I've finally decided to model the ATSF right before the merger. Besides the 600 series Dash-9s, what other engines were prevalent on the system? SD45s? SD40-2s? Thanks! ------------------ Mark Weiher Trainboard Member #60 Frequent Visitor to The Loop ATSF/BNSF Fan & Modeller
Lets see....in addition to the models you mentioned, GP50, GP60, GP60M, B40-8, F45, SD45-2, and B40-8W models were fairly common, at least out here in SoCal. GP20U, GP7/9U, and GP35U models were also pretty common on locals, and occasionally on mainline freights. ------------------ Have A Nice Day!
Also C40-8W, GP60B and C30-7. ------------------ Alan Curtis. Moderator. Member #12 The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.alancurtismodels.com Andersley Western Railroad Alan's American Gallery [This message has been edited by Alan (edited 05 January 2001).]
Thanks guys! But now that leads me to a couple more questions: Were the SD75Ms painted as Warbonnets? And what were the road numbers? What does the 'U' stand for on the GP20U, etc.? Was this a model indicative of the Santa Fe? ------------------ Mark Weiher Trainboard Member #60 Frequent Visitor to The Loop ATSF/BNSF Fan & Modeller
The SD75M's were delivered as Red & Silver Warbonnets, numbered 200-250, and were the last new units accepted by Santa Fe. The "U" suffix was a Santa Fe term used to denote a unit that has been Upgraded mechanically/electrically in their shops. Paul #3 ------------------ Have A Nice Day!
Don't forget the FP45's and SDP40F's from Amtrak. I know they (the former Amtrak units) were rebuilt with new "platforms" on the front and were given a new designation, which I can't remember. Oh, and let's not forget one of my favorites! GP30u's! ------------------ Brent Tidaback, Member #234 BNSF Railfan-to-the Max and a N-Scaler to boot! Ship it on the Route of The Roadrunners! The Aransas Odessa & Western, a division of the BNSF [This message has been edited by Maxwell Plant (edited 10 January 2001).]
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Maxwell Plant: Don't forget the FP45's and SDP40F's from Amtrak. I know they (the former Amtrak units) were rebuilt with new "platforms" on the front and were given a new designation, which I can't remember. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> SDF40-2. At a later date, the Santa Fe added steps to the front corners. This required the nose corners to be notched. Dwight
Thanks, Dwight! That's the new designation. The "chopped out" noses look kind of funny, but it's still a cool beast! I've never seen one in person, just pictures. ------------------ Brent Tidaback, Member #234 BNSF Railfan-to-the Max and a N-Scaler to boot! Ship it on the Route of The Roadrunners! The Aransas Odessa & Western, a division of the BNSF
Brent, I have only seen one SDF40-2, but then again I live a long way from them! We saw this one at Bealville . . . . . . . then went ahead to Caliente and caught it again. ------------------ Alan Curtis. Moderator. Member #12 The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.alancurtismodels.com Andersley Western Railroad Alan's American Gallery
I don't know if you are familiar with George Elwood's fabulous collection of RR photos, but he has a set of almost everything Santa Fe was running. Check out:url http://www.dnaco.net/~gelwood/other/atsf.html He also has a list of models of atsf at url http://www.dnaco.net/~gelwood/other/atsf-mod.html Hope this helps. ------------------ http://www.pioneer.net/~fitzrr/ Member No. 508
Those SDF40-2's sure are BEASTY LOOKING, aren't they Alan! All that space in the rear where the steam generators were and HEP was going to be installed. I guess it's all "Sac-creat" back there now. ------------------ Brent Tidaback, Member #234 BNSF Railfan-to-the Max and a N-Scaler to boot! Ship it on the Route of The Roadrunners! The Aransas Odessa & Western, a division of the BNSF
Yeah, Brent, I really like the look of them! The angle of the early morning sun does not show up the notch in the nose for the step well wery clearly. We saw this train go past our motel in Tehachapi as we were having our coffee. It had all blue and yellow units, with 94 cars and two pushers, pity one was a red and silver one! This broke the all blue! As it had an SD40-2 on the point, a B40-8 next, then (oh joy!) a very clean GP20, next the SDF40-2, and a MK SDF45. We quickly finished our coffee, checked out and raced down to Bealville. Need not have rushed, we were waiting a long time for it to arrive. The pushers were a SD45-2 and a B40-8W. We saw it past Bealville, then went down to Caliente, to watch it come past again, as the sun was a better angle. We now wish we had followed it all the way to Bakersfield ------------------ Alan Curtis. Moderator. Member #12 The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.alancurtismodels.com Andersley Western Railroad Alan's American Gallery
Fitz, I just went to the web address you provided. Wow! what a great resource for BOTH railfans and modelers. Thanks for the tip! Happy Modeling! John ------------------ The Santa Fe and Southwestern, Chief of the Southwest!!
