Intermountain SD40-2 sample pictures

[unittrain]

So far they look pretty good will be getting several including an N&W highhood unit.

[jagged ben]

Separate grab irons?   

[flight2000]

Separate grab irons?   

Yep, same as the SD40-2W's.  Makes it a little easier for me to finish tricking them out when they finally get shipped.   

Cheers,
Brian

[lock4244]

I wish they'd use sexier wheels than those. I could fashion something similar with a club or a rock. They have done an excellent job pushing the envelope in terms of details on RTR, but the wheels are a regression, imo. I put Kato wheels on my SD40-2W's, but really, shouldn't have to.

I see a beaded blower duct on the Canadian version, but they did not do that on the SD40-2W, so likely a pre-production thing.

Oh, I don't see 'Dofasco' cast into the trucks on the Cdn one... tisk tisk 

[Mark5]

So far they look pretty good will be getting several including an N&W highhood unit.

Well, I hope they put the correct trucks on the N&W units.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Well, I hope they put the correct trucks on the N&W units.

And the Conrail ones.

[peteski]

Does Atlas make the correct version of the trucks?  If not then you are probably SOL.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Does Atlas make the correct version of the trucks?  If not then you are probably SOL.

Do you say that based on any evidence, or just conjecture? Because I thought IM said they're doing the right thing, truck wise.

Don't get me wrong, I've been guilty of dumping on IM because of their past SD sins, but I've got an open mind here, and I don't think it's fair to bash them based on conjecture.

[peteski]

Do you say that based on any evidence, or just conjecture? Because I thought IM said they're doing the right thing, truck wise.

I'm basing this on the previous history of IM simply getting their mechanical parts (including trucks) from Atlas.  No evidence whatsoever.

[davefoxx]

I wouldn't let the wrong trucks stop me from buying a nice-quality SD40-2.  If they come available later, you can always swap them out.  Trucks are not that expensive.  Or, you can try to kitbash something more accurate.

DFF

[basementcalling]

Nothing shown or discussed here convinces me to pre-order any of these. I hope they come out nicely done so we have other options than the Kato once in a blue moon Sd40-2 offerings.

[chessie system fan]

The link doesn't work anymore for me.  Guess they took the images down.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I am guessing they will not make new sideframes for the Atlas HTC trucks. Of all things Atlas, I really, really wish they would retool these sideframes. Make them backward compatible with their previous HTC gear tower so that we can retrofit previous runs. When you look at these trucks next to the Kato versions, they really are embarrassingly bad. While they are at it, add the Flexcoil sideframes as well.

[kiwi_bnsf]

I'm surprised at the level of hate directed at Intermountain with respect to the new SD40-2s because of past sins.

If I look at the progression over time from the Intermountain SD40T-2 -> SD45-2 -> SD40-2W, there have been continuous improvements in each generation. The chassis might still be Atlas-style, but it has become more consistent and reliable. The shells on the SD40-2W are nicely done, and don't suffer from many of the issues of previous generations (no fragile handrails, no shell warping, no overly thick paint application, less glue). So I think I'll reserve judgement on the SD40-2 until I can test one or two.

While I'm critical of Intermountain for not investing in their own chassis and truck tooling to date, I'm guessing this is purely for cost reasons (cf. Micro-Trains SW1500 with Life-Like / Walthers chassis). At the risk of thread drift, I think Atlas deserve some serious criticism for their lack of progression with respect to improving chassis and truck performance. All the latest Atlas runs (including Master Line) still have wheels that look like they are made of pig iron, and always seem to be deliberately narrower than NMRA spec, and are challenging (for me at least) to get running smoothly when correctly gauged.

Atlas SD50/60/60M re-releases suffer all the same chassis and truck issues as the Tunnel Motors (perhaps with the exception of frame warping). I personally have had to invest a similar level of time tuning my Atlas units to get them quiet and going through the laborious task of retrofitting Kato wheels.


In fact I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that with almost all non-Kato loco releases, I'll end up stripping back the chassis and de-greasing the horrible gunk they ship with, re-lubricating, and adjusting wheels and trucks before they even run properly.

Cheers

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I am guessing they will not make new sideframes for the Atlas HTC trucks. Of all things Atlas, I really, really wish they would retool these sideframes. Make them backward compatible with their previous HTC gear tower so that we can retrofit previous runs. When you look at these trucks next to the Kato versions, they really are embarrassingly bad. While they are at it, add the Flexcoil sideframes as well.

They wouldn't just need to do new sideframes, too. They'd have to do entirely new trucks because the axle spacing is also, annoyingly, different.