# Another modern loco to buy



## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

As most of you know,i model modern day and ive only been in this hobby for a year now, and i need to buy another loco or two. Currently i have a athearn genesis dcc/sound sd70 and i need something else to play with and my son needs one, he wants a steam loco, but he doesnt understand daddy likes modern day... 

Im looking at a switcher of some sort, it has to be under candian national road name, or escanaba & lake superior rr, but the E&LS rr is probably a no go, i can only find a few boxcars sold by atlas for this rr shortline.

Im debating on a gp38-2, a sd40-2 and maybe a sd9, but i cant find anything with the roadnames i want under sd9. I love the sd70 i have, and wouldnt mind buying another sd70, but i was thinking i should have some variety. It doesnt have to be a designated switcher, i was kinda just throwing that out their, i see lots of gp38-2s and sd40-2s doing yard duty...

It would be cool if i could find a sw1500/sw1200 for my paper mill dedicated yard switcher... but the canadian national does all the switching at the paper mills near me..

I just want to hear peoples opinions on the different locos im curious about. 
It has to have dcc/sound, im trying to keep the attention span of a 3 and 5 year old, so the sound does wonders for my kids


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

go with the steam for the kid, you could either weather it and make it look like its used and been kept for modern day excursion tours or what ever or keep it relativity clean looking for the same way, that way it can explain why theres a steam in a modern day set up...I am modeling modern day my self but have steam that goes back as far as the old west type trains...heck I even have a wood burner im building...


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

new berlin- im a full blown diesel guy Im a diesel technican so i guess thats where i get the diesels over steam... im probably stirring up the pot by saying that

I understand i should probably get something steam related for my son, he even wants the caboose to go along with it  but to be honest i have no glue on what all those crazy #'s mean like 4-8-4 and so on... I will admit though, the sounds of some of those steam locos puffing smoke sounds pretty cool...If i was to actually think about buying a steam loco dcc/sound what type of prices would i be looking at??? Im sure it depends on what i want but, in this catagory i have no clue what i want as far as steam...


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

the numbers are just the wheel configuration...for example the one pictured here is a 4-6-6-2 Logger meanning theres 4 lead wheels, 6 front drive, 6 rear drive and 2 trailing wheels...thats all the numbers mean...


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

thanks for the picture, why was/is their so many different configurations of the wheels? their is that many different types of terrain for the need to have all these different offsets of wheels?? I get the idea of 4 axle and six axle diesels but is this basically the same concept with steam engines?? How come some of those steam locos have that "funny looking" big wheel on the back end, j/k on the funny look... You gotta remember, i grew up in the diesel era, you gotta mind my weird sense of humor with the steam locos...

What type of steam loco would the candian national rr have ran back in the hay day?? im sure i couldnt sum this up to one type of steam loco?

Im kinda getting off topic here with all the talk about steam locos


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

more then likely they would have had would most likely been any thing ranging from the 2-4-0 and some smaller ones for shunters and some larger for passenger and freight...ill dig up some pics for you  it really depends on what the use what the use was for the most part...I grew up in the "diesel era" my self LOL but I also love steam too 

Here is a 4-6-4 most likely used for passenger and freight


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

joed2323 said:


> thanks for the picture, why was/is their so many different configurations of the wheels? their is that many different types of terrain for the need to have all these different offsets of wheels?? I get the idea of 4 axle and six axle diesels but is this basically the same concept with steam engines?? How come some of those steam locos have that "funny looking" big wheel on the back end, j/k on the funny look... You gotta remember, i grew up in the diesel era, you gotta mind my weird sense of humor with the steam locos...
> 
> What type of steam loco would the candian national rr have ran back in the hay day?? im sure i couldnt sum this up to one type of steam loco?
> 
> Im kinda getting off topic here with all the talk about steam locos


Some of those changes were due in part to the evolution, and happened with diesels as well. Some of the earliest, Stephenson's Rocket was an 2-2-0 type and the first well functioning locomotive around. As the need for more power grew, so did the number of wheels and boiler sizes. Much as GP's have 8 drivers, SD's 12, and the venerable DD's had 16. In truth, some steamers, the C&O Allegheny class (2-6-6-6) and Bigboy (4-8-8-4) rival many diesels in terms of raw HP. The Allegheny recording 8,000 HP at 40 mph, and modern rails in most places will not support it's one million+ pound weight. 

The one thing a steamer has in spades over a diesel is a poetry of motions. The piston rods, valve linkages and sundry other moving parts all on display. They have a sight, sound and smell all their own. I too am a factory trained diesel mechanic, on light trucks. Yet, steamers have always held me in thrall with how they work. 

If given a chance, you would really enjoy seeing one running live, it may change your perspective.

Rocket








One of the largest, for Virginian RR









Carl


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## joed2323 (Oct 17, 2010)

Comparing the gp 38-2 to the sd 40-2 which is the better of the two locos?

The sd40-2 came with 3000 HP compares to the 38-2 with 2000?
The gp 38-2 has 4 axles and the sd 40-2 has 6, or do i have my info wrong?

If you were to put both on the same layout with same amount of cars and both from athearn or any manufacturer which would be the better of the two? Would the sd40-2 always be better being it has 6 axles??

I hope someone can chime in on this, i know these 2 engines are pretty common

I like them both so I'm having a hard time choosing which one to buy first... id buy them both but i got a feeling in gonna have to spend some cash on a steam loco for my son so i probably will not be able to but the sd 40-2 and gp 38-2 together. I need to brake up my spending so the wifey doesn't catch on to fast...


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

Either one will work equally well here. It's more of a personal choice., remember it's your railroad so go with what makes you happy. On a model RR, the number of axles has little effect on how many cars you can pull when comparing the two choices. If it were me, I'd look for the one that best fits your desires.

Carl


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## feldon30 (Dec 30, 2012)

joed2323 said:


> Comparing the gp 38-2 to the sd 40-2 which is the better of the two locos?
> 
> The sd40-2 came with 3000 HP compares to the 38-2 with 2000?
> The gp 38-2 has 4 axles and the sd 40-2 has 6, or do i have my info wrong?


Do you intend to add sound decoders to your engines?

If so, you may want to watch some Youtube videos of different engines or go to Soundtraxx.com and listen to different engine sounds.
Both the GP38 and SD40 used a EMD 645 prime mover (engine) so they would have similar sounds. You may want to consider some
different loco engines based on having different sounds just to have some variety.


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