I recently bought an Athearn “blue box” SD40-2 shell painted to the O&W scheme, Now I need a mechanism to go under it. Does anyone know if this shell will fit the newer RTR mechanisms or would I be better off finding a working “bb” mechanism to use with it?
The newer style with DCC plug would be the best way to go…since I have DCC at home & the club I run on is DC…would not be much of a deal to switch back & forth
Thanks in advance for any responses
Which version of the SD40-2 do you have? Is it the one with the two holes on each side of the shell that engage pins on the mechanism, or is it the one without the holes and the pilots boxed in? This latter version used the couplers to hold the body to the mechanism.
I don’t know what you consider “not much of a deal”. To me, it would be a hassle to have to keep removing/replacing the couplers to swap the shell every time I wanted to run the engine somewhere else.
it is the blue box style with the two holes on each side (the snap off type)
Instead of swapping out the decoder all the time, how about using a dual mode decoder that is just as happy running on DC as it is on DCC? Also if it is the BB type does the dynamic brake radiator come off and expose the interior of the engine? I have 2 BB SD40-2s that do and it would make swaping the decoder for a jumper really quick and easy.
Massey