Atlas GP40s in at MBK

[unittrain]

Picked up a NYC unit, but had a question, in all the photos of NYC GP40s I see a tank on the right side of the low hood, what were these for? I'm going to add this detail to my unit.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3729878
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4129505

[davefoxx]

I reeeeeeeeally like the SCL GP40s, so I'll probably pull the trigger on one, despite recently falling in love with my two BLI E-units that have sound.  The silent locomotives just seem to be missing something now.

DFF

[C855B]

Picked up a NYC unit, but had a question, in all the photos of NYC GP40s I see a tank on the right side of the low hood, what were these for? I'm going to add this detail to my unit.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3729878
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4129505

That's not a tank, it looks to me to be a motor-generator set for voltage conversion.

My edu-SWAG is it would be for the radio, to convert the 72VDC accessories voltage to 12V for radio gear. NYC may have been thinking it was cheaper to use standard mobile 2-way gear (Motracs, IIRC) versus the big premium Motorola wanted for native 72V power. They likely discovered the hard way that the cost of RR-grade radios also included extra hardening for the severe environment, so I'd be curious to see pictures of these locomotives at a later date to confirm the M-G set is gone.

EDIT: Close, I think. NYC may have used GE radio equipment, and GE lagged a little behind Motorola in moving their product line to solid state. Here's a GE "dynamotor" used to convert the available DC to high voltage for the transmitter tubes:



Add the weatherproof vented covers and I think we have it.

EDIT #2: Here's one that made it into PC paint, dated 1970:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3078474

And I like this one from 1976 showing the "scar" of removal:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=891954

I couldn't find any shots dated after 1970 that had the dynamotor.

[sizemore]

Picked up the WM's and they are fantastic. Atlas corrected the issue with the WM winged herald from previous releases, that made me happy. The color is almost spot on, and all the little "Safety First" details are there, that really made the model for me. Quickly added Digitrax decoders (personal preference) and broke them in for an hour with no issues and they run great!

Now I just need some S2's in Speedscript!

Thanks Atlas!
The S.

[Point353]

Picked up a NYC unit, but had a question, in all the photos of NYC GP40s I see a tank on the right side of the low hood, what were these for? I'm going to add this detail to my unit.

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/t/201992.aspx

[unittrain]

Thanks for the information on these, interesting too is the heavier weight of the NYC GP40s 277000 lbs as the weight usually listed is 245000 lbs, they added quite a bit of weight. This is as heavy as the Alco C425s. Thanks again.