Scale Trains Conrail SD40-2

[Tristan Ashcroft]

The blue side sill is the as built paint scheme.  Another as built spotting feature is the road numbers slightly spread and sitting directly on top of the battery box doors.  I saw three as built road numbers available for preorder, and that is what I plan on getting.  Perhaps a fourth to renumber.  The white frame stripe started to appear around 1989/90 IIRC. You will also note the white frame units have anti reflective paint on the nose.  This also coincided with the number boards switching from white on black to black on white.  I hope this helps.   

Jeff

To add to that, because it was Conrail:  Some units initially got white numberboards without the white frame stripe.  Some got the white frame stripe and still had black numberboards.  And some units lasted for years without getting either.  In short, it's Conrail, if you want to know what that road number looked like, find pictures of both sides.  Short of that, you can kinda do what you want.  (Also Rudy Garbely found a picture of a GE - probably a C30-7A, but I don't remember - leading a freight out of Selkirk into the Berkshires while missing a front numberboard.  The picture is in a Conrail Quarterly from a year or two ago.  So that was a thing)

[Philip H]

and STILL no KCS . . . .

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Definitely helps. So blue sill for me.

I'm actually really surprised you didn't know all that!

[nscaler711]

Okay so looking again I see two differences in the artwork between the Santa Fe versions. 
The repaint version has:
- lower large 'Santa Fe'
- exhaust area on the roof painted grey

No apparent physical differences.  Both high headlight.

So then still incorrect for 1980s rebuilds.
At least for the numbers offered from pictures I've found.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

What are the time frames for the Conrail blue sidesill and white sidesill?

They were painted between the summer of 89 and very early 91 when they updated to the Conrail Quality logo. Only a few SD40-2 were painted in this, as they were due for major overhauls in 95-97, which included paint to CRQ (along with ditch lights).

A lot of the SD40 rebuilds received this paint scheme as they were all rebuilt in that time frame to -2 specifications.

[bbussey]

I'm actually really surprised you didn't know all that!

Remember, it’s my secondary road.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Remember, it’s my secondary road.

Turn in your Conrail Fan-Boy card.

[James Costello]

So then still incorrect for 1980s rebuilds.
At least for the numbers offered from pictures I've found.

To be fair @nscaler711 it says "repaint" not rebuilt.... so the differences are in the lettering and paint.

[James Costello]

Okay so looking again I see two differences in the artwork between the Santa Fe versions. 
The repaint version has:
- lower large 'Santa Fe'
- exhaust area on the roof painted grey

No apparent physical differences.  Both high headlight.

There's also a subtle shift in the cab reporting mark and some additional lettering on the front and rear ends of the side sill.

From memory, some ATSF repaints also had change to the shape / style of the letter "a" or "e" but it's a little hard to tell from the artwork if this is the case on the SD40-2 or not. I forget which reference book I have that details this.

@jagged ben I did find a 1993 photo of ATSF 5137 online still running around with as-built details that will suit my 90s needs nicely:
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/226628/

[learmoia]

Not sure if everyone noticed, but 6437 has the white star on the battery box door under the number.

I forget the exact reason for it, but nice touch..

~Ian

[Tristan Ashcroft]

Not sure if everyone noticed, but 6437 has the white star on the battery box door under the number.

I forget the exact reason for it, but nice touch..

~Ian

According to Withers (Conrail Motive Power Review 1986-1991), caption for a C30-7, 6602: "The white star on the cab designates this locomotive as a Conrail test unit.  A careful accounting of the operating costs of the C30-7 versus EMD's SD40-2 model was made in the early 1980s with the test units identified by the star."  (p. 105)  That picture was from 12 February, 1988.

[nscaler711]

There's also a subtle shift in the cab reporting mark and some additional lettering on the front and rear ends of the side sill.

From memory, some ATSF repaints also had change to the shape / style of the letter "a" or "e" but it's a little hard to tell from the artwork if this is the case on the SD40-2 or not. I forget which reference book I have that details this.

@jagged ben I did find a 1993 photo of ATSF 5137 online still running around with as-built details that will suit my 90s needs nicely:
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/226628/

The lettering on the Side sill is the location were the units were rebuilt/Refurbished that's why you see Argentine, Barstow and Clerburne on the side sills. The ones one the rear is the Lease agreement info.
The A and E is usually a manufacturer difference, EMD vs GE anyway. If you have a Kato C30-7 and a SD40-2 in Santa Fe you'll see the difference clearly.
Also considering the Snoots were made in the 80s they weren't really rebuilt like other units but had some minor tech upgrades. Not to mention the relocation of Headlights and addition of Ditchlights in some cases. Horns were moved to the Dynamic Brake blister. These Upgrades were going on into the 90s, some just before they sold units to Morris Knudsen just to lease them again.

these units are specifically the "repaints." Take dates posted as grain of salt.
5128
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=5530109
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1664797 
5140
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=743118
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=629673

Here is 5137 which isnt on the repaint list.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4591971
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3791480

Were they repaints? sure but only after they got minor upgrades that everything else on the system got as well. I'm really just calling out some of the inaccuracies I've seen so far. Two (unfortunately) are on pre-order now so I can look at the differences in person before 100% bashing them. That and I was hoping for regular 40-2s... If you couldn't tell already, I despise the Snoots.

But it isn't just that however, I'm pretty upset that no one besides Kato has done an accurate post 85 rebuild locomotive. <-- This is my main gripe here.

This is the Railwire after all  I have to keep up with the tropes. 

[High Hood]

Sample photos are now up for some of the second run schemes: https://www.scaletrains.com/n-scale/n-scale-locomotives/rivet-counter-n-scale-emd-sd40-2.html

[Ed Kapuscinski]

They got the trucks right, of course, but also the missing grab iron on the short hood AND the "shower caps" on the horns.

Now I'm wondering WTF I'm gonna do with my Intermountains.

[Philip H]

They got the trucks right, of course, but also the missing grab iron on the short hood AND the "shower caps" on the horns.

Now I'm wondering WTF I'm gonna do with my Intermountains.

Sell them to me cheap so I can strip them and paint them in a proper single color paint scheme which Scaletrains is so far ignoring . . . .