My friend took this photo of my pair rounding the bend at our club layout on Sunday. I have 944 and 947 and would like to get my hands on 945 here soon too.
I just ordered a 947. Thanks for the reviews. Were the prototypes ever used alone? I only saw SD-45's in consists.
From fallenflags. One of the only pictures I've ever seen of one operating as a single unit and then there is this video. So I suspect it happened, just not frequently or nobody managed to get pictures if it did.
Thanks Howard. Now I know I can run it "Necked" at the club - just add a WV caboose and a few freight cars. SD-45's should be on locals every once in a while anyway. Doug
Watching all those cool videos makes me want to model some Frisco from the days of my youth. Maybe around 1963-1973, the first 10 years of my life. I already have an N scale SD45 and some freight cars. Hmm. Too many wants, too little time.
I took 947 to the Knoxville club HO layout this morning for their weekly Tuesday-morning session. I was assigned a local. SD-45 on a local? Sure, why not? Well, for one reason, the snow-plow pilot doesn't allow much coupler swing, especially on one or two 15" radius curves I had to switch. I had several derailments of cars coupled to the 947. That sound was worth it. The big super-charged 645 diesel revved up nicely. It also runs nice and slow in notch one. It turns out I've had a refrigerator magnet of 947 for years - I just now noticed the number. Doug
The hostler in Cincinnati usually assigns four-axle power to the south local to Knoxville on the Knoxville club's HO Tuesday-morning operating sessions. This morning, she assigned SD-45 947 to me. It was OK except for one town with very tight curves.
That caboose hop had likely just dropped off either white hoppers at the "big mine" east of Chelsea or at "381 mine" west of Chelsea. The white hoppers were the KCP cars which would be loaded and then shipped to Kansas City. The SD45 sandwich with a "B" unit seen later in the film clip was going probably to the big mine to pick up the loads. Usually, we did not have this power when pulling the 381 mine. I was called for one of these 381 mine pulls and had an "A" unit as the lead unit. This was pre radio days, and I can tell you it was torture leaning out of an A unit trying to see signals as this lead ess curved from the main to the mine. Terry
Thinking of picking two up. Doug don't worry about using it on a local I have taken dash 9 junk into a few places that gave me the willies! Nothing like sitting in the cab and feeling the unit wanting to walk up and off the rail. Good times!
