sd40-2
Nice shot. I’ve never see the blue brakewheel on the 40-2 before.
ChessieFan, you beat me to it.
What were the HP rating on these? Man NS & CR seem to have a boatload of these.
Thanks Guys
3,000 hp.
And they dont have enough!!! These are my favorite engines, so I am sad to see a derailment involving one. (If they wore a tuxedo it would be even better!) You can’t beat Southern’s paint.
The SD40-2’s were rated at 3000 HP. The explanation behind the blue brakewheel is simple: The original on the locomotive had a problem, and was replaced with an ex-CR brakewheel, still in CR blue.
Matt
In the immortal words of Alan Jackson, “Right on the money”.
My son and I were out railfanning this weekend sitting on the NS mainline. We kept hearing a train horn, but we couldn’t see it. We went hunting and found a pair of these babies backing a coal drag into a mine.
But no blue wheel.
I have seen only two that I remember in Texas. Much less SOUTH TEXAS.
The SD38-2, SD40-2, and SD45-2 shared a common frame. It was 3 feet longer than the previous models, giving an overall locomotive length of 68 ft 10 in (20.98 meters) over the coupler pulling faces. The SD38-2 and SD40-2 shared the same basic superstructure, since they both used the same 16-645E3 engine (in naturally aspirated and turbocharged form respectively); the long hood was 18 inches (0.46 m) longer than the SD38 and SD40, but since the increase in frame length was even greater, the SD38-2 and SD40-2 were left with even larger front and rear “porches” than the earlier models. These empty areas at front and rear are distinctive spotting features to identify the Dash 2 models of both units. The SD40-2 can be distinguished from the SD38-2 by having three roof-mounted radiator fans instead of two. Another distinguishing feature of the SD40-2 as compared to the SD40 is the SD40-2’s trucks (HT-C truck), which have shock absorbers on the outside of middle axle. However, this is not true of the former Conrail SD40-2s, as these were ordered with the early Flexicoil trucks as a cost-saving measure.
Jeff,
I have a few other pics to post so you can tell me the difference. The sound they make under full throttle is music to my ears. The C44’s you see here a lot just don’t make the sound of those. Just how much of that 3000HP beast can you actually hear in the cab?
It’s noisy in the cab but not as much as you would think. It’s pretty well insulated.
To add to this and to respond to the comment about the blue brake wheel, these units are most likely ex-Conrail. Norfolk Southern SD40-2s had high short hoods. These have low noses. Also, those trucks are Flexcoil not HT-C so it’s likely they’re ex-Conrail. I don’t remember the Phases, but those are late phase meaning late 70s early 80s
The “PRR” under the cab is a dead givaway. [8D]
Not only is the brake wheel blue, the area behind it is blue also. There’s a patch of blue just behind the cab too, so the argument for an ex-Conrail unit is looking pretty good.
I find no listing for the PRR buying new SD40-2’s. Did they pick theirs up used?
No…When NS and CSX split up Conrail the CR engines and cars that went to NS was sub lettered PRR while those that went to CSX was sub lettered NYC. NS received the bulk of the former PRR trackage and CSX ended up with most of the NYC trackage.
I belive that PRR bought both SD40-2s and SD45s new.