squared numbers on the number boards.

BTW, sorry I can't reserve any Sunset GP7s or GP9s in Jenks Blue.  In my RR universe they were already traded in on GP15-1s.  I've already got four painted and ready for some local road-switching work on the future layout.  For now two baby tunnel motors are pulling a local around my office loop.  FYI, that's an original 3M Scotchlite Mopac cab logo in the pic. 

@Tim Mc posted:

Hey TrainBub,

I gave Scott info on the Mopac SD40-2c units assuming they would prefer to make later versions with dynamic brakes as most roads had DB.  He passed the info on to Jonathan.  I'd be OK with non-DB as well, but prefer the late/modern version on either DB or non-DB.  If I've missed anything, please let me know.  Here's what I provided, much is courtesy of Kevin Eudaly's Missouri Pacific Diesel Power:

All Mo-Pac SD40-2s with dynamic brakes (#6000-6073) were delivered in the Jenks (dark cerulean) blue late scheme with the screaming eagle over sawblade logo on the cab, wider 5" Scotchlite striping & chevrons, large cab numbers on the long hood, and corrugated radiator grilles (no chicken wire grilles).  They all had bells mounted high on the long hood before the left-hand radiator grille.

20 DB units made in 1976 (#3216-3235, renumbered in May, 1978 to #6000-6019) had both standard cab lights between the number boards and lights on the short hood (like DRGW SD40T-2s).  They also had rotary beacons on the cab roof and early EMD-style squared numbers on the number boards.

54 DB units made in 1979-80 (MP #6020-6073) only had standard cab lights between the number boards.  They did not have lights on the short hood or rotary beacons on the cab.  They used the later rounded EMD font on the

number boards.  This group matches the photo on Sunset's webpage.

#6071 was the last surviving blue SD40-2.  - That might be a cool one to make.

The latest non-DB Mopac SD40-2s were:

50 units, Aug-Sep 1978:  3216:2-3235:2 (the first 20 DB units had these numbers originally and were renumbered 6000-6019) and MP 3236-3265.

36 units, May-July 1979:  MP 3266-3301

10 units, Dec 1979, MP 3302-3311

10 units, April 1980, MP 3312-3321

BTW, sorry I can't reserve any Sunset GP7s or GP9s in Jenks Blue.  In my RR universe they were already traded in on GP15-1s.  I've already got four painted and ready for some local road-switching work on the future layout.  For now two baby tunnel motors are pulling a local around my office loop.  FYI, that's an original 3M Scotchlite Mopac cab logo in the pic. 

I’ll be happy with ANY MP SD40-2 Scott produces !!!!! I appreciate your diligence in passing in good info. The EuDaly reference is great info source for Jonathan.
Cheers !!!!

Originally posted by sdmann...

Richard, Bradley and I have been working on the SDP40F, FP45 and F45 project outline. We will announce these in the coming
 months and see where they take us. We will release these engines one at a time, so as to give our customers the chance
to order all of them in succession and it also helps us maximize sales so we or you don't have to drop one for the other.
they will not be cheap as they are short runs and all new tools.

YEAH BABY! SDP40F's!

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Originally posted by sdmann...

Richard, Bradley and I have been working on the SDP40F, FP45 and F45 project outline. We will announce these in the coming
 months and see where they take us. We will release these engines one at a time, so as to give our customers the chance
to order all of them in succession and it also helps us maximize sales so we or you don't have to drop one for the other.
they will not be cheap as they are short runs and all new tools.

YEAH BABY! SDP40F's!

You need to start a new thread SDP40F, FP45, F45. It will be difficult to build some excitement for this Buried in the SD40-2 thread.

Hi Folks,

Happy 4th of July.

Wanted to let you know Jonathan and I are now working on the design matrix which leads to design and tooling for our SD40-2 , SD40T-2 project.

I have removed several road names from the list due to lack of orders. We are already beyond our 20 road name production so we can't add any further roads at this time.  The roads that didn't make it are IC (Death Star), Frisco and SOO.

We changed the engine we are making for N&W to the short / high hood, black scheme. I hope all that reserved the Red N&W will approve of the change.

I think we will see these early to mid 2022.  Reservations will close in late 2021.

Keep well and happy Model Railroading.

Thanks for the update Scott! Happy 4th of July to you as well.

Dave

Suuuuhweet!

Sad news indeed. Was hoping to see the IC across the finish line.

How many units would it take to be made? Hopeful for another run one day and can campaign for it then. I do appreciate the consideration for it to be made Scott!!!

@vash44 posted:

Sad news indeed. Was hoping to see the IC across the finish line.

How many units would it take to be made? Hopeful for another run one day and can campaign for it then. I do appreciate the consideration for it to be made Scott!!!

Well it’s good that Scott didn’t keep people with Frisco, IC, and Soo reservations dangling till the absolute end before closing reservations. It actually allows us to see if we can reallocate our reservation “$” to something else.

