Norfolk Southern SD40-2 Long Hood

[1225fan5358]

"The long-hood version as the name suggest runs with the hood forward compared to the high nose which runs the other way."
Ehm, ugh. In real life, no. If you're referring to the past release of the high nose SD40, then yes.

[OldProf]

Just remember it is not a requirement to buy anything only an offer to sell. If you don't approve of what they are doing don't participate. It won't take long and they will get the message. There is a huge bunch of NS locomotives out there already. I don't feel a crying need for another unless it offers something very unusual.

I hope you don't have to retype this message every time you send it, Buzz!

[tbundy1982]

A super-fun nit-pick for those who have not boarded a real high-hood SD40-2: The control stand should actually be perfectly parallel to the rails on a ex-SOU high-hood. That goes for the new GP38-2 as well. Most EMD locomotives have a control stand that is angled within the cab for engineer comfort and visibility. This was correctly modeled starting with the original UP SD40-2. The SOU units had a control stand that was set up to be run in either direction, therefore it was perfectly perpendicular to the engineer when facing forward. When switching, most engineers will face towards the conductors seat on the opposite side of the cab, turning their head to view forward or reverse.

There were also two horn valves for horns on each end of the unit. The engineer would pull the valve that operated the horn on whichever end was leading. Therefore, Southern units could be run either direction with relative similarity for the engineer.

The high hoods were built at a time when the fireman's job was continually on the line, and the lack of visibility was able to cement their usefulness in the future. When crews were shortened after 1980, visibility became much more of a problem, especially when the conductor was working on the ground.

The new model is nice, but has too many detail errors to be considered great. Even so, I'm not terribly disappointed in my purchase. It's just what I've come to expect from DTG.

Tyler