BLI SD40-2 High Hood and Low Hood at MTS

[reinhardtjh]

For those that may care, the BLI SD40-2's in both high hood and low are in a ModelTrainStuff.  This would imply that they are or will be in stock at other retailers soon.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Has anyone seen a real photo of these?

[SD452XR]

Received my Milw Road SD40-2's. Look great. My only beef is they have ditch lights  I can live with the full length fuel tanks (don't want to give up any weight/pulling power) and I will move the bell. The plow on the rear end is a nice touch, even if it is the wrong style. I will swap it to the weed cutter version and use the original one on something else. I will have to remove the ditch lights. Wish they would make a version without.

[Mark5]

Has anyone seen a real photo of these?

These should be like the earlier runs (I have two) - by far the best model of the early SD40-2 in N scale. I have one of the NW hi-noses in transit now (from FD).

As noted, I will have to remove the ditch lights (I guess that's easier than having to add them!). Why did they do that? 

Mark

[SD452XR]

Here are a couple more.

[squirrelhunter]

These should be like the earlier runs (I have two) - by far the best model of the early SD40-2 in N scale. I have one of the NW hi-noses in transit now (from FD).

As noted, I will have to remove the ditch lights (I guess that's easier than having to add them!). Why did they do that? 

Mark

Because BLI seems to subscribe to the idea that you can have any SD40-2 that you want as long as it an early version with ditch lights!

Honestly, you see the same thing with BLI steam- the SP steamers don't have vanderbilt tenders, no oil bunkers for the western roads. I at least kind of get that they would have to design a new decoder board for a vanderbilt tender, but the oil bunker wouldn't be hard to tool.

[SD452XR]

One thing I want to add that the pics don't show is the truck detail. I'm impressed. They even have the air line running between the brake cylinders. You can see a bit of the copper contacts peaking thru the trucks, but this can be fixed with a touch of paint.

[Rossford Yard]

For those who have them, how do they run?  My IM SD40-2 runs great, as do all my Scale Train sound locos.  I bought one BLI Dash-9 and it seemed pretty finicky compared to the others, so I am hesitant, despite them looking good.  Also, I was tempted, but never pulled the trigger on all the seeming leftovers from the first run, many offered at substantial discounts to move the product.

Thanks in advance.

[Bendtracker1]

It's still odd to me that they have 3D rungs on the front and molded on the rear?

[drbnc]

I bought one BLI Dash-9 and it seemed pretty finicky compared to the others

BLI doesn’t make a Dash-9, or I missed something.

[Rossford Yard]

BLI doesn’t make a Dash-9, or I missed something.

My bad, my loco is the ES44AC, but hey, in the family.  So I pulled it out of it's box and off the shelf and put it on the track without cleaning the wheels and it ran WAAAAAY better than I remembered.  It still tends to lose contact a bit more than other brands, in my experience, but I will thoroughly clean the wheels before I decide that for sure.  Anyway, as it runs right now, its back in my rotation, and I might consider an SD40-2, as the details are very, very good.

Does anyone off hand know if any of the road names have been sold to shortlines yet?  I model an urban industrial area, and most of my locos are patch jobs, lease units, etc.  I like the rolling mud hen look, LOL.

[Missaberoad]

Pretty much all the schemes have some good patch jobs,  but If "Rolling Mud Hen" is what you are after the Milwaukee units had a fun history...
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/emd/emd6303dsa.jpg

[Rossford Yard]

Pretty much all the schemes have some good patch jobs,  but If "Rolling Mud Hen" is what you are after the Milwaukee units had a fun history...
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/emd/emd6303dsa.jpg

I have a GP38-2 in that bandit paint scheme. I need to put the shell over a sound chassis and run her, too.  As a theoretically south side of Chicago switching district, it would be a pretty good fit.  I could say it was on Bill Denton's layout and took a wrong turn and got lost somehow........

[spookshow]

I hear that BLI changed the trucks on these - or at least they added wires running from the chassis to the trucks. Can anyone verify that for me?

Thanks,
-Mark

[milw156]

Received my Milw Road SD40-2's. Look great. My only beef is they have ditch lights  I can live with the full length fuel tanks (don't want to give up any weight/pulling power) and I will move the bell. The plow on the rear end is a nice touch, even if it is the wrong style. I will swap it to the weed cutter version and use the original one on something else. I will have to remove the ditch lights. Wish they would make a version without.

Banditize them and they're good for running post 1990. or better yet, leave them as is and banditize a Soo line SD60!
The fuel tank was the deal breaker for me, I have chopped 14 tanks down to size, for that $$$ I will give it to Intermountain. That way, I will have a year or two to save up for something I really don't need anyway. Heaven help me if Scale Trains ever picks up this ball and runs with it!