Yes, it does get brighter with more current applied. I thought the same thing about the DCC decoder, but that won't do me any good, since my layout is still traditional DC with block sections controlled by toggle switches. But you guys with DCC should have a lot of fun with these.
From the sounds of it the only thing required will be rewiring the beacon from the light out put to the decoder, then programing a CV.
Re SD-45 handrail colors: Looking in Marre's "Frisco In Color," looks like the vertical members of the handrails are red with the horizontal parts and the handrails by the steps being white. Tom
On painting the handrails. I use a product called Bulldog Adhesion Promoter. It makes paint stick to plastic. I spray it into a paint bottle until a get some liquid then I brush it on the portion of the rails to be painted. Let it dry then paint white. The stuff really works
William: Thanks for posting the pictures of the new Athearn SD45. Do you also own the recently released SD40-2 and if so side by side are they the same color? Thanks,
Thanks for the photos William. I am STILL waiting for my SD45s . . . . Just from the photos I noticed The Pros 1. The brake cavity is red which is correct 2. Plow pilots were added (Athearn told me they didn't have those parts for the SD40-2, hmmmmmmm??????) 3. L shaped engineer's window looks perfect 4. Light weathering on the grilles The Cons 1. Handrails are red, s/b white (easy fix) 2. Number board fonts are a little strange (easy fix) Looks like we have a pretty accurate unit available. I like it a lot.
Like Rick, I am wondering just when my SD45's will arrive! TTH must use the Pony Express for shipping. The first thing I will do when they arrive is to set them along side an Atlas GP38 and do a "color test". In any event, from the pics William posted of his 911, it certainly looks good enuf. I don't have an Athearn SD40-2 to compare it to, but I'll also match the SD45 against the older Athearn GP38-2 and SW1500 models I do still have. The other features on it look great. I like the fact they gave in and put the correct plow pilot on it! Ken
I think I will consist Athearn SD40-2s and SD45s together like the Frisco did. Like Ken sez, "The color looks good enuf" and I bet they are either exact or so close this aging train nerd won't really care. We Frisco modelers, collectors have been struggling with the very inexact Athearn "wide-body" for decades and the Kato which requires all kinds of work to match the prototype. I think Athearn should come out with three more numbers in the next year. What do you think? Should we start lobbying now?
Bob, to answer your question, no I don't own the recently release SD40-2. I own a blue-box SD40-2, made about 15 years ago, which I've been detailing lately. The old engine has a much darker but duller color, if that makes any sense. I added the five-chime Leslie horn to it (the blue-box engine) along with cab shades, and pilots that I painted with Model Flex Frisco Orange. The Model Flex paint seemed to match up with the original paint pretty closely. The new SD45 has a brighter tint, but not nearly as bright as the Walther's Trainline GP15-1 that I bought about seven years ago. I also have an Athearn RTR GP35 that I purchased three years ago that I don't run a lot, because it makes a terrible grinding noise above 40% power that I haven't figured out yet. The paint on the '45 and the '35 appear to be about the same at first glance, although I haven't set them side by side for a comparision. I ran the new SD45 last night on my layout coupled with the old SD40-2 on a 31 car train. I'm able to pull this off on my DC layout, because the old engine takes a lot of current to get running, so I hook it to the train first then back the '45 up to it and couple together. The SD45 has to pull the SD40-2 somewhat to get started, but once at about 60% throttle, they're working in nice harmony. Going back to a question that Ethan raised yesterday, the beacon is illuminated by the same bulb as the headlight, so when the unit is in reverse, the beacon is not lit up.
Shipment arrived today. Nice! Color on SD-45s a little lighter than the SD-40-2s. But very close. Jay
Got mine a few days ago am very pleased with the details it had upon arrival. All I have to do is put a few additional details on like eye bolts, air dryer, windshield wipers maybe a couple more but all in all, a very good model I think. I don't know if any of have seen this or not, but the dynamic brake fans on mine did not fit on the hood flat both were kinda tilted to one side. This was an easy fix as I just popped the fan shrouds off, trimmed some flash off them, clean excess glue of the mode, and ACC'd back together. Of course I got into the factory paint a little when cleaning the plastic off the shell. My model flex hasn't got here yet so I decided to try a little of that MM Sunburst Orange and it matched, just a little more glossy, but that will go away when a liittle grime and dullcoat. I got a question for you guys. Other than repairs or replacements. Was that horn used on them stay with them? Thanks Tom in GJ
Tom: Others may want to chime in here, but either new at the factory or upon arrival on the property the Frisco replaced most if not all of their seond generation diesels with Leslie 5 chime horns, 3 facing forward, 2 reverse. I believe that Details West part # 235-191 closely matches it. http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/235-191 For reference sake, and I don't know why, the GP15-1's had all 5 horns facing forward.
A correction to the post that I made with regard to the "missing" engineer's window. The window is there, it was just open. That's right, this locomotive is equipped with windows that slide open and shut. I really think Athearn hit it out of the park with this one.
Go back and look and see if the site glass door on the side opens and shuts? If I understood correctly it did on the SD40-2. Having said that I'm not sure if the 45's had a side site glass.
Here are some pictures of a new SD45 and SD40-2 I took them outside in the natural light. The lighter shade of orange on the SD45 isn't as noticeable outside although the difference is still there. I still give two thumbs up to this model. There will be plenty of powere for the pull on the Avard Sub now!
I came home from a meeting this afternoon and found a V-20 645 idling on my front porch - left there by the postman! SD45's are here. However, when I opened the package, I found I received only SLSF 927. I had also ordered SLSF 911, but TTH included a note saying they had been short-shipped by Athearn. Rats!, I wanted two. I don't have time this afternoon to do much with the 927, but I did take it out of the box. I think Athearn did a terrific job on these - I'm really impressed with how much Frisco specific detail they included. Very well done on first impression! I did take the time to do a red/orange "color test" vs the others. It is "redder" (if that is a word) than the Atlas Frisco GP38, MP15 and B30-7, so Atlas remains the champ on color correctness to my eye. However, the Athearn SD45 is close, certainly good enough. And, the new Athearn SD45 color is an improvement over the previous Athearn "Blue Box" Frisco color used on the SW1500, GP38-2 and SD40-2 models of many years ago (slightly less red). I do not have a "new" Athearn Frisco SD40-2 to compare the new SD45 to. The new Athearn SD45 color is significantly better (a lot less red) than the Walthers Frisco H10-44 and the Broadway Ltd Frisco SW7 (kind of a gray red). Is there any place where we can still get these (SD45's) at a decent price? Ken
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/category_s/1554.htm?searching=Y&sort=13&cat=1554&show=12&page=2 MB Klein has a few left Ken, Copy and paste the link and it will take you to the page, but they are going quickly. Seems everyone wants this new Athearn product. Tom |-|
I got mine last night and noticed that the word FRISCO is taller on the SD45 than on the SD40-2 so I am slightly disappointed. I wanted to run an SD45 with and SD40-2. Now I am thinking maybe not. Not going to send them back but it is surprising that the most prominent lettering wasn't closer. I'll just run the SD45s together. They look massive in a trio. I need three more . . . . .
