Ok, I’ve asked before if a company made a type of locomotive. I know this locomotive was never made into a model. If I wanted one All I would have to do is get a SD40 and take off the cab…This is really a weird loco. Has anyone seen a weird locomotive?
http://www.sooline.org/publications/drawings/locomotives/SD40_SD402/6450.gif
It’s actually an SD40-2B, like this one I made:
Very nice! [wow] How did you weather it?
Since this was done in my pre-weathering powders day, probably with an airbrush.
Nice! I would think that would make a odd locomotive to my fleet.
The SOO purchased that unit from the BN. I saw it in service quite a bit coming through Detroit traveling back and forth between Chicago and Toronto / Montreal.
Jim
Those are not SD45 flares.
Wouldn’t this locomotive be called a, “Calf,” because it still has its diesel engines and generators but no cab? This is opposed to a, “Slug,” which has no engine or generator but gets power for its traction motors from another locomotive. I believe that slugs are much more common than calfs.
True, an SD45 would have the flared radiators on the opposite ends. The last SD45 I saw in service was an SD45B painted in Santa Fe’s blue & yellow scheme with no war bonnet. I ran home to get my camera but was unable to find the locomotive when I got back. sigh.
That is one cool locomotive though. I would never call it wierd. Is SOO the only road that had them? I’ve never seen one before.
I don’t know the official definition of what is called a calf. “B” is the general qualifier that EMD uses for cabless units. The only cabless units I’ve heard called calfs are in the SW series. No idea why. Anyone?
That unit was purchased 2nd hand from the Burlington Northern; it was the former BN 7500. I have no idea how it got rebuilt into a B unit but I would think it was a wreck repair.
Perhaps one of the BN folks could help out with the history of this unit?
The dynamic brake grid was moved during the rebuild to the short hood area. As others have noted they are not “flares”, just the brake blisters.
Jim
That looks fantastic. Great weathering too.
BN rebuilt a few wrecked SD40-2s in to cabless SD40-2Bs. Santa Fe had a few similar units that were SD45-2s rebuilt into B units.
I think an odd or wierd looking unit is the GP30B. OR the GP30 rebuilds with a GP38 cab on them. Very strange.