Not another "Can anyone identify this locomotive?"


S

SanfordandSon

New Member
Be nice, it's my first post. I am getting ready to retire and need to find something to do, so I am thinking of rekindling my railroad modeling from my youth.

I recently bought a locomotive at a local auction with limited information (maybe rookie mistake). I was told this unit was a SD50 from an unknown manufacturer. While trying to identify the manufacturer I removed the shell and found zero markings, no part numbers, nothing. Next was the searching online photos, nothing to help. Location of the horns seem to be the conflict. Can any of you sleuths help me confirm the model and hopefully the manufacturer?

Thanks in advance.

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Hard to tell from just a photo, but the trucks are definitely from either Athearn or LifeLike Proto 2000 (Protos were a copy of Athearn, most of their parts could be interchanged).
 
Welcome to our forum.
My observations are: It is not the Bachmann unit that David linked to, as that unit is a high nose GP50.
Coupler looks like a McHenry scale coupler which are standard on Athearn RTR units.
Railtwister is correct regarding the trucks looking like either Athearn or P2K.
Horn placement is a moot point, as almost all railroads moved their horns from the top of the cab to the middle of the long hood in the late 80's-early 90's, due to their volume and hearing loss among engineers.
The unit number 6556 is in the range of NS SD50's, this one should have a small SOU below the number indicating it came from the Southern Railway. Picture is too blurred to tell.
Looking at the motor color as Terry suggested would confirm that it is an Athearn. They tended to not have any markings indicating it's their product.
It's not a rookie mistake if it runs well, or just even OK as Athearns can be made to run as well as many other brands.
 
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