@vash44 posted:

Sad news indeed. Was hoping to see the IC across the finish line.

How many units would it take to be made? Hopeful for another run one day and can campaign for it then. I do appreciate the consideration for it to be made Scott!!!

While 2nd runs are never guaranteed, it has been fairly typical these days that once people see the quality of the first run a 2nd is requested.  Since the tooling is done, it is possible to do 2nd runs should enough people agree on road names. 

IC is a tough one.  They were an early purchaser of the SD40-2 in 1975, but only purchased 4 units total.  I personally found that surprising during research of this unit.  The question that hasn't been answered yet and will become evident within the next 24 hours is how many total SD40-2s from this run of locomotives share the same phasing as the IC version?  That may factor into it coming back to life if it can get up to at least 20 orders. 

While SD40-2 phasing variations in many cases are minor (aside from the long short hoods found on ATSF and SP or the high short hood on NW, SOU, & NS), there are a lot of spec changes over the 12+ years this locomotive was in the EMD catalog.  I'm in the process of rationalizing all of that now to create a factory friendly project where there are the smallest amount of tooling changes while also being prototypically authentic to each road.  Not an easy task as I'm quickly learning.

Lesson learned from the GP7/9 project is to select road numbers related to specific phases of production first so there is an actual photo for each unit that will be produced.  Add to that modifications made from successor roads like BNSF, UP, and others and tracing road numbers back to the as-built road number and now we have a very fun puzzle to resolve.

I'm excited for the high hood NW version even if I am changing my order over to Feromex.  Go figure.

@GG1 4877 posted:

While SD40-2 phasing variations in many cases are minor (aside from the long short hoods found on ATSF and SP or the high short hood on NW, SOU, & NS), there are a lot of spec changes over the 12+ years this locomotive was in the EMD catalog.  I'm in the process of rationalizing all of that now to create a factory friendly project where there are the smallest amount of tooling changes while also being prototypically authentic to each road.  Not an easy task as I'm quickly learning.

Don’t forget Conrail’s version with Flexcoil C trucks.  The whole reason for the lengthening of the SD40 frame was to accommodate the HT-C trucks, which made the CR variant look a little silly. Maybe not as silly as the 3000 gallon fuel tank models.

If anyone is interested in some of the many variations there is a great page that has details of the WLE SD40-2s, of which they’ve got a nice collection.  Some however, are reman’d SD40s like the three ex-PRR units they have.

http://www.nsdash9.com/WEroster.html#SD40-2

@GG1 4877 posted:

While 2nd runs are never guaranteed, it has been fairly typical these days that once people see the quality of the first run a 2nd is requested.  Since the tooling is done, it is possible to do 2nd runs should enough people agree on road names.

IC is a tough one.  They were an early purchaser of the SD40-2 in 1975, but only purchased 4 units total.  I personally found that surprising during research of this unit.  The question that hasn't been answered yet and will become evident within the next 24 hours is how many total SD40-2s from this run of locomotives share the same phasing as the IC version?  That may factor into it coming back to life if it can get up to at least 20 orders.

While SD40-2 phasing variations in many cases are minor (aside from the long short hoods found on ATSF and SP or the high short hood on NW, SOU, & NS), there are a lot of spec changes over the 12+ years this locomotive was in the EMD catalog.  I'm in the process of rationalizing all of that now to create a factory friendly project where there are the smallest amount of tooling changes while also being prototypically authentic to each road.  Not an easy task as I'm quickly learning.

Lesson learned from the GP7/9 project is to select road numbers related to specific phases of production first so there is an actual photo for each unit that will be produced.  Add to that modifications made from successor roads like BNSF, UP, and others and tracing road numbers back to the as-built road number and now we have a very fun puzzle to resolve.

I'm excited for the high hood NW version even if I am changing my order over to Feromex.  Go figure.

You Always provide great info. Thanks !!!  Ferromex ?  A far piece away from CNJ !!!😳😳😳    
Do you also do the passenger car research /detail work ?    
Cheers 🙂

@sdmann posted:

Hi Folks,

Happy 4th of July.

Wanted to let you know Jonathan and I are now working on the design matrix which leads to design and tooling for our SD40-2 , SD40T-2 project.

I have removed several road names from the list due to lack of orders. We are already beyond our 20 road name production so we can't add any further roads at this time.  The roads that didn't make it are IC (Death Star), Frisco and SOO.

We changed the engine we are making for N&W to the short / high hood, black scheme. I hope all that reserved the Red N&W will approve of the change.

I think we will see these early to mid 2022.  Reservations will close in late 2021.

Keep well and happy Model Railroading.

