AZL - 64105-2 - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD SD40T-2 - Kansas City Southern - 6104

Prototype History: An SD40T-2 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division having a 16-cylinder EMD 645E3 diesel engine producing 3,000 horsepower (2,240 kW). 312 SD40T-2s were built for North American railroads between April 1974 and July 1980. This locomotive and the SD45T-2 are popularly called tunnel motors, but EMD's term is SD40-2s with "cooling system modifications" because they were designed for better engine cooling in tunnels. The difference between this locomotive and its non-tunnel motor cousin, the SD40-2, are the radiator intakes and radiator fan grills located at the rear of the locomotive. The radiator air intakes in this model were along the deck to allow more fresh, cooler air to enter and less hot exhaust fumes lingering around the tunnel's ceiling. EMD SD45T-2 vs SD40T-2 radiator fan motor access doors

This locomotive model was purchased by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the Southern Pacific Railroad, and its subsidiary Cotton Belt. Southern Pacific's version has a 4,400-US-gallon (16,700 L; 3,660 imp gal) fuel tank and is 70 feet 8 inches (21.54 m) long. Rio Grande's version has a smaller 4,000-US-gallon (15,100 l; 3,330 imp gal) fuel tank. After merging with Rio Grande, the Southern Pacific and later Union Pacific owned every SD40T-2.

In 2005, most of these units were owned by Union Pacific or leasing companies. By 2008, none were left in service on UP with SP or DRGW reporting marks. DRGW 5371 was the last one, retired in March 2008, and now resides at the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden Utah. Another SD40T-2 is preserved at the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad in Boone, Iowa. UP still runs a few units repainted in its own livery.

Full EMD SD40T-2 data sheet on The Diesel Workshop.

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Road Name History: KCS began (with a different name) in 1890 under the direction of Arthur Stilwell for the purpose of building a railroad from Kansas City directly south along the Missouri – Kansas, Arkansas – Oklahoma, and Louisiana – Texas borders to the Gulf of Mexico. At the point where the railroad met the Gulf, Stillwell built a port complex and named it after himself, Port Arthur, Texas. Two years later, the company defaulted on a loan, Stilwell was kicked out and they changed the name of the railroad to Kansas City Southern. Stilwell went on to build the Kansas City Mexico & Orient.

The KCS steam fleet was, well, peculiar. They were the only railroad to use 0-6-6-0’s, not as heavy switchers, not as pushers, but as mainline road engines. 2-8-8-0’s were also used for heavy road service with Santa Fe types and Consolidations filling out the freight roster. 11 Pacifics handled the passenger trains. They were odd first in that they had 2 sand domes (rare on passenger power.) Second, they had a high mounted headlight but without a number plate in the middle of the smokebox door, giving the front a strange “faceless” appearance. A few of these Pacifics assigned to the Kansas City – Port Arthur “Flying Crow” were equipped with air horns that sounded like a cawing crow… Really! KCS also had 2 Shays used to muscle cars up and down the 10% grades of many Kansas City industrial spurs. (If you’ve been to Kansas City, you will understand why.) The pinnacle of the fleet was the J class 2-10-4’s, purchased to replace the 0-6-6-0’s in 1937. These were the last Texas types built by Lima and had sleek, jacketed boilers and enclosed cabs.

In 1939, the KCS acquired the Louisiana & Arkansas which ran from Dallas east to Shreveport and then New Orleans. Actually, it was the owners of the L&A that bought the KCS but for charter reasons, the deal was arranged so that KCS took control of L&A. L&A remained semi-autonomous in an SP-Cotton Belt sort of way. This brought the KCS system to over 1,660 miles (between Grand Trunk Western and Delaware & Hudson in relative size.) The L&A image began to fade away in the 1960s but it wasn’t fully merged into KCS until 1992.

Dieselization came primarily from EMD with E’s pulling the Flying Crow and Southern Belle, and F’s in freight service. These were delivered in the classic red, black and yellow with red being dominant on the freight units and yellow on the passenger units. A-B-B-A sets of Erie Builts were also used in freight service but were notorious for breaking knuckles on the hog-back hills of the Ozarks.

Switchers and first generation hood units were delivered in black with white trim (much like Illinois Central) with the name spelled out on the long hood. Hood units and switchers came from EMD, Alco, Baldwin and FM.

In the 1960s, the paint scheme was simplified to a solid red. This became known as Deramus Red after the line’s CEO William Deramus II. Deramus’s son (William III) was head of Chicago Great Western and later M-K-T, both of which used similar reds. While William II was a reasonably adept CEO, his son William III was less successful, at least as far as the railroad was concerned. Under William III, track deteriorated and customers fled, which in turn permitted him to cut more service and staff. Fewer, longer trains were dispatched. Meanwhile William III was pouring available cash into diversifying into less regulated industries. By the 1970s, KCS faced a triple threat. Track condition was at an all time low, the first generation diesels were wearing out and tonnage was increasing. A new CEO began to turn the railroad around. The red paint scheme was dumped for white with red lettering. Grain moving down from Kansas City was joined by petro-chemicals moving up from the coast. Powder River Coal joined the mix during this period.

KCS’s diversified holdings, including the Janus Fund, made KCS ripe for takeover. In 1985, leftist fundraiser George Soros attempted a hostile takeover but was foiled first by a real estate developer and then by a Deramus successor who had since moved to Hallmark Cards and then bought a large block of KCS stock.

Now a rousing success, KCS spun off Janus and other holdings and kept the railroad because that is where the REAL money was! In 2006, the Southern Belle red, yellow, and black paint scheme was re-introduced. A version of it was even applied to some new KCS freight cars (KCS freight cars had been notorious dull for decades with few having anything more than reporting marks to trumpet their owner.)

Brand/Importer Information: AZL is the leader in North American Z scale locomotives and rolling stock. Since 2000, AZL has released a vast variety of freight, passenger and locomotives. AZL continues to push the boundaries of Z scale with amazing details and incredible performance. No matter if you are looking to run steam, or the most modern diesels, AZL has something for you.