Is this model available anywhere in UP colors? It is the EMD DD40-X. Have seen it advertised in older MR magazines. UP used them. Have photos of them in Cajon Pass and have a set of plans or drawings.
Anyone model this diesel locomotive by chance?
Goose,
Modeled in brass in every scale imaginable.
Bachmann Spctrum in HO and N.
I am currently reworking two in Nscale by lowering the body, brass handrails, and eliminating the truck mount couplers. This is by far not a “FUN” project. Lots of uncharted territory here.
Your searces for DDA40X may yield more results…
Thanks for the reply. Will also keep looking.
This is a fascinating locomotive, what 97ft long, 7000HP, just caught my eye even though I prefer steam.
You won’t get a DDA40X in other than UP colors since UP owned all the 47 DD40’s EMD made(6900 to 6946).They were giants,with power to spare but high costs brought their demises.
Bachmann produced it in “N” scale a few years back but don’t anymore.But maybe you could find one sitting on a distributor’s shelf however.I’ve read somewhere that it was not too popular as it did need huge curves and also was a poor runner.I own one(6906) and I’ve tried it on 9 3/4 in. curves and it does fine,although it looks weird doing so.Even more,mine is a fine runner also…maybe I’m lucky…
Does the UP still run this modern day “big boy”?
They dont use it for freight, but for excursion trips
Athearn made one (HO scale) with dual motors, and of all the odd things, decorated it for SP. I don’t think Southern Pacific ever owned a DD40X. Athearn probably also had a UP version. Bachmann also had a DD40X model decorated for the UP, in both their cheap Plus line, and a Spectrum version. If you look at a Bachmann model, make sure you get the Spectrum version and not the cheap Plus version. Only the rear truck is powered on the Plus version. Athearn’s will really pull a lot with its two motors, but makes the usual Athearn coffee grinder noises.
UP doesn’t use DDA40X anymore with the exception of one(6036) that they use for a special annual trip.All the rest have either been scrapped or donated to different railroad museums across USA.
The DDA40X is in fact two GP40’s joined tail to tail and were manufactured by EMD as a special order by UP who purchased the whole production(47 total).They are to date the most powerful diesels ever made but also the most expensive to operate,UP abandonned their use mostly due to the skyrocketting maintenance costs along with long downed time.They were not investment efficient enough to justify keeping them in service any longer.
I did not know they joined two GP-40s back to back. Interesting. Maybe I could do the same thing.
Here I am trying to post a diagram.
This is a Dave Krumenacker photo I found here with a bunch more. http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/up/up-6000.html . The DD40Xs are at the bottom.
I have a video tape called Union Pacific Vintage West from Charles Smiley Productions (http://www.trainmovies.com) that shows several DD40X locomotives in operation. The UP also had cabless booster versions. In one scene they are using one A unit and 3 B units to pull a train over Cajon Pass. No one that I know of has ever made a model of the cabless booster loco.
Thanks for the info cacole. I was not aware of the b units. Are they are the same size as the DD40X?
Will check out the movie reference.
I found a photo of the B unit.
i read some where that one is still found occasionally running somewhere on the system. yes athrean and bachman both made a model.
B units are DD35 (basically two GP 35 on one chassis), The ones with the conventional (not wide nose) cabs are DD35A. The ones with a wide nose are DD40AX.
With the help you all gave me on this subject, I have learned more about diesels on the UPRR in one day than I thought a person could learn. Looks like UPRR kept getting bigger and bigger locmotives by changes and modifications using existing equipment more than anything else. This was some heavy iron looks like. [:)]
the Athearn unit that is sold as a DD40 is more similar to the DD35, but not quite correct for that either. the Bachmann is the only plastic model availableof the DDA40X. i have one Spectrum unit that i am detailing to match the one UP still uses in excursion service.
there are a ton of excellent photos of 6936 at http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/centennial/centennial.html
here are some shots of my model. i had to fill in the giant gap in the pilot and body mount a coupler to get it decent looking.
A pleasant surprise this morning. Pictures are worth a thousand words - think that is how it goes. I think I am getting the itch to try a diesel model after these last photos. And the links are great. [:)] [:)]
[:)]
SP had DD35B units so Athearn is “sort of correct”. As someone else stated, the Athearn is closer to a DD35 but sold as a DD40.