I’ve read somewhere that some of the bluebox engines sat to high. Is the ride hieght on these engines actually correct?
If it’s wrong, is there a way to fix it?
I can’t honestly say thats true or not but all of mine (20) plus are just fine and they seem to be the staple of many guys in the hobby so I would think something like this would have been addressed here but I can’t recall ever reading it. If you mean they sit too high the only concern I would think would be with the coupler height. That can be rcorrected by using offset shank couplers and those spacer pads Kadee sells I owuld think.
The problem I had with them was that they rode too low and required lower shank couplers. Put #5’s on one and the trip pins will snag the rails.
That’s odd…I use #5 or 148s on all my Athearn BB units…
Maybe I am holding my tongue just right when I add the couplers?
No…I have heard that rumor but,the BB SD40-2 is at the correct height.
I will add this…
The Bachmann SD40-2 sits to high and I believe that’s where the confusion comes into play since many modelers seem to forget that Bachmann SD40-2.
I’m not sure about height … but I do know the Athearn SD40-2 has some dimensional problems, making it slightly inaccurate. For some modelers, this isn’t a big deal. I think it has something to do with the wheelbase–the front truck should be a little further forward, if I remember correctly. So it’s not a 100% accurate representation of an SD40-2. But it’s inexpensive. So there’s that. And (surprisingly), there aren’t very many options for an uber-accurate SD40-2. If not brass, then another option is the Rail Flyer build. Or ignoring the Athearn inaccuracies. Or Kato (but I don’t know how accurate that one is).
I’m currently weighing options on the SD40-2 as well.
There are several Athearn BB SD40-2’s and SD40T-2’s in the collection here.
As to the couplers I toss the plastic clip in the trash and use a Kadee coupler box. This requires drilling out the hole where the clip used to go and tapping it for a 2-56 screw. I then file down the mounting pad the thickness of the Kadee box that has the centre post in it. It is kind of a try and fit operation. I mount hte coupler without permanently attaching the coupler box until the mounting pad is filed far enough for the coupler to come out at correct hight. Once everything is where it should be I attach the coupler box half that has the centre post in it with CA glue being sure the part is in the right place. After the glue has set up install hte coupler and box cover and install a 2-56 X 1/4" screw.
This should work for most Kadee couplers. It dose take a bit of time but has worked for me very well.
I believe that the SD40-2 sat at the correct height but it’s the GP38-2/GP40-2/GP50/GP60 that sits too high.