Athearn SD40-2 - old vs. new


R

robjacox

New Member
How different are the "new" Athearn SD40-2 shells from the old? I know they don't have the "pin" style mounting lugs.

There are a bunch of new-style shells available on eBay, I'd like to update some of my old-style chassis.

What is involved here?
 
The new type shells come from Rail power tooling (better detail I believe), they have enclosed the pilots (so you'll have to grind down the coupler box on the frame and drill it, as that is what holds the shell to the frame), But other than that, it should be no problem to swap it out. I have swapped 1 sd40-2 and it took a little work to get the coupler pad ground down and level, but works like a charm.
 
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ThoroughBreed said:
The new type shells come from Rail power tooling (better detail I believe), they have enclosed the pilots (so you'll have to grind down the coupler box on the frame and drill it, as that is what holds the shell to the frame), But other than that, it should be no problem to swap it out. I have swapped 1 sd40-2 and it took a little work to get the coupler pad ground down and level, but works like a charm.
Click to expand...
Rail Power never had a -2.

Athearn re-tooled the SD40-2 before the RPP purchase. They removed the mounting pins, re-tooled the cooling area (post-80, or chicken wire), added Q fans for some, filled in that unsightly gap in the pilots, and dropped in a new motor (nick-named the "Hex" due to its hexagonal drive shaft mounting).
 
Thanks for the info. Looks like a good upgrade for my old SD40-2's! I never liked the old style shell mounting anyway.
 
How do these new Athearn engines run compared to Proto 2000? I need to acquire four for repaint into my new RI colors but I don't want to break the bank.
 
I lately purchased an Athearn SD40-2 BNSF which although I cannot run at the moment on my layout,I still tried it out and it runs smoothly and nice. I was wondering though if these locos normally come with plastic railings or metal ones? cause when I opened mine I found an envelope in with metal railings, and then on the bottom of the box I found also the plastic rail kit.

Can someone kindly tell me if this is normal?

Thanks
 
From what I've been hearing yes. When Athearn started offering plastic handrails, they left the metal ones in the box, for those holdouts.
 
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