Wow, that's super cool! I love these 2nd gen EMD locomotives and the 70's era SD's were special. Enjoy your 9500, they're nice models. Thanks for watching!
As a kid in NorCal, I remember the SD45T SP locos running through my small town. With top radiators, made for crossing Donner Pass. I also remember the Krauss Maffei locos when they'd scream through town! Love how you've made such great scenery for you museum quality rolling stock! Congrats!
Thanks Paul! We had SP geeps in my town, I can imagine the big units running through your town would have been very cool. The Krauss Maffei's were certainly unique, nice one of them was saved. I've sold just about all of my mid-tier stuff; I'm only buying top shelf equipment now. I appreciate you watching!
@@SPSteve The Krauss locos had the HP but not the torque for Donner, so they ran them from Sacto to Bay Area. They sounded like the bearings were going out! German tech, circa 1966!
@@paulm.newitt3246 SP dabbled in exotic/weird stuff, the Krauss Maffei (3), the U50B (3) and DD35 (3) come to mind. But UP was the king of the weird sh*t. No Krauss Maffei's on the UP though, just SP and D&RGW.
@@SPSteve I read a story how the UP 8500 Gas Turbine put out 750deg. heat from the vent...and one time started to melt a concrete overpass it was sitting under!
Thanks! It is super nice. It has sound features that go all the way to function key 30, but the flange squeal and frog clank have to be my favorites. Thanks for watching!
I was a teen in northern California (Davis) when these SD45Xs were running and my favorite SP loco was the SD45. SP mainline ran through Davis and into Sacramento. Back then I asked for an Athearn SP SD45 for Christmas at age 14, but it was kind of a disappointment with the wide nose and didn't like my #4 turnouts. I wouldn't have been able to tell the SD45X's from the standard SD45 back then, but when this was announced the ScaleTrains I did pre-order it. I now have #9503 ready to run on my basement layout as soon as I get the DCC system setup - should be next couple weeks. Thanks for the video. My minimum mainline radius is 32-inches. I also run SD40T-2s (my main interest these days is D&RGW). Looks like you have mostly the same freight cars I have as well, although only a few of the modernized tangent 40' SP boxcars. I do run 86' auto parts cars and autoracks.
Sounds like you have a great layout in work! I'd love to have a basement to build a layout in. I have 6 of the modernized Tangent 40' cars. Very nice cars, Tangent makes some nice stuff. I have 2 Scale Trains SD40T-2's on pre-order, 1 SP and 1 D&RGW. I have 2 D&RGW GP40's on pre-order, 1 Scale Trains and the other Athearn Genesis. So, I plan to have some black and gold to compliment the SP on my layout. Thanks for watching and best of luck with your layout!
@@SPSteveyour scenery looks great! As for the Genesis Rio Grande GP40-2s coming, they look like late era with the horns mounted on the back of the roof - way past my mid 1980's cutoff. Otherwise I would preorder them. My modeling era is mid-1970s this mid-1980s. Cheers.
@@riogrande5761 Thanks for mentioning the Genesis GP40 era. That would be too late for me as well since I use 1960-1980 equipment. I'll have to cancel the pre-order if it is 90's era. Thanks for the info!
@@SPSteve Double check but that's what I recall. I was interested in more Genesis GP40-2s in Rio Grande but recall the rear roof placement of the horns.
Scale Trains really did a great job with the SD45X. The more you look, the more you see. A detail like the traction motors that will never be seen says a lot about the model. All the traction motors in the same orientation were a big feature of the HTC truck. I think all of the SD-2's got this truck after the SD45X.
Sorry to hear you had to cancel. If you decide to get one and you have 22" + radius curves, I think you'll love it. The ST MQ SD45X is now the best locomotive I own. I love it. I appreciate you watching!
@@SPSteve I have min 25.7" rad most are around 27"......so my DDA40Xs can get around without throwing the lead car off...! next run of the 45X I will def order one. Yours looks great. My Scaletrains GP30s have the same low speed stutter as well but my older Scaletrains SD40T-2's run sweetly perfectly speed matched out of the box!
It's a really nice model! The level of detail is as good as I've seen. I think a master modeler would be challenged to duplicate it. Thanks for watching!
That builder's plate, the ACI label (which I'm surprised you didn't mention), and those tiny numbers over the MU hoses are what especially caught my eye. Oh, and I'm drooling over your SP covered hoppers. It must have been too hot for even the porch pirates that day.
