Would you please take a ruler and measure the length of the fuel tank on your SD45T-2? I want to see if it’s the same length as that of an Athearn FP45.
I may have the opportunity to acquire an SD45T-2 powered chassis in the near future and I happen to have a spare Santa Fe FP45 shell. Before I buy it, I’d like to make sure that the dimensions are similar enough.
If I’m not mistaken the prototype SD45T-2, SDP45, and FP45 all used the same chassis, with minor modifications. One of them being the fuel tank.
Be aware, however, that the SD45T-2 used the HTC trucks and the FP45 used the older Flexicoil trucks. Consult some photos for the differences before you commit.
From what I understand the sideframes on the newer Athearns can be easily removed just like on the old BBs.
I am looking at photos of the units to check out the differences. Other than the trucks and minor underbody detailing, the two chassis’ look virtually identical but I read that depending on the railroad, the fuel tank came in more than one size which is why I wanted to see which one the Athearn SD45T-2 had.
The largest tanks (5,000 gallons), which the FP45s and the “Special Order” Erie Lackawanna SDP45s had, were longer in length. The standard tank was 4,950 gallons and was slightly shorter in length.
Are you talking about Genesis or RTR? On the Genesis engines you cant just pry off the sideframes, you have to take the truck off the frame, unclip 4 clasps that hold the geartrain cover on, pull the cover off and then you can pull off the sideframes. RTR is just like the BB in the sideframe area so no problem there.
I measured the fuel tank on one of my Athearn FP45s. It is 3 3/8 inches long.
According to Eric, his tunnel motor’s tank measures “almost” 3 inches long. [sigh]
So much for an easy swap! Can one of you give me the “exact” measurement though. If the difference is small enough I could cut out 2 sections from a fuel tank on another locomotive, spot weld them in on both ends of the Tunnel Motor’s tank and fill in the gaps with filler.
Antonio, if you get the SD-45T2 chassis and can’t use it under the FP45, I saw an ATSF F45 on one of my Pentrex tapes that was running on the HTC trucks. Maybe you could use it that way. Maybe the ATSF did an upgrade on that unit.
Wayne
If the chassis from the new Athearn RTR models are anything like their original Blue Box models, they are made from some combination of white metal. I doubt if you could spot weld them, they would probably melt. Just guessing though. I’ve shortened and cut apart some of the BB models myself. I shortened the tank on an GP-38-2 to make a smaller one like used on the prototype. I cut some of the tank off with a metal cutting blade in a power jug saw, then filed the cut end off smooth. The tank had been removed from the chassis and was reattached. Of course my model was unpowered.
Appreciate the info on the metal as my next step was to find out what type of metal the chassis is composed of. Guess I’ll have to toss out using a MIG or TIG welder!
WT59,
Thanks for your suggestion. Only catch: The F45 at 65ft length is shorter than the FP45 which is 70ft. 8in. long.
However, you might have seen an SDP40f as Santa Fe acquired 17 or 18 from Amtrak. The trucks were modified or changed on these units. This locomotive (notorious for derailments) had an FP45 / SDP45 chassis but were equipped with 16 cylinder diesels instead of 20 cylinders like the 45 Class.
The body was very similar to an FP45, but lacked front porch handrails, had different grills (same type used on F40s), and the side access doors were closer towards the center.
That’s true…however, the HTC trucks have unequal axle spacing whereas the Flexicoils axles were evenly spaced. You might be able to swap out the entire truck assembly, though.
The best bet would probably be to remove the entire fuel tank and fabricate a new correct one from metal or styrene and re-attach.
I have put HTC sideframes from SD40-2 on standard Athearn three axle trucks, but it requires shaving the mounting pins to fit right. I 'm sure it would be the same in reverse also. It’s not impossible to do.
As for the ASTF SDP40Fs…they were essentially SD40-2s in a cowl body. ATSF did replace the hollow bolster HTC trucks with standard HTC trucks when they “rebuilt” them, as well as adding a more suitable front porch.
You offer a good idea,however, while I can fabricate some items (mainly for prototype large trucks and buses) I must admit that trying to fabricate that rounded EMD fuel tank is beyond my current skill levels. If you or someone you know has done this, by all means let me know. [;)]
You gave me an idea though. I’m going to visit a machine shop in my area and find out if they’d be willing to fabricate something like this for me. I have a dummy FP45 that I could provide as a sample.
Your original prototype information was partly correct.
The “standard” SDP45 and FP45 were the same length, 70’8" with 45’ truck centres.
The SD45T-2 (and SD45-2) were 68’10" long with 43’6" truck centres.
Unfortunately the Santa Fe FP45 wasn’t “standard” being 72’4" long, but still had 45’ truck centres. The SDP40F was also 72’4" long, but the later trucks had a different pivot spacing 46’ although the actual trucks were in the same place owing to the different design.
I assume that the Athearn model was based on the Santa Fe unit.
Hello FP45, I messured one of my Athearn SD45T-2 and it was exactly 66.5millimeters. I dunno whats that in inches (but you can do the convertion 1in=25.43mm)
It doesn’t matter, the SD40-2 has the same frame dimensions as the SD45-2.
Overall length 68’10", truck centres 43’6".
Neither of these can be used for an Santa Fe FP45 - 72’4", truck centres 45’.
The SD45T-2 is longer than the SD40-2 and SD45-2. Also, it has a 4300 gallon tank. If I remember correctly, the SD40-2 only has a 4000 gallon tank. I measured one of my SD45T-2s, from pilot to pilot it is approximately 9-3/16" long, which is 66’ 7". The length (from pilot to pilot) of my SD40-2s is approximately 8-7/8" long which is about 64’ 4". The SD40-2 fuel tank is about 2-5/8".
Also, I have an F45, its fuel tank is about 2-11/16".
Are your measurements over pulling face of the couplers? Also, where did you get the measurements from?