HO SD40T-2 Locomotive with DCC & Sound, D&RGW #5405 Overview
The 1990's was an interesting time for some railroads. An example of this would be SP-era Rio Grande SD40T-2's. SP has always been known for having a plethora of lights on their diesels. During this period, Stratolight beacons and front ditch lights were added to many DRGW locomotives. With the combination of the factory installed nose Mars lights, these were affectionately nicknamed as âxmas treeâ lights by some railfans.
The 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 âcooling system modificationsâ 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.