The ACI bar code label really sets the time period for the locomotive. When I was editing the video, I was saying to myself, I should have mentioned this, I should have mentioned that. I didn't want to redo the video and it was already 30 minutes long, so I let some things go. But you're right, the more you look, the more you see and there are many things I could have mentioned. It's a good problem when a model is so detailed we can go on and on about it. Thanks for watching!
Nice! I was looking at houses in Cottonwood a couple years ago, just over the mountain from you. Didn't work out for me but I love that area. Thanks for watching!
@@stevenanderson1500 Nice! I have a 12x20 space. I wish I had a bigger space, but I have what I have. I'm 67. I'll keep your offer in mind, I don't get up that way too often since I stopped looking to buy. But every once in a while, I'm in your area.
Scaletrains has the detail with question, but fit and finish still needs attention. Shouldn’t have to touch up paint, glue parts or trim plastic flashing especially on a museum quality product. I’ve noticed more than a handful of “needs fixing” items. Like to see the coupler deflection when coupled to a loco. Great detailed review.
Sean, I agree with you. Some of the things should have been dealt with. Not to give ST a pass, but many of the images are at 3x-4x magnification so some things may not be noticeable at normal viewing. The sprue nubs are annoying, hopefully a dab of CA will fix the sander lines. I appreciate you watching!
@@Tracksidemargie True, it has some glue showing. But keep in mind the images are 3X-4X magnified so many of the issues aren't noticeable at normal viewing distance. Not to give ST a pass, it does have some defects.
Great vid!!! Thanks so much for posting. One of the things I've always loved about the SP locomotives was their horizontal nose lights. Is there any reason SP did this? To fit in the oscillating light packages perhaps? Anyway, L&N seemed to do this with their GE locos, which I've always been a fan of.
I don't know the reasoning for the position of the lights but this is a typical light package for 2nd gen SP EMD locomotives. Perhaps the low short hood lights were placed horizontal to make room for the emergency light? SP's light packages are certainly must-have features for locomotive purchases. Thanks for watching!
SPSteve, since the Athearn Genesis D&RGW GP40-2s are wrong era for us, you might be interested in the Rio Grande GP40-'s due out in a couple months from ScaleTrains. They are the last order D&RGW made just before the GP40-2's were introduced. I have 5 of the 6 numbers on pre-order.
If I had any museum scale trains, I'd had to leave them packaged. When I look at one of my more expensive trains, the handrails fall off, the springs pop off the couplers & the decoder resets to 3.
i have the blue demo version EMD #4203. They are sharp! i don’t even want to take it out of the box. Your layout is gorgeous. Mind if i ask what rolling stock manufacturer you use? i have mainly Tangent & Rapido cars. Plz&Thnkz
The demo units are nice as well. How does the metalic blue paint look? For rolling stock, I've been buying Rapido, Moloco, Tangent, Arrowhead, American Limited, Athearn Genesis. The Athearn Genesis 2600 air slide hoppers are some of my favorites right now, I often have those cars out on the layout. Thanks for nice comment and I appreciate you watching!
@@SPSteve The blue paint has a light metal flake to it which to me screams “Muscle Car Paint Job”. Looks so good. Your WP car is super nice. Thnx for sharing Fren
Man I love the SD45/SD45X, the flared radiators and the standard cab together are the perfect combination
They do look good! Those 4 fans on top of the SD45X radiator give the locomotive a muscular appearance.
Thank you I just ordered the 9500 . I got a cab rider in the 9503 back in 1986 ish just around the block in Eugene yard .
Wow, that's super cool! I love these 2nd gen EMD locomotives and the 70's era SD's were special. Enjoy your 9500, they're nice models. Thanks for watching!
As a kid in NorCal, I remember the SD45T SP locos running through my small town. With top radiators, made for crossing Donner Pass. I also remember the Krauss Maffei locos when they'd scream through town! Love how you've made such great scenery for you museum quality rolling stock! Congrats!
Thanks Paul! We had SP geeps in my town, I can imagine the big units running through your town would have been very cool. The Krauss Maffei's were certainly unique, nice one of them was saved. I've sold just about all of my mid-tier stuff; I'm only buying top shelf equipment now. I appreciate you watching!
@@SPSteve The Krauss locos had the HP but not the torque for Donner, so they ran them from Sacto to Bay Area. They sounded like the bearings were going out! German tech, circa 1966!
