Bachmann - 66474 - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD SD40-2 - Union Pacific - 3450

Specific Item Information: DCC sound-equipped with Econami Sound Value Package

Model Information: Bachmann introduced this model in 1986. In 1995, they upgraded the mechanism and started packaging them under their Spectrum line.

The early model features a heavy, split-frame, all-metal chassis with a skew-wound, open-sided 3-pole motor. Ten of the twelve wheels provide pickup. The remaining two wheels carry traction tires. The later model carries an open-sided, skew-wound 5-pole motor. The drivetrain wass completely redesigned to use flywheels. The worm gears became part of the truck assemblies and thus can swivel on curves properly. All wheels provide electrical pickup and there are no longer any traction tires. Similarly, the couplers are truck-mounted Rapidos on both versions.

One of the more entertaining features on the early models was a roof mounted blinking light. This feature was removed from the Spectrum version.

DCC Information: Neither mechanism supports DCC.

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 Union Pacific Railroad (reporting mark UP) is a freight hauling railroad that operates 8,500 locomotives over 32,100 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Union Pacific Railroad network is the largest in the United States and employs 42,600 people. It is also one of the world's largest transportation companies.

Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP); both are headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Over the years Union Pacific Corporation has grown by acquiring other railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago & North Western, Western Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Southern Pacific (including the Denver & Rio Grande Western).

Union Pacific Corporation's main competitor is the BNSF Railway, the nation's second largest freight railroad, which also primarily services the Continental U.S. west of the Mississippi River. Together, the two railroads have a duopoly on all transcontinental freight rail lines in the U.S.

Read more on Wikipedia and on Union Pacific official website.

Brand/Importer Information: Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, who model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann's brand is the largest seller, in terms of volume, of model trains in the world. Bachmann primarily specializes in entry level train sets, and premium offerings in many scales. The Spectrum line is the high quality, model railroad product line, offered in N, HO, Large Scale, On30, and Williams O gauge all aimed for the hobbyist market. Bachmann is the producer of the famous railroad village product line known as "Plasticville." The turnover for Bachmann model trains for the year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $46.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005.