I have gotten caught in a quagmire this month, I decided to build a lease fleet of SD40-2’s instead of finally get my SD45T-2’s done. the locomotives I have decided on so far are: EMD lease ex MILW ex SOO SD40-2 still in SOO red and white, EMD lease Ex MILW ex soo SD40-2 still in MILW colors, EMD lease blue SD40-2 (Ex MILW), 2 GATX (GSCX) ex MILW SD40-2’s, and an ex UP GATX SD40-2 (non dynamic, still in UP colors with red GATX lettering) I have found out that the ex UP unit only lasted maybe a year in this paint scheme in the early 1990’s, but it looks pretty cool.
what I have is another Kato Union Pacific SD40-2 (early with ratchet brake) with the lettering removed and I want to make another lease unit that would have been around in the 1990’s. were there any other lease units around that time in UP colors? if not, I can always strip the rest of the paint and do something else. I just need something different. any help would be greatly appreciated.
The non-dynamic brake SD40-2’s were ex-MP 3000 series engines. They were some of the first to go (many were made into “B” units) since they couldn’t be used west of N Platte. The ex-MKT units and MP 6000 series SD40-2’s lasted longer because they were DB equipped.
The CNW units were kept because they were cab signal equipped and could be leaders on UP trains in cab signal locations. The SP C44AC’s were not cab signal equipped and so ended up as trailing units on coal trains where they wouldn’t need to have cab signals. That’s why you rarely see an SP unit as a coal train leader, no cab signals.
A lot of the ex-SP units went to the lease market because they were older and had been rode hard and put away wet. They would have been the most expensive to rebuild.
