Intermountain SD45-2 has arrived....yes, really

[spookshow]

And after all that pickup nonsense, we finally get to the real dealbreaker. As it turns out, the SD45-2 shell does not fully seat on the recycled SD40-2 chassis. And with the end result being couplers that sit up too high and absolutely will not stay coupled to anything! 



So, that's it, I'm done with this thing. "F" it is 

-Mark

[robertjohndavis]

Got my AT&SF blue and yellow 45-2 yesterday to pair with my bicentennial unit.  So I knew I was getting an overpriced model with detailing that was state of the art in the 1980’s.

It’s runs and sounds OK, but…

The front pilot is angled upward, resulting in the coupler pointing up 15 degrees or so. I can physically bend it back into place so will investigate how to keep it there.

The paint is awful. It is very thick on the rear of the hood yet still doesn’t cover the cast on grabirons which all show some “darkness.” Is the shell cast black? Or did they try to paint the yellow OVER the blue?

Either way, this model sits closer to Atlas but is priced like ScaleTrains. I will try to work with it, but no more after this.

[peteski]

Examining the SD45-2's wheels, they do appear to be different than the ones used in the SD40-2. And maybe my eyes are deceiving me, but the pointy axle ends on the SD45-2 do not appear to fully extend into the axle wiper dimples. So, just for grins I tried widening the gauge (to the point that the wheels are almost out of gauge) in order to get the axle ends further into the dimples, and this does appear to have improved pickup to the point that I would deem it operable.

I seem to recall that the recent IM's F-units, while using the old (Kato style) truck design, also had new wheelsets. Kato wheelsets are 2-piece assemblies: a machined wheel and a stainless steel half-axle press-fit into the wheel. As such, the pointy axle end can be adjusted to protrude more or less out of the wheel.  The new F-units wheels, while looking like the Kato-style wheels are totally different. The wheels and half-axle are turned from a single piece of metal. Axle is part of the wheel. As such, the pointy end cannot be adjusted for best fit in the bearing cups.   I wonder if this model uses the same wheelsets (probably does).  This single piece wheel/axle design in the recent Atlas offerings. I'm guessing they all use the same factory in China.

To me this seems like another backwards design, but it requires fewer manual labor steps (no need to press fit the half-axes into the wheel). Probably cheaper to manufacture. What stinks is that someone made the decision to save a few pennies and make the design less flexible.

[spookshow]

The front pilot is angled upward, resulting in the coupler pointing up 15 degrees or so.

Thanks for reminding me about the bent pilot, what an absolute joke. Long gone are the days when I could almost rubberstamp an "A" review for any new Intermountain or Atlas locomotive



-Mark

[wmcbride]

Thanks for reminding me about the bent pilot, what an absolute joke. Long gone are the days when I could almost rubberstamp an "A" review for any new Intermountain or Atlas locomotive



-Mark

Yikes!

I had considered these when I hear they arrived bu tlooked at the price and did not buy one.

Now I am happy I did not.

[robertjohndavis]

Thanks for reminding me about the bent pilot, what an absolute joke. Long gone are the days when I could almost rubberstamp an "A" review for any new Intermountain or Atlas locomotive



-Mark

Any idea for a long term solve?

[spookshow]

Any idea for a long term solve?

Yep, I'm dumping mine on eBay for whatever I can get just as soon as I finish writing my review. Problem solved.

-Mark

[Angus Shops]

You would be surprised that there would be a market for this. That would go along with pre-ripped bluejeans (the more ripped the more expensive, way more than brand new jeans).



EDIT: Yes, pre-stained clothing is available out there. Just just do a Goggle search. 

I’m not buying the clothing…

[MK]

Any idea for a long term solve?

I would try some hot (very?, but not boiling) water and try to straighten it out.  It looks like the deck is warped upwards and not just the pilot.

[chessie system fan]

I wonder if the packaging is too tight around the walkway and that's what has bent it upwards. .  Can someone confirm if this hypothesis is correct or not?

If it arrived from the factory that way, this should be a warranty repair. 

[spookshow]

The packaging is fine. It's one of those plastic clamshell situations where the top and bottom of the locomotive are held snugly, while the ends have plenty of breathing room. This is clearly a manufacturing defect that should've resulted in the entire production run being sent back to China before the first unit hit the shelves.

-Mark

[tehachapifan]

And after all that pickup nonsense, we finally get to the real dealbreaker. As it turns out, the SD45-2 shell does not fully seat on the recycled SD40-2 chassis. And with the end result being couplers that sit up too high and absolutely will not stay coupled to anything! 



So, that's it, I'm done with this thing. "F" it is 

-Mark

The ride height overall looks way too high in this pic. Look how far from the rail the bottom of the rear pilot is! An N scale railroad employee would need a ladder just to reach the bottom step!