A New Haven SDP-40 for the Empire Belt RR?

 Greetings All,

Can a fantasy paint scheme on a locomotive that the actual RR never owned be incorporated into my freelanced Empire Belt? Would I give the unit run time? Could I make it somewhat plausible? Read on for the answer to those questions.

An SDP40 in a NH McGinnis paint scheme is sandwiched between a pair of EBRR SDP40s as seen in P.C.C.M. 86 Part 2.

About twenty five years ago I purchased three Athearn SDP40s, one New Haven unit and two New York Central units, thinking these were prototypical paint schemes. As time went on and my prototype knowledge grew I learned this was not the case. 

The NYC units were eventually repainted as fantasy Penn Central units but that was less than satisfactory as my PC knowledge grew.

They saw limited use and lasted in PC paint until 2018 when they joined my new freelance Empire Belt RR and received an EBRR paint job.

The New Haven SDP40 languished off and on in the box for years and when I last took it out it had fuzzy looking mold on it despite the absorbent packs in the box. This was no way for a good looking fan favorite engine to be treated and something had to be done.

The EMD SDP40 is a rare bird in that only twenty were built between 1966 and 1970. The GN bought six that were later conveyed to BN. The other fourteen went to NdeM. I was reluctant to even think about repainting the unit and had no real prototype paint option. Enter the Empire Belt RR.

The Empire Belt now boasts three SDP40s. The story for the original EBRR units#6294 and #6295 is that they were bought for a bargain basement price from EMD after the GN cancelled the final two units on an eight car order.

The story for the New Haven SDP40 #6502, now EBRR #6502, is that EMD built it for testing on the NH which had large commuter train operations. After testing the NH sent the unit back to EMD and it was eventually sold to the Empire Belt.

The EBRR SDP40s bring Train EB-2from North Side Yard to Terminal Yard.

The trio of SDP40s head back to their home base at North Side Yard after bringing another long transfer run to Terminal Yard.

The SDP40s are back at North Side Yard and coupled up to another outbound train for the Penn Central's Terminal Yard. The trio are put to good use with the increased tonnage on the transfer runs.

Adding the small EBRR lettering under the road number allows me to claim Empire Belt ownership without having to repaint this good looking unit. It works well in consist with the other two SDP40s and provides plenty of power for the ever growing tonnage between the Empire Belt RR and Penn Centrals Terminal Yard.

Thanks for reading and watching!!!

See you Friday for the P.C.C.M. #86 Inbound portion.