@@paulm.newitt3246 SP dabbled in exotic/weird stuff, the Krauss Maffei (3), the U50B (3) and DD35 (3) come to mind. But UP was the king of the weird sh*t. No Krauss Maffei's on the UP though, just SP and D&RGW.
@@SPSteve I read a story how the UP 8500 Gas Turbine put out 750deg. heat from the vent...and one time started to melt a concrete overpass it was sitting under!
@@paulm.newitt3246 Haha! Crazy stuff.
Mazel tov Steve. Looks and sounds nice.
Thanks! It is super nice. It has sound features that go all the way to function key 30, but the flange squeal and frog clank have to be my favorites. Thanks for watching!
Excellent review Steve !!! I will definitely watch for a Scale Trains Locomotive in Conrail soon 😊 .
Thanks Kraig! Hopefully what you're looking for will be available soon. I appreciate you watching!
nice looking engine
It is really nice! The molding quality is outstanding. Thanks for watching!
I was just reading some folks are having issues w/ their decoders on these. Nice to see yours isn't one of them
I haven't had any trouble. I have 2+ hours of run time on it and it's working great.
I was a teen in northern California (Davis) when these SD45Xs were running and my favorite SP loco was the SD45. SP mainline ran through Davis and into Sacramento. Back then I asked for an Athearn SP SD45 for Christmas at age 14, but it was kind of a disappointment with the wide nose and didn't like my #4 turnouts. I wouldn't have been able to tell the SD45X's from the standard SD45 back then, but when this was announced the ScaleTrains I did pre-order it. I now have #9503 ready to run on my basement layout as soon as I get the DCC system setup - should be next couple weeks. Thanks for the video. My minimum mainline radius is 32-inches. I also run SD40T-2s (my main interest these days is D&RGW). Looks like you have mostly the same freight cars I have as well, although only a few of the modernized tangent 40' SP boxcars. I do run 86' auto parts cars and autoracks.
Sounds like you have a great layout in work! I'd love to have a basement to build a layout in. I have 6 of the modernized Tangent 40' cars. Very nice cars, Tangent makes some nice stuff. I have 2 Scale Trains SD40T-2's on pre-order, 1 SP and 1 D&RGW. I have 2 D&RGW GP40's on pre-order, 1 Scale Trains and the other Athearn Genesis. So, I plan to have some black and gold to compliment the SP on my layout. Thanks for watching and best of luck with your layout!
@@SPSteveyour scenery looks great! As for the Genesis Rio Grande GP40-2s coming, they look like late era with the horns mounted on the back of the roof - way past my mid 1980's cutoff. Otherwise I would preorder them. My modeling era is mid-1970s this mid-1980s. Cheers.
@@riogrande5761 Thanks for mentioning the Genesis GP40 era. That would be too late for me as well since I use 1960-1980 equipment. I'll have to cancel the pre-order if it is 90's era. Thanks for the info!
@@SPSteve Double check but that's what I recall. I was interested in more Genesis GP40-2s in Rio Grande but recall the rear roof placement of the horns.
@@riogrande5761 I looked and you are correct. I sent an email to cancel the pre-order. Thanks for the heads up!
I love how they did the trucks with the individual traction motors.
Scale Trains really did a great job with the SD45X. The more you look, the more you see. A detail like the traction motors that will never be seen says a lot about the model.
All the traction motors in the same orientation were a big feature of the HTC truck. I think all of the SD-2's got this truck after the SD45X.
Very comprehensive review! Thanks Steve!
Thanks, Michael! I think the model deserves an up-close look to see the small details. I appreciate you watching!
Fun! Thanks!
Thanks! I appreciate you watching!
Nice
It's a sweet one! Looks amazing, very powerful. Thanks for watching!
nice!! I had to cancel my preorder due to work expenses!! maybe next run I will get one
Sorry to hear you had to cancel. If you decide to get one and you have 22" + radius curves, I think you'll love it. The ST MQ SD45X is now the best locomotive I own. I love it. I appreciate you watching!
@@SPSteve I have min 25.7" rad most are around 27"......so my DDA40Xs can get around without throwing the lead car off...! next run of the 45X I will def order one. Yours looks great. My Scaletrains GP30s have the same low speed stutter as well but my older Scaletrains SD40T-2's run sweetly perfectly speed matched out of the box!
