Kato USA - 176-4810 - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD SD40-2 - Norfolk Southern - 1642

Specific Item Information: Early Version: Standard Nose w/ Ratchet Brake - Dynamic Brake

Model Information: This is a 3rd generation locomotive which Kato introduced in 2000. It feature a split-frame single-lightboard design with flywheels and directional lighting. In 2007, Kato added a Mid-Production model version with some upgraded features including ditch lights. It is one of the earlier models with a full set of 3rd generation features.

• Directional Golden White LED headlights.
• Mid Production: Lighted ditch lights and illuminated preprinted numberboards.
• Mid Production: Shock absorber construction for reliable performance.

DCC Information: Models produced since 2006 accept the following plug-in decoders:
- Digitrax DN163K1C : 1 Amp N Scale Mobile Decoder for Kato N scale SD40-2 locos made from year 2006 onward.
- TCS K1D4-NC: For Mid-Production version - BEMF decoder designed to fit the Kato N-Scale EMD SD70ACe, EMD SD70M, EMD SD40-2, and GG1
- TCS K1D4: For Early version - BEMF decoder is designed to fit the Kato N-Scale EMD SD40, EMD SD70MAC, EMD SD70/75M, GE C44-9W, GE AC4400W, Athearn F45 and many other locomotives.
- MRC 1806: N Scale Drop in DCC Sound Decoder for Kato SD40-2 Locomotive

Prototype History: The EMD SD40-2 is a 3,000-horsepower (2,200 kW) C-C diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD from 1972 to 1989. The SD40-2 was introduced in January 1972 as part of EMD's Dash 2 series, competing against the GE U30C and the ALCO Century 630. Although higher-horsepower locomotives were available, including EMD's own SD45-2, the reliability and versatility of the 3,000-horsepower (2,200 kW) SD40-2 made it the best-selling model in EMD's history and the standard of the industry for several decades after its introduction. The SD40-2 was an improvement over the SD40, with modular electronic control systems similar to those of the experimental DDA40X.

Peak production of the SD40-2 was in the mid-1970s. Sales of the SD40-2 began to diminish after 1981 due to the oil crisis, increased competition from GE's Dash-7 series and the introduction of the EMD SD50, which was available concurrently to late SD40-2 production. The last SD40-2 delivered to a United States railroad was built in July 1984, with production continuing for railroads in Canada until 1988, Mexico until February 1986, and Brazil until October 1989. As of 2013, nearly all built still remain in service.

The GMD SD40-2W is a Canadian-market version of the SD40-2 diesel-electric locomotive, built for the Canadian National Railway by the Diesel Division of General Motors of Canada Ltd. (formerly General Motors Diesel) of London, Ontario; 123 were constructed between May 1975 and December 1980. The major difference between the SD40-2W and a regular SD40-2 is the fitment of a wide-nose Canadian comfort cab, commonly denoted by adding a 'W' in the model name (although the GMD designation on the builders plates remained 'SD40-2').

The SD40-2 has seen service in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Guinea. To suit export country specifications, General Motors designed the JT26CW-SS (British Rail Class 59) for Great Britain, the GT26CW-2 for Yugoslavia, South Korea, Iran, Morocco, Peru and Pakistan, while the GT26CU-2 went to Zimbabwe and Brazil. Various customizations led Algeria to receive their version of a SD40-2, known as GT26HCW-2.

SD40-2s are still quite usable nearly fifty years after the first SD40 was made, and many SD40s and locomotives from the pre-Dash-2 series (GP/SD 40s, 39s and 38s, and even some SD45s) have been updated to Dash-2 specifications, possibly including downgrading from 20-645E to 16-645E engines, including, certainly, Dash-2 electrical controls, although the pre-Dash-2 frames cannot accommodate the somewhat similar HT-C truck in the space allocated to the Flexicoil C truck (the frame is not long enough). Most SD40-2s which remain in service have by now been rebuilt "in-kind" for another 30 to 40 years of service, although a few (under 30) have been rebuilt to incorporate a 12-cylinder EFI-equipped 710G engine.

From Wikipedia
Read more on American-Rails.com

Road Name History: The Norfolk Southern Railway (reporting mark NS) is a Class I railroad in the United States; began in 1982 and 1990. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 36,200 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia, and has rights in Canada from Buffalo to Toronto and over the Albany to Montreal route. NS is responsible for maintaining 29,000 miles, with the remainder being operated under trackage rights from other parties responsible for maintenance. The common commodity hauled on the railroad is coal from mines in Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The railroad also offers the most intermodal network in eastern North America.

NS is a major transporter of domestic and export coal. The railroad's major sources of the mineral are located in: Pennsylvania's Cambria and Indiana counties, as well as the Monongahela Valley; West Virginia; and the Appalachia regions of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. In Pennsylvania, NS also receives coal through interchange with R.J. Corman Railroad/Pennsylvania Lines at Cresson, Pennsylvania, originating in the "Clearfield Cluster". NS's export of West Virginia bituminous coal, begins transport on portions of the well-engineered former Virginian Railway and the former N&W double-tracked line in Eastern Virginia to its Lambert's Point coal pier on Hampton Roads at Norfolk. Coal transported by NS is thus exported to steel mills and power plants around the world. The company is also a major transporter of auto parts and completed vehicles. It operates intermodal container and TOFC (trailer on flat car) trains, some in conjunction with other railroads. NS was the first railway to employ roadrailers, which are highway truck trailers with interchangeable wheel sets.

The Norfolk Southern Railway's parent Norfolk Southern Corporation is a Norfolk, Virginia-based parent company. Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated on July 23, 1980 in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbols NSC. The primary business function of Norfolk Southern Corporation is the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods across the Southeast, East, and Midwest United States. The corporation further facilitates transport to the remainder of the United States through interchange with other rail carriers while also serving overseas transport needs by serving several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. As of October 1, 2014 Norfolk Southern Corporation's total public stock value was slightly over $34.5 billion.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: KATO U.S.A. was established in 1986, with the first U.S. locomotive model (the GP38-2, in N-Scale) released in 1987. Since that time, KATO has come to be known as one of the leading manufacturers of precision railroad products for the modeling community. KATO's parent company, Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

In addition to producing ready-to-run HO and N scale models that are universally hailed for their high level of detail, craftsmanship and operation, KATO also manufactures UNITRACK. UNITRACK is the finest rail & roadbed modular track system available to modelers today. With the track and roadbed integrated into a single piece, UNITRACK features a nickel-silver rail and a realistic-looking roadbed. Patented UNIJOINERS allow sections to be snapped together quickly and securely, time after time if necessary.

The Kato U.S.A. office and warehouse facility is located in Schaumburg, Illinois, approximately 30 miles northwest of Chicago. All research & development of new North American products is performed here, in addition to the sales and distribution of merchandise to a vast network of wholesale representatives and retail dealers. Models requiring service sent in by hobbyists are usually attended to at this location as well. The manufacturing of all KATO products is performed in Japan.

Supporters of KATO should note that there is currently no showroom or operating exhibit of models at the Schaumburg facility. Furthermore, model parts are the only merchandise sold directly to consumers. (Please view the Parts Catalog of this website for more specific information.)