Broadway Limited Imports HO scale SD40-2 diesel locomotive

Accurately detailed, this ready-to-run HO scale SD40-2 models a variation of this popular diesel. The Broadway Limited Imports model uses much of the same tooling as the firm’s earlier releases of low short hood SD40-2s. (See the May 2005 Model Railroader).

Prototype. The SD40-2, built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division, could be customized according to a railroad’s specifications. One variation was the high short hood.

Railroads including the Southern Ry. and Norfolk & Western Ry. favored high short hoods and long-hood-forward operation for increased crew safety. However, short-hood-forward operation offered crews better visibility. To accommodate either operation, the Southern ordered its high-short-hood diesels with bi-directional control stands. (N&W used dual control stands).

The prototype no. 3205 started its career in Southern Ry. livery. After the 1982 merger of the Southern and the N&W, the locomotive received the Norfolk Southern paint scheme.

The model. The model’s dimensions match drawings in the Model Railroader Cyclopedia Vol. 2: Diesel Locomotives (Kalmbach Publishing Co., out of print).

The hood access doors and other molded details on the model’s plastic body shell are crisply defined. The walkways and pilot decks have diamond-tread pattern surfaces. The pilot steps have a see-through tread pattern.

I especially liked the separately applied air-intake grills on the sides of the hood. The firecracker antennas, scale profile handrails, and m.u. hoses are also separately applied. Our NS sample also has correctly positioned air horns on both the short and long hoods.

The model’s paint scheme matches prototype photos of no. 3205 as the locomotive appears today. All lettering is correctly placed according to prototype photos. Our sample has a stray dab of white paint along the edge of the rear cab stairwell on the engineer’s side.

As on the prototype, a small “F” on each side sill designates the long-hood end as the front of the locomotive. Both the engineer and fireman figures are positioned facing toward the short hood.

Mechanism. After removing the couplers and two screws behind the fuel tank, I lifted off the body shell. The motor and flywheels are mounted in a recess in the die-cast metal frame and fuel tank. Two worm gears transfer power to the truck gearboxes.

An additional die-cast metal weight fits over the motor, with a printed-circuit (PC) board mounted on top of it. The PC board has an eight-pin socket for a Digital Command Control decoder.

Out of the box the model’s mechanism was heavily lubricated. I cleaned excess oil off the frame and body.

The mechanism is quiet, and the SD40-2 accelerated smoothly to 88 scale mph. The top speed of the prototype is 76 mph.

If you’re a fan of the roads that rostered SD40-2s with high short hoods, you’ll want to check out this HO model from BLI.

HO SD40-2 features
Price: $149.99 (DC, no sound), $249.99 (DCC sound)

Manufacturer:
Broadway Limited Imports
9 E. Tower Circle
Ormond Beach, FL 32174
www.broadway-limited.com

Road names (two road numbers each): Norfolk Southern (black sill and white sill stripe), CP Rail, Norfolk & Western, Norfolk & Western (“NW” scheme), and Southern Ry.

Era: 1972 to present day

Features:
All-wheel drive and electrical pickup
Five-pole skew-wound motor with dual brass flywheels
Golden white light-emitting-diode headlights
Operating knuckle couplers at correct height
Painted engineer and fireman figures
Minimum radius: 18″
RP-25 contour metal wheels, in gauge
Weight: 1 pound 5 ounces