Post by IAISfan on Sept 1, 2015 15:36:56 GMT -8
For some time, I've been reading here and on Trainorders about the faults of the Intermountain SD40-2. This started last year after I'd already placed an order for four UP units from the first run, but before they arrived, so I had my expectations set pretty low when I picked them up from my LHS. However, I was actually pleasantly surprised. Yes, they had their faults, but in my view, they had excellent bones.
To be clear, I'm talking about Intermountain SD40-2s here, NOT the earlier SD40-2Ws. From what I've heard about the latter, compared to my experiences with the SD40-2, the two have little in common. Anyway, here's what I love about the Intermountain SD40-2:
- They run great - dare I say, easily on par with my Kato SD38-2s? Locomotive performance - especially smooth low-speed operation - is Priority #1 with me, so this was a huge blessing.
- They sound great. The factory Loksound Select decoder was terrific. I say that in the past tense, because I ripped them out of all four of mine, sold them, and installed my standard Tsunamis instead. I've been enjoying the Tsunami working independent brake and home-brewed "coast" functions so much that I can't imagine operations without them now, and to me, they still sound every bit as good as the Loksounds. Aside from that personal preference for those particular Tsunami functions, the Loksounds are great decoders.
- Paint colors were very good, and match up well with the Tru-Color Armour Yellow and Floquil Harbor Mist Gray I used for touch-ups.
- Detail quality was excellent overall, with the glaring exception being the middle portion of the coupler cut bars. Grabs, plow, horn, lift rings, etc. were all very nice
- With a few exceptions that I consider minor, they just look right overall. I saw no deal-breaker errors at the LHS, and have found none in the 14 months since.
The issues I noticed and/or read about concerning these models, and my fixes for them, are as follows:
- Gap behind the cab roof. Filled with 0.030" x 0.040" styrene strip and painted.
- Missing #3 and #4 traction motor housings. Built housings from Evergreen tubing and sheet styrene. They won't win any contests, but once in place, they do the trick for me anyway.
- Elevated dust bin roof. Didn't jump out at me, so I ignored this one.
- Oversized coupler cut bar center loops. Cut away center section, drilled holes in the pilot directly behind, fashioned new loops from wire, and ACC'd in the pilot holes. Here's an under-construction shot (taken before the 3034 and 3053 got their gong bells):
- Oversized "UNION PACIFIC" lettering on long hood. Should be 20" high, but IM's measured around 22", plus the black border was too thin, making it appear taller yet. Didn't bother me at first, but after putting the first two in service and seeing them next to units with correct lettering, I knew they'd have to be updated. 20 minutes later, after a quick tissue bath in MicroSol, they were corrected, and later that evening, they were re-weathered and back in service.
- Brittle handrails. I've never been one to gripe about too-thin handrails. In my mind, accuracy trumps durability, because my locomotives generally stay on the layout once they go in service. However, I must say, the IM handrails are brittle. I think I've broken three in the process of building these four units, and that's about as many as I've broken on the rest of my roster combined. Fix: Be extra careful. Loctite super glue gel seems to do a great job of repairing them when they do break.
Finally, the things that AREN'T wrong with the Intermountain SD40-2, at least in my experience:
- Tractive effort - They're not the poor pullers that I've heard. Weight is very close to my Kato SD38-2s, and a friend who tested them found tractive effort to be on par with Kato SD40-2s.
- Cab side window dimensions - Windows measure out exactly the same size and location as the cab side windows on a Cannon cab.
- Frame height over trucks - I put one of my IM UP units nose-to-nose with a Kato SD38-2 on the layout (with Cannon cab/subbase/nose), and there is *zero* difference in deck height that I can see. Photo below, with the Kato on the left, IM on the right.
Finally, a few pics of the first two I put in service, ex-CNW SD40-2s UP 3034 and 3053. Prototypes led an eastbound detours over the IAIS on May 5, 2005 (seen in the Andy Brown prototype photos below), and since that's the month I model, these two were an easy choice.
To be clear, I'm talking about Intermountain SD40-2s here, NOT the earlier SD40-2Ws. From what I've heard about the latter, compared to my experiences with the SD40-2, the two have little in common. Anyway, here's what I love about the Intermountain SD40-2:
- They run great - dare I say, easily on par with my Kato SD38-2s? Locomotive performance - especially smooth low-speed operation - is Priority #1 with me, so this was a huge blessing.
- They sound great. The factory Loksound Select decoder was terrific. I say that in the past tense, because I ripped them out of all four of mine, sold them, and installed my standard Tsunamis instead. I've been enjoying the Tsunami working independent brake and home-brewed "coast" functions so much that I can't imagine operations without them now, and to me, they still sound every bit as good as the Loksounds. Aside from that personal preference for those particular Tsunami functions, the Loksounds are great decoders.
- Paint colors were very good, and match up well with the Tru-Color Armour Yellow and Floquil Harbor Mist Gray I used for touch-ups.
- Detail quality was excellent overall, with the glaring exception being the middle portion of the coupler cut bars. Grabs, plow, horn, lift rings, etc. were all very nice
- With a few exceptions that I consider minor, they just look right overall. I saw no deal-breaker errors at the LHS, and have found none in the 14 months since.
The issues I noticed and/or read about concerning these models, and my fixes for them, are as follows:
- Gap behind the cab roof. Filled with 0.030" x 0.040" styrene strip and painted.
- Missing #3 and #4 traction motor housings. Built housings from Evergreen tubing and sheet styrene. They won't win any contests, but once in place, they do the trick for me anyway.
- Elevated dust bin roof. Didn't jump out at me, so I ignored this one.
- Oversized coupler cut bar center loops. Cut away center section, drilled holes in the pilot directly behind, fashioned new loops from wire, and ACC'd in the pilot holes. Here's an under-construction shot (taken before the 3034 and 3053 got their gong bells):
- Oversized "UNION PACIFIC" lettering on long hood. Should be 20" high, but IM's measured around 22", plus the black border was too thin, making it appear taller yet. Didn't bother me at first, but after putting the first two in service and seeing them next to units with correct lettering, I knew they'd have to be updated. 20 minutes later, after a quick tissue bath in MicroSol, they were corrected, and later that evening, they were re-weathered and back in service.
- Brittle handrails. I've never been one to gripe about too-thin handrails. In my mind, accuracy trumps durability, because my locomotives generally stay on the layout once they go in service. However, I must say, the IM handrails are brittle. I think I've broken three in the process of building these four units, and that's about as many as I've broken on the rest of my roster combined. Fix: Be extra careful. Loctite super glue gel seems to do a great job of repairing them when they do break.
Finally, the things that AREN'T wrong with the Intermountain SD40-2, at least in my experience:
- Tractive effort - They're not the poor pullers that I've heard. Weight is very close to my Kato SD38-2s, and a friend who tested them found tractive effort to be on par with Kato SD40-2s.
- Cab side window dimensions - Windows measure out exactly the same size and location as the cab side windows on a Cannon cab.
- Frame height over trucks - I put one of my IM UP units nose-to-nose with a Kato SD38-2 on the layout (with Cannon cab/subbase/nose), and there is *zero* difference in deck height that I can see. Photo below, with the Kato on the left, IM on the right.
Finally, a few pics of the first two I put in service, ex-CNW SD40-2s UP 3034 and 3053. Prototypes led an eastbound detours over the IAIS on May 5, 2005 (seen in the Andy Brown prototype photos below), and since that's the month I model, these two were an easy choice.
