New diesel

jr switch

Member
I just recently saw some SD45's [ Bachmann Spectrum ] listed in the Micro mark catalog at $39.95 and ordered one [ PRR markings ]. It came yesterday, and I was impressed. I know Bachmann seems to get as much bad press as praise, but this thing has the see thru steps, photo-etched screens in the sides, painted figures in the cab, fans in the top are two piece, blades are separate from grill and see-thru also. The lights maintain the same brightness regardless of speed, has the hoses front and rear, runs great with a sort of quiet growling noise.
The last diesel I bought with all these features cost close to a hundred bucks. Was this an exceptionally good price or typical for these engines? Are the SD45's a pretty common freight engine? Bear with me now, I've got a lot to learn about the diesels--Thanks, ----------John R
 

bigsteel

Call me Mr.Tinkertrain
as for the price,you seriously lucked out.they were probably on sale or left over stock they needed to get rid of.but i wish i could findem that cheap,but is it DCC compatible o ready even equipped?SD45's were fairly common but im not sure on which roads.--josh
 

MadHatter

Charging at full tilt.
I'm sure I've seen pics of them in ATSF, BNSF, UP and Chessie colours. They came after the SD 40- 2's so I guess they came out to replace them.
 

Herc Driver

Active Member
You got a deal! Good for you. I've found that most Bachmann Spectrum diesel products are about 20% lower than Atlas or LifeLike products, but although the rivets and some detailing is slightly over-sized, the overall quality seems much improved from 5, 10 or 20 years ago. You've got to watch out though, as some retailers will charge full msrp for the Bachmann Spectrum line which IMHO is overpriced for the quality and craftsmanship. But at a discount price - they are hard to pass up.
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
MadHatter said:
I'm sure I've seen pics of them in ATSF, BNSF, UP and Chessie colours. They came after the SD 40- 2's so I guess they came out to replace them.

In the case of ATSF the SD45's were added to the roster along side of the SD40's & 40-2's. They may have replaced the Alco "Alligators", but often the Santa Fe would buy more diesels to keep the trains rolling. For whatever reason, Santa Fe often got rid of Alco and GE power, but they rebuilt EMD repeatedly. The SD45's had a problem breaking crankshafts, so most of the SD45s on the Santa Fe are actually SD45 bodies with the SD40 prime mover.
 

brakie

Active Member
bigsteel said:
as for the price,you seriously lucked out.they were probably on sale or left over stock they needed to get rid of.but i wish i could findem that cheap,but is it DCC compatible o ready even equipped?SD45's were fairly common but im not sure on which roads.--josh

Josh,The newer SD45s are DCC equipped as is the GP30,35,38-2, SD40-2,GE 44 ton,GE70 tonner and several others to include some of the non Spectrum steamers.
 

bigsteel

Call me Mr.Tinkertrain
Josh,The newer SD45s are DCC equipped as is the GP30,35,38-2, SD40-2,GE 44 ton,GE70 tonner and several others to include some of the non Spectrum steamers.

OK,i just wasnt sure cause i;ve never seen a DCC equipped loco for that low!i think i eed to check the bachmann site mre often!--josh
 

jr switch

Member
Josh, the SD45's were the only choice they had, maybe about six different road names to choose from. It came in a very impressive Spectrum box, very carefully packaged. The box was huge and the engine was surrounded by a lot of foam, I had expected it to come in a rigid clear plastic frame inside a thin cardboard box. I got to say, this seems to be a lot of engine for $40.00. It is DCC equipped.
Just pull up Micro Mark on the net and get one------------John R
 

Triplex

Active Member
SD45s were built between 1965 and 1971. 1260 were made, making it the most popular among the diesels introduced in the 1960s. They were thus a common engine through the 70s and 80s. No major railroad has them anymore, though. This excludes rebuilds - some SD45s rebuilt to SD40-2 standards are still in mainline use.
 
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