You got one!! Nice
It's a really nice model! The level of detail is as good as I've seen. I think a master modeler would be challenged to duplicate it. Thanks for watching!
That builder's plate, the ACI label (which I'm surprised you didn't mention), and those tiny numbers over the MU hoses are what especially caught my eye.
Oh, and I'm drooling over your SP covered hoppers.
It must have been too hot for even the porch pirates that day.
The ACI bar code label really sets the time period for the locomotive. When I was editing the video, I was saying to myself, I should have mentioned this, I should have mentioned that. I didn't want to redo the video and it was already 30 minutes long, so I let some things go. But you're right, the more you look, the more you see and there are many things I could have mentioned. It's a good problem when a model is so detailed we can go on and on about it. Thanks for watching!
Great review! I’m building a layout here in Prescott Valley!
By the way, I am also SP Steve! Lol
Nice! I was looking at houses in Cottonwood a couple years ago, just over the mountain from you. Didn't work out for me but I love that area. Thanks for watching!
@@SPSteve We should get together sometime, I’ve been modeling the SP/WP since I was 16! Now I’m 69! Lol My space is 11’x30’.
@@stevenanderson1500 Nice! I have a 12x20 space. I wish I had a bigger space, but I have what I have. I'm 67. I'll keep your offer in mind, I don't get up that way too often since I stopped looking to buy. But every once in a while, I'm in your area.
@@SPSteve Nice to see we are the same vintage!
Scaletrains has the detail with question, but fit and finish still needs attention. Shouldn’t have to touch up paint, glue parts or trim plastic flashing especially on a museum quality product. I’ve noticed more than a handful of “needs fixing” items. Like to see the coupler deflection when coupled to a loco. Great detailed review.
Sean, I agree with you. Some of the things should have been dealt with. Not to give ST a pass, but many of the images are at 3x-4x magnification so some things may not be noticeable at normal viewing. The sprue nubs are annoying, hopefully a dab of CA will fix the sander lines. I appreciate you watching!
I was coming here to say, that’s more glue showing than I’d expect when purchasing “museum quality”
@@Tracksidemargie True, it has some glue showing. But keep in mind the images are 3X-4X magnified so many of the issues aren't noticeable at normal viewing distance. Not to give ST a pass, it does have some defects.
@@SPSteve all good my eyeballs work fine at 3x-4x magnification on their own so it’s helpful information
Great vid!!! Thanks so much for posting. One of the things I've always loved about the SP locomotives was their horizontal nose lights. Is there any reason SP did this? To fit in the oscillating light packages perhaps? Anyway, L&N seemed to do this with their GE locos, which I've always been a fan of.
I don't know the reasoning for the position of the lights but this is a typical light package for 2nd gen SP EMD locomotives. Perhaps the low short hood lights were placed horizontal to make room for the emergency light? SP's light packages are certainly must-have features for locomotive purchases. Thanks for watching!
SPSteve, since the Athearn Genesis D&RGW GP40-2s are wrong era for us, you might be interested in the Rio Grande GP40-'s due out in a couple months from ScaleTrains. They are the last order D&RGW made just before the GP40-2's were introduced. I have 5 of the 6 numbers on pre-order.
I have one coming, road number 3088. I pre-ordered way back in February. The D&RGW will have the 2nd largest presence on my railroad.
If I had any museum scale trains, I'd had to leave them packaged. When I look at one of my more expensive trains, the handrails fall off, the springs pop off the couplers & the decoder resets to 3.
Haha, that's funny. Careful handling is certainly needed, but they look so good out on the layout. Thanks for watching!
i have the blue demo version EMD #4203. They are sharp! i don’t even want to take it out of the box. Your layout is gorgeous. Mind if i ask what rolling stock manufacturer you use? i have mainly Tangent & Rapido cars.
Plz&Thnkz
The demo units are nice as well. How does the metalic blue paint look? For rolling stock, I've been buying Rapido, Moloco, Tangent, Arrowhead, American Limited, Athearn Genesis. The Athearn Genesis 2600 air slide hoppers are some of my favorites right now, I often have those cars out on the layout. Thanks for nice comment and I appreciate you watching!
@@SPSteve The blue paint has a light metal flake to it which to me screams “Muscle Car Paint Job”. Looks so good. Your WP car is super nice. Thnx for sharing Fren
@@beedizzl1 The WP car is from Moloco. Cool on the blue paint! Thanks!
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