That is a good one, shows the FLAT front nose door too! They flattened the noses so there was more room on the small front porch. ------------------ Brent Tidaback, Member #234 BNSF Railfan-to-the Max and a N-Scaler to boot! Ship it on the Route of The Roadrunners! The Aransas Odessa & Western, a division of the BNSF
I read about these units when they were in AMTRAK's roster. Amtrak ordered several of these as their fist brand new units some time in the 70's and the day they got they first of the orderes the crews complained about a "YAWWING" in the tracks when they were in a curve. theengines would go into the shops to get looked at an the wheel flange were easten away faster than usual, they replaced wheels and still didn't help much, so them Amtrak regeare the tracks but they couldn't find the answer, I think they sold them off to ATSF when they started receiving the PH40(or something like that) and those stayed as the main stay of motive power for 20 some years. not they are getting thpose AMD100's to replce them with CSX considering buying a few more to go with their ex-Amtrack units #9992& 9993(CSXT). Anyon with more info to add please do! good luck, ------------------ TrainBoard.com MEMBER#204 THE WEB PAGE IS NOW UPDATED!! Appalachian & Atlantic Model Railroad "QUALITY at WORK with SAFTEY in MIND"
A "YAWWING" in the Trucks, not the tracks ------------------ TrainBoard.com MEMBER#204 THE WEB PAGE IS NOW UPDATED!! Appalachian & Atlantic Model Railroad "QUALITY at WORK with SAFTEY in MIND" [This message has been edited by wt&c (edited 11 January 2001).]
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wt&c: <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You pretty much got it, wt&c. The SDP40F's were problem children for Amtrak; on some railroads, they performed without problems, and on others, they were prone to derailments. IIRC, BN, and possibly one other railroad, banned them, or put some other type of restriction on them...I really need to dig up my info on these units! The suspected culprits were the HT-C trucks (modified from the everyday freight version), and the water tank located in the rear of the carbody. That, and the truck yaw problem wt&c mentioned. Anyways, Amtrak eventually decided to cut their losses, and replace the SDP40F with the F40PH, which was originally intended for short-distance runs. And we all know what happened to the SDP40F fleet...most went to Santa Fe in exchange for CF7's and SSB1200's, a couple went to EMD for use as testbeds, and I think a couple stayed with Amtrak for MOW service..I remember seeing a picture of a pair in a later paintjob, pulling ballast hoppers. I think they're neat units...it's sad to think their days on the Santa F..., uh I mean BNSF, are numbered. Paul #3 ------------------ Have A Nice Day!
There was a discussion on several email lists about this about 6 months ago, so I went back and looked it up. Here's a message originally posted to the Santa Fe list and forwarded to the BRHS list: ---------- "Even though the ride qualities of the Amtrak SDP-40F was always in question at high speed, their real problems didn't surface until the rash of derailments occurred with them (almost always on a curve). Alignment control couplers, was singled out as the culprit, and at this time EMD had developed..." Some years ago, I had talked with a man that was part of the investigation of the ride problems of the SDP40F's. According to him one of the major contributors to the derailments and rough ride was this: Engine moved forward to allow more space for the steam generators. This resulted in more weight on front truck than rear truck, causing loco to be improperly balanced. When two units were coupled back to back, the leading truck on the second unit would hunt excessively, also forcing front loco to whiplash, and that would result in leading truck of second unit to derail. Can anyone verify this. The BN was not the only railroad that had this problem. ---------- I don't know who originally posted it (Chris somebody), otherwise I'd give proper credit. The discussion then moved on to the inherent stability of the twin-engined E units. Pretty cool stuff. Dwight
