Athearn SD45-T

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I was wondering if anyone out there knows if Athearn are going to release their SD45-T Tunnel motors with factory sound?

If so when are they going to be available?

If not any recomendations on how to install sound…

Type of decoder, speaker etc.

Thanks

2

I dont know, but they are classified SD45T-2’s.

3

I seriously dout it as the SD45T-2 is a Ready to Roll model and Athearn is putting sound in their Genesis series Locomotives

Ch

4

Ok the SD45T-2 then…

Has anyone ever installed sound in one of these?

5

I have 4 of the SD45T-2’s and I am thinking about trying to install a Lok sound decoder in one of them. They have plenty of room in the body for the instalation, I am also looking at the Digitrax SD38-2 decoder, a little cheaper than the Lok sound.

6

Any chance someone can post a few pics of this loco with the top off, just to give me an idea of space and decoder/speaker placement.

Thanks

7

The SD38-2 does not have a turbo, thus if the decoder is correct for the SD38-2, it will not be correct for a SD45T-2. The SD45T-2 were turbocharged.

You may want to consider getting a Walthers P2K U28B for less than $90, and ordering a new V7 chip for it (~$30) with EMD 645 turbo sounds, and using that inside your SD45T-2…

8

Isnt their a decoder/ sound board for Athearn SD40-2/SD40T-2? Its probably all the same guts on the 38’s. Shouldnt be any different wiring one up.

9

Isnt their a decoder/ sound board for Athearn SD40-2/SD40T-2? Its probably all the same guts on the 45T-2’s. Shouldnt be any different wiring one up.

10

On the prototype, it was not quite “the same guts.” The 20 cylinder prime mover in the SD-45 had a distinctively deeper rumble than the 16 cylinder SD-40 series. It will be interesting to see if any of this comes through the little speakers we are forced to use (e.g., HO scale). Somwhere, I saw the ESU Lok-sound listing that had an SD-45 series with apprpriate horn (Nathan three-chime for the SP). It will be interesting to hear if there are any perceivable differences.

11

Prior post reply attempt got lost in the ether somewhere. Basic comment is that on the prototype, the 16 cylinder SD-40 series did not have “the same guts” as the 20 cylinder SD-45 series. The deep rumble of those twenty-bangers was quite distinctive on long mountain grades. A listing of ESU LokSound files shows an EMD 645 20-cylinder (SD-45 series) with Nathan three chime–just the ticket for an SP unit. It will be interesting to hear if there is a detectable difference in a model (HO) installation, given the small speakers–not much bass.