Bedarail CN straight 40 project

[davidmbedard]

.


MODERATOR NOTE - THE THREAD STARTER ELECTED TO REMOVE ALL HIS IMAGES AND INFORMATION FROM THE SITE.

[davidmbedard]

.

[lock4244]

This is a shell designed to snap onto a Kato drive.   

The design is in progress and am hoping to get feedback from CN modelers on what im missing here or what they would like to see.......

I'm at work right now, but tonight I'll take you up on that offer.

[davidmbedard]

.

[lock4244]

CN's SD40 fleet is noteworthy in it's size at 241 units (GTW had 30, so system total was 271 units). Next largest fleet was UP's 123 units.

There are four basic varieties of CN SD40's:

5000-5007 - eight units
- equipped with dynamic brakes
- single front class light
- dual rear headlight
- rear numberboards
- single rear class lights

CN 5008-5087 - 80 units
- lacked dynamic brakes
- single front class light
- dual rear headlight
- rear numberboards
- single rear class lights

CN 5088-5110, 5132-5240 - 132 units
- lacked dynamic brakes
- had dual front class light
- had single rear headlight
- no rear numberboards
- no rear class lights

CN 5111-5131* - 21 units
- equipped with dynamic brakes
- had dual front class light
- had single rear headlight
- no rear numberboards
- no rear class lights
*5132 photos show in 1972 not equipped w/DB, however was equipped w/DB in 1993

[lock4244]

One of the modifications made to the SD40 fleet, and one that I cannot fathom the reasoning, was the extension of the lip above the numberboards on the cabface and the addition of a lip along the face of the angled cab roof.

As delivered:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Modified, added lip along entire cab face, extending the as delivered and adding it to the angled part of roof:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Modified and apparently a foot or thereabouts on the end of both sides was further modified to be angled inwards. This is non-standard:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[lock4244]

Better view of the plain rear end typical of 5088-5240:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[lock4244]

CN 5132 as delivered:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

And with dynamic brakes added (note the fans on the DB resemble those seen on early geeps):
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[basementcalling]

Could it have been to direct water run off the cab roof away from the windshields? I'd imagine CN runs in enough places it would form icicles.

[lock4244]

Photographs show they were delivered with low profile radiator fan housings and over time these were randomly swapped out with regular height fan housings. The GP40's, GP40-2L's, GP40-2W's, and SD40-2W's were similarly swapped around:

Matching low pro as delivered:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Randomly mixed up:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[lock4244]

Could it have been to direct water run off the cab roof away from the windshields? I'd imagine CN runs in enough places it would form icicles.

Yup, definite possibility. The angled ends on the 5230 may lend credence to that.

[lock4244]

@davidmbedard

The steps on CN's SD40's differ somewhat from CP's in that the space between the lowest step and the second is recessed and beveled near the top.

Front:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Rear:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Late day at work so I was not able to go through the drawings thoroughly. Will do tomorrow.

[dandopinski]

Very nice! I have 6 modified CN SD40s, 1 with DB and dual rear headlights and 1 with no DB and dual rear headlights, 3 with no DB and single rear headlights and a rebuilt Alsthom Grey Ghost SD40.
The only thing I didn't tackle were the steps and split air tanks. I will try to post pictures. I'm very interested in those fuel tanks, will they be available individually? I'll take six of them.   

[davidmbedard]

I can make the fuel tanks available seperately.

Bedarail.com

[lock4244]

This is a shell designed to snap onto a Kato drive.   

The design is in progress and am hoping to get feedback from CN modelers on what im missing here or what they would like to see.......

Hi @davidmbedard,

One item that stands out to me is the height of the number board box the in above image. I'm certain that the top of CN's number board enclosures are flush with the cab roof same as CP. CN's have that notch where the horn was mounted at time of delivery which CP lacks, but they're otherwise flush.

That and the recess on the lower step is about all I find that standout as needing revision.

You might consider doing a version of each with dynamic brakes as well, although small relative to the entire fleet, there were eight DB units with the dual single front class light and 22 with DB (21 as built, one added later) with the dual front class light.

And thank you for doing these SD40's, both CN & CP units were very common growing up in Toronto. Seeing them all the time on frequent trips to Agincourt, although overshadowed in my eye's by the big MLW's, 5400-5414, 5500-5564 were nevertheless fixtures there, being Toronto based units (and the 5400's being popular on the Railrunners to Chicago). That none of CN's SD40's were MacMillan based units did not stop them from being almost as common as the GP40-2L's, given the sheer size of the fleet.