The "Good old" SD 40-2

[Tåg]

Engineers and Foamers love them. Conductors and Brakemen hate them. Engineers love them because they load up nice, they are great pullers, and they have a real control stand.

WE hate them because they are always filthy, you have cold air blasting through the front door, the toilets look like something out of a horror movie, there is nowere to do your ever expanding amount of paperwork bullsh*t, the horn sounds like it is mounted in the cab, the frige never works, if it has AC it never works so you need to keep the widow open all the time making the wistle that much louder, and the radio is on the engineers side so you need to "walk the plank" to call out signals and talk to the mumbling dispatchers.

DISCUSS!

[Andrew Blaszczyk (2)]

Originally Posted by Tåg

Engineers and Foamers love them. Conductors and Brakemen hate them. Engineers love them because they load up nice, they are great pullers, and they have a real control stand.

WE hate them because they are always filthy, you have cold air blasting through the front door, the toilets look like something out of a horror movie, there is nowere to do your ever expanding amount of paperwork bullsh*t, the horn sounds like it is mounted in the cab, the frige never works, if it has AC it never works so you need to keep the widow open all the time making the wistle that much louder, and the radio is on the engineers side so you need to "walk the plank" to call out signals and talk to the mumbling dispatchers.

DISCUSS!

Yuppp, you're right foamers love 'em!

[fuente1]

Originally Posted by Tåg

Engineers and Foamers love them. Conductors and Brakemen hate them. Engineers love them because they load up nice, they are great pullers, and they have a real control stand.

WE hate them because they are always filthy, you have cold air blasting through the front door, the toilets look like something out of a horror movie, there is nowere to do your ever expanding amount of paperwork bullsh*t, the horn sounds like it is mounted in the cab, the frige never works, if it has AC it never works so you need to keep the widow open all the time making the wistle that much louder, and the radio is on the engineers side so you need to "walk the plank" to call out signals and talk to the mumbling dispatchers.

DISCUSS!

They might be uncomfortable compared to modern diesels but it could always be worse (or better to me).......you could be sitting behind a boiler all day.......enjoy technology!

[WisconsinCentral]

Well, your right, most older engineers *who did come in at the day of the Dash 9* appreciate a good working SD40-2, and are not near as picky. You get the newer engineers, and MOST of the time they hate em. I prefer an SD40 over a Dash 2, but thats just me.

Alec

[StL-rail]

Tåg, try a '55 built SW1200. Nothing is sacred there. No insulation or sound proofing with a horn literally mounted right above you. You have nothing between the electrical cabinet and the prime mover, so you have a constant deafening roar in the cab. The doors probably haven't shut tight in 20 years! Dirty as all get-out when it spits oil. I'll take your SD40-2 over my SW1200.

[tomt]

i've heard engineers say the sd-40 has space to move around in.

[Tåg]

Originally Posted by StL-rail

Tåg, try a '55 built SW1200. Nothing is sacred there. No insulation or sound proofing with a horn literally mounted right above you. You have nothing between the electrical cabinet and the prime mover, so you have a constant deafening roar in the cab. The doors probably haven't shut tight in 20 years! Dirty as all get-out when it spits oil. I'll take your SD40-2 over my SW1200.

Being on the switchmans extrabord I feel your pain. I am working with SW1500s and MP15s all day that are not that much better. How about riding the nose of a goat when the vents open up. Its like standing in front of a 747!

[tomt]

Originally Posted by Tåg

. Its like standing in front of a 747!

these work rather well



http://images.search.yahoo.com/searc...-8&fr2=tab-web

[Tåg]

Originally Posted by tomt

these work rather well



http://images.search.yahoo.com/searc...-8&fr2=tab-web

We are required to wear hearing protection with in 100ft of a running locomotive. The problem is you cant hear the radio.

[willie6622]

I enjoy running the SD40-2's, but have to say the newer "quieter" EMD's are even more enjoyable. I was always a GE fan, but since most of the Dash-7's are gone I prefer EMD power now.

[John Fladung]

What are some difference(s) between a SD40 & SD40-2? Just wondering.

[StL-rail]

Originally Posted by Tåg

Being on the switchmans extrabord I feel your pain. I am working with SW1500s and MP15s all day that are not that much better. How about riding the nose of a goat when the vents open up. Its like standing in front of a 747!

I know the feeling, the 1200's fan was belt driven, so it was even louder. I think by the time EMD came out with the 1500's and MP15's everything had electric high torque motors for the fans. A little quieter, but not by much.

The SD40-2 differs from the SD40 in the electrical cabinet. SD40-2 has the "Dash 2" modular electronics. Where each item is on a removable circuit board "card." The SD40's are somewhat hardwired.

[John Fladung]

Originally Posted by StL-rail

The SD40-2 differs from the SD40 in the electrical cabinet. SD40-2 has the "Dash 2" modular electronics. Where each item is on a removable circuit board "card." The SD40's are somewhat hardwired.

Sounds like their is no visible difference to the average railfan.

[StL-rail]

Originally Posted by John Fladung

Sounds like their is no visible difference to the average railfan.

Actually, there is one main outward differance, the SD40-2 is slightly longer than the SD40 and it uses the HT-C truck, opposed to the Felxicoil truck that was used on the SD40.

[John Fladung]

Originally Posted by StL-rail

Actually, there is one main outward differance, the SD40-2 is slightly longer than the SD40 and it uses the HT-C truck, opposed to the Felxicoil truck that was used on the SD40.

Thanks for the information!

[WisconsinCentral]

Heres a few pictures for comparison.

SD40
http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=153047

SD40-2
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=168091

Alec

[Jaypee_Logger]

all the hoggers i know hate the desk top control stand. on the long trips slouching over that desk gets pain full. but like Bob said, conductors love the dash 9's because of your pile of paperwork and the nice desk you have to do it on and you have your own radio mic. when ever i work a hostler job i prefer running the old EMD's. those dash 9's just aren't good for putting around at 10mph in the yard. we use SD40-2's to switch with in pasco.

[John Fladung]

Originally Posted by WisconsinCentral

Heres a few pictures for comparison.

SD40
http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=153047

SD40-2
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=168091

Alec

Any idea if all the SD40's have a brake wheel behind the hood? I noticed this on my Athearn SD40 model and none of the SD40-2's I've seen have this behind the hood like this.

[trainboysd40]

Another minor difference is the water sight glass at the front end of the rad section on the engineer's side.
And yes, as a railfan, I less than three SD40-2s!

[WisconsinCentral]

I beleive thats how they were originally designed, but Im pretty sure some railroads had the handbrakes in the nose. WC 6001, the only WC SD40, had it in the nose.

Alec

[John Fladung]

Originally Posted by WisconsinCentral

I beleive thats how they were originally designed, but Im pretty sure some railroads had the handbrakes in the nose. WC 6001, the only WC SD40, had it in the nose.

Alec

Interesting. Most SD40-2's I've seen have the brake wheel on the nose as well.

[Tåg]

I have never seen an SD40 or SD40-2 with the hand break any other place than on the short hood. Many of the old SP units had a hand wheel, while most of the UP units have the crank style.

[WisconsinCentral]

Well, SD40-2s always have them shorthood. While the SD40s had them at the rear a lot of the time, and many other railroads had this also. SOO is one example of having them at the back.

Alec