SDP40Fs now arriving

[BobRunty]

You'll need a select micro.  Standard select will be too large.

Enjoy!

Kelley.
www.dufordmodelworks.com

Thanks Kelley, ya I meant a micro. The postman just dropped mine off 15 minutes ago and I haven't had a chance to dig into them yet. Will be curious to see how Kato does the sound installs.

Bob

[basementcalling]

Where are the undecs?

[bman]

Mr. Postman dropped off mine today. Well, one of them.  Closer to them hitting the shelves I got over my "but the road numbers are consecutive" phobia and ordered the other phase I road number from another online dealer.  It didn't disappoint for sure.  Not planning on putting DCC in for a while since I emptied the modeling budget for a few months(ok, several months) buying them (and another online find). It ran like the average Kato diesel locomotive. Very well.  Concerning the post mentioning the roof details.  I'm guessing it's due to the fans being molded plastic still like on most other N scale locomotives and some finer details left off.  Lift rings, etc.  The paint matched my Amtrak Phase I E8A nicely.  I'd like to find a E8/9B shell in Amtrak Phase I but I've a undec that I can paint if need be.  The National Limited, which ran through the area I model,  seemed to have a SDP40 and an E8/9B unit often.  As well as other combinations too until banished from Conrail sometime in 1977.  I'm very pleased with it and looking forward to running a pair of them around.  Well worth the wait. I hope they sell well for Kato.

[bbussey]

Those E8B units you saw probably were converted head-end-power cars, as the SDP40 couldn't provide HEP to the older Heritage cars.

[Missaberoad]

Concerning the post mentioning the roof details.  I'm guessing it's due to the fans being molded plastic still like on most other N scale locomotives and some finer details left off.  Lift rings, etc. 

Knowing @Robbman  (from his posts) the issue is more then just the usual compromises manufacturers make.

Comparing Photos of the Kato model with Phase I Prototypes the main discrepancy that stands out to me is height of the Exhaust Silencer.

http://www.katousa.com/N/SDP40F/photos/SDP40F_Quarter.jpg

Notice how it is considerably taller in this proto shot.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2332269

I'll admit it is a small discrepancy and is easily fixed however.

[sundowner]

I hope they sell well for Kato.

From Looking at MBK since they got posted on Wednesday, yeah I think they have a hit.

[Black Diamond]

Saw them at Klein's today--pretty nice  PW (pre weathering). Been waiting on these for years and years--I think Intermountain did these way back when and I missed them. Just a little while longer till the DCC equipped versions are shipped in August. 

[nkalanaga]

Bryan:  The last year I was in Washington state, 1978, the new F40s came through Pasco on the Empire Builder towing ex E8/9A steam generator cars, because the new units couldn't supply steam for the unconverted cars still in use on that run.

[mecgp7]

I can't really justify owning one of these, but they are really impressive looking. I did some very quick research and saw that they were only ever owned by Amtrak, AT&SF, and one BNSF. Admittedly I could be wrong. EDIT: I see there was an EMD demo scheme and a Maersk Sealand scheme. The video shows the notches in the front of the chassis which surely means the AT&SF units are on the way.
Amtrak sales must be good for Kato to produce a loco with such limited paint scheme possibilities. A positive sign indeed.

[Ngineer]

For non sound TCS K7D4 drops right on.

Always been a fan of TCS, but their price hike is insane.

I hope NCE produces a cheaper decoder for the SDP40F.

   Javier

[nkalanaga]

mecgp7:  Very few owners, and a limited nationwide service period, but during that time they were almost everywhere.  The market isn't limited to just Amtrak and ATSF modelers, unlike most freight locomotives, which didn't go far from home rails.

[Robbman]

I was going to go back and edit my post, but i think it's better to just leave it...

My comment on the roofline stemmed from designing the Kaslo models and doing ALL the phases and options (and ATSF SDP40F-2) (has it been a decade... jeez o flip)... anyway... there's nothing really wrong with the roofline.  Yes, I repeat, there's nothing really wrong with the roofline for an as delivered 500-539 (other than the typical N scale stuff). 

It wasn't until after the second order and later arrived (flat nose) that all the low-profile rooftop components from those orders started getting swapped over to the Phase Is indiscriminately...

[sundowner]

Wow, Sold out at MBK.

[nightmare0331]

Wow, Sold out at MBK.

They have more inbound.

Enjoy!

Kelley.
www.dufordmodelworks.com

[peteski]

Buy them and they'll build more! 

I'm really glad that, while I have gathered all the parts needed, I never got started on my foob SDP40F kitbash.  Now I can have the real McCoy, and much better quality than what I would have built.   Thanks Kato (and Kelley, as I suspect that you were involved in this project).

Looks like another winner for Kato (but was there ever any doubt that these would sell like hotcakes?).