Post by dazed on Jan 5, 2022 10:55:33 GMT -5
[I'll preface by saying that I understand (and fully support!) that some of you don't model a particular era and/or locale and that's great. For those of you that do--and in particular more modern times--the following is for you.]
I model the mid/late 2000's timeframe. (2006 plus or minus a few years) The SD45's had largely disappeared by then, but there were still a decent number of them plying the rails in various capacities. So while the sale is still open, I thought I'd pitch a few options for those who model a similar era and might be able to benefit from the sale. I opted for the first two, and strongly considered the third but decided against it.
1. Southern Pacific - SP had a decent fleet of SD45's and they underwent a couple of different rebuild programs over the years. By the early 2000's, the SP SD45 carbodies mostly existed as "SD40M-2's". There were some minor detail differences but for Z the stock SD45 should represent well. The MAJOR difference though is that these locomotives typically had SP's newer image "Speed" logo. Good news is, the old Roman SP lettering is fairly easy to remove. Bad news is, I've been unable to find a good match for the speed logo that works out to be the correct size for Z. I have found one that is close, and probably close enough for most. It is the smaller logo in Microscale's 60-620 set. As the years ticked by, UP eventually would patch a number of these so there's another variation. (likely the one I am going to end up with)
www.railpictures.net/photo/207702
www.railpictures.net/photo/482190
2. Montana Rail Link - MRL has rostered upgraded SD45's for decades. They may even still have some...I know they did fairly recently. BNSF was always utilizing MRL power too so these made the rounds....even saw them fairly often in Texas. (I think these may be sold out, but there may be some folks wanting to sell off singles that only wanted one...hint hint)
www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1396722
3. CEFX - Yes, there is no CEFX offering. But there is Conrail, and the blue is very close...CEFX might be slightly darker but I'd say definitely achieves the right look. Here is an HO version of the CEFX loco and there are lots of pics online of these in real life. www.scaletrains.com/operator-ho-scale-emd-sd45-cefx-run-3.html Removing the lettering from the Conrail will hopefully be the same process/result as the SP. I did not pull the trigger on this one partly due to the striping and lack of decals. However, after searching for some different decals I stumbled across a possible answer...I think the correct decals are available here: www.cmrproducts.com/store/CIT-Group-Lease-Units-CITX-CEFX-CBFX-Decals-p313283008 .
4. Others. UP painted at least a few of the SD40M-2's in armour yellow, so you might be able to get the older UP scheme and upgrade it with newer lettering to achieve that. (or hey, even an alternate CEFX scheme I just came across... www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3674673 ) Some of the ATSF locos made it into the early 2000's as MKM lease units. There may have been others but those are all I have knowledge of.
So, hopefully this helps some of you that might have been on the fence or that didn't realize the SD45's could work for the 2000's era. Heck of a deal for these locos...nice six axle power is always beneficial to have in Z.
I model the mid/late 2000's timeframe. (2006 plus or minus a few years) The SD45's had largely disappeared by then, but there were still a decent number of them plying the rails in various capacities. So while the sale is still open, I thought I'd pitch a few options for those who model a similar era and might be able to benefit from the sale. I opted for the first two, and strongly considered the third but decided against it.
1. Southern Pacific - SP had a decent fleet of SD45's and they underwent a couple of different rebuild programs over the years. By the early 2000's, the SP SD45 carbodies mostly existed as "SD40M-2's". There were some minor detail differences but for Z the stock SD45 should represent well. The MAJOR difference though is that these locomotives typically had SP's newer image "Speed" logo. Good news is, the old Roman SP lettering is fairly easy to remove. Bad news is, I've been unable to find a good match for the speed logo that works out to be the correct size for Z. I have found one that is close, and probably close enough for most. It is the smaller logo in Microscale's 60-620 set. As the years ticked by, UP eventually would patch a number of these so there's another variation. (likely the one I am going to end up with)
www.railpictures.net/photo/207702
www.railpictures.net/photo/482190
2. Montana Rail Link - MRL has rostered upgraded SD45's for decades. They may even still have some...I know they did fairly recently. BNSF was always utilizing MRL power too so these made the rounds....even saw them fairly often in Texas. (I think these may be sold out, but there may be some folks wanting to sell off singles that only wanted one...hint hint)
www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1396722
3. CEFX - Yes, there is no CEFX offering. But there is Conrail, and the blue is very close...CEFX might be slightly darker but I'd say definitely achieves the right look. Here is an HO version of the CEFX loco and there are lots of pics online of these in real life. www.scaletrains.com/operator-ho-scale-emd-sd45-cefx-run-3.html Removing the lettering from the Conrail will hopefully be the same process/result as the SP. I did not pull the trigger on this one partly due to the striping and lack of decals. However, after searching for some different decals I stumbled across a possible answer...I think the correct decals are available here: www.cmrproducts.com/store/CIT-Group-Lease-Units-CITX-CEFX-CBFX-Decals-p313283008 .
4. Others. UP painted at least a few of the SD40M-2's in armour yellow, so you might be able to get the older UP scheme and upgrade it with newer lettering to achieve that. (or hey, even an alternate CEFX scheme I just came across... www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3674673 ) Some of the ATSF locos made it into the early 2000's as MKM lease units. There may have been others but those are all I have knowledge of.
So, hopefully this helps some of you that might have been on the fence or that didn't realize the SD45's could work for the 2000's era. Heck of a deal for these locos...nice six axle power is always beneficial to have in Z.