It would be interesting to see reservation numbers for those roads that were dropped. I was in for 2 MP and 1 Frisco - all the $ I could do at once and couldn’t do a second Frisco. It seems earlier there was support for Frisco (and Soo). Where did those people go ???  Perhaps it’s just “talks cheap”.  It’s different when you have to Really put your $ in. Well, I hope when we get to finally doing the FA diesels, the Frisco can get enough reservations to be done.

@TrainBub posted:

It would be interesting to see reservation numbers for those roads that were dropped. I was in for 2 MP and 1 Frisco - all the $ I could do at once and couldn’t do a second Frisco. It seems earlier there was support for Frisco (and Soo). Where did those people go ???  Perhaps it’s just “talks cheap”.  It’s different when you have to Really put your $ in. Well, I hope when we get to finally doing the FA diesels, the Frisco can get enough reservations to be done.

You have no idea.  I reserve little from Scott because I know there will be people who don't actually pay for them when they arrive.  He understands  stuff happens between when you reserve and when they arrive.  He already knows I need some leftover F3s.  In the case of the Ferromex I did reserve I will keep one of each number and the rest will be used for chassis, for SD38-2s and other stuff.  Maybe even a swap for some other leftovers.  

And then there are the people who will return them, supposedly in perfect condition but it is obvious they did something.  The most obvious is when they swap out the electronics.  And yes, they do go on Scott's special bad boy list.

There were 4 different major SOO LINE schemes for the SD40-2. 

He only had the 1975 to 1982 scheme as a choice.

Andrew

@rdunniii posted:

You have no idea.  I reserve little from Scott because I know there will be people who don't actually pay for them when they arrive.  He understands  stuff happens between when you reserve and when they arrive.  He already knows I need some leftover F3s.  In the case of the Ferromex I did reserve I will keep one of each number and the rest will be used for chassis, for SD38-2s and other stuff.  Maybe even a swap for some other leftovers.  

And then there are the people who will return them, supposedly in perfect condition but it is obvious they did something.  The most obvious is when they swap out the electronics.  And yes, they do go on Scott's special bad boy list.

Wow you do some ambitious, serious vacuuming after “delivery”. I did 3 GPs and before all is said and done I’ll probably do 3 SD40-2s.
I'm stunned with people doing something - like swapping electronics !!!!! Holy cow - how sleazy - pathetic !!!!!

@rplst8 posted:

Don’t forget Conrail’s version with Flexcoil C trucks.  The whole reason for the lengthening of the SD40 frame was to accommodate the HT-C trucks, which made the CR variant look a little silly. Maybe not as silly as the 3000 gallon fuel tank models.

If anyone is interested in some of the many variations there is a great page that has details of the WLE SD40-2s, of which they’ve got a nice collection.  Some however, are reman’d SD40s like the three ex-PRR units they have.

http://www.nsdash9.com/WEroster.html#SD40-2

Another reason for the frame length was to standardize the frame.  The SD38-2, SD40-2, and SD45-2 share the same frame.  Conrail elected to go with the older Flexcoil trucks due to their experience of Amtrak's SDP40Fs HT-C trucks on Conrail track which was substandard at the time.   

W&LE units are still being researched.  Most of the others have assigned phases and number ranges right now pending approval of the boss man Scott.

@TrainBub posted:

You Always provide great info. Thanks !!!  Ferromex ?  A far piece away from CNJ !!!😳😳😳    
Do you also do the passenger car research /detail work ?    
Cheers 🙂

I model western roads in 3 rail as my club is 3 rail and western based.  CNJ is for the serious modeler in me and is always in 2 rail.  Makes complete sense to me!!

@TrainBub posted:

It would be interesting to see reservation numbers for those roads that were dropped. I was in for 2 MP and 1 Frisco - all the $ I could do at once and couldn’t do a second Frisco. It seems earlier there was support for Frisco (and Soo). Where did those people go ???  Perhaps it’s just “talks cheap”.  It’s different when you have to Really put your $ in. Well, I hope when we get to finally doing the FA diesels, the Frisco can get enough reservations to be done.

Talk is cheap.  How many threads do we read that someone says, "I'll buy X number of units in Y road name if Z manufacturer makes it."  Uh-huh.  The answer to your question is less than 5 of each of these road names.

There are several on this forum who enjoy opining on everything but when it comes down to a placing a reservation find the smallest reasons not to reserve as in they never intended reserving one in the first place.

Then again there are others who are willing to place a personal guarantee on the run to get their road name made. 

Like life, we have all kinds on this forum.  Nothing wrong with any of it.

GG-1, In my world, train related internet sales completion actually have a higher closing ratio than in my professional world.  Maybe even double that of my day to day business.  Except at train shows, there sales may be 1 out of 6 conversations become sales.

There is a sort of love affair RR guys have for trains and sometimes it seems they just like to imagine ordering or talking about one.  Like dancing with debt.

For the life of me I can not imagine how Scott can make these high dollar multi unit overseas commitments based on the general RR public.