I was a mere lad of 13/14 when the SD45s first appeared and those flares impressed me so much as to make them my all-time favorite diesel. They still are. Doug
I remember seeing the early Atlas and Con-Cor N Scale models of SD-45s when I was a kid and SO much wanted one. However, I couldn't afford it and it now knowing of their Mehano heritage, it's a good thing I saved my money.
The first SD45 I ever had was in an Atlas trains set, which I still have, and it was/is the EMD Demo version. I bought it at Nichol's Hobby Shop in 1971. I DID notice the flairs weren't quite "flairy" enough on the Mehanotehnika-built units. Doug
I never noticed that before. I found some photos on the web and you're right! No detail was too big to ignore at Mehano.
While we're on the topic of SD-45s, I found a few more slides in my collection. SP 8835 working an L&N train in Knoxville, TN in 1978: SOU 3168 at Old Fort, NC in August of 1983: SCL 2020 (hey, that's this year!) at Montgomery, AL in December 1984:
Looks like pictures are kind of flaring up here for a bit. D&RGW 5322 unless otherwise noted all images are by myself, in and around Grand Junction CO circa 1995-1998. Stickers on top of stickers beside stickers. Wish I could get the same glue that holds these stickers on. Photo by Phil Ghysels 1998 N yard Denver Thanks for looking!
When stopping at Radford, VA in April 1989, I found a storage area for many aged NS locomotives. Amongst them was SD-45 1776, once painted in brilliant colors to celebrate the U.S.A.'s Bi-Centennial, but then just another unit in faded black paint awaiting disposition. I don't know what became of her.
Ya gotta love these pictures, I don't care who ya are! Another neat thing about the SD45 is how the Dynamic Brake blister blended right into the flared radiators in one smooth assemblage. And, another interesting thing about the Mehano models of the SD45 is that they obviously followed pre-production drawings with the two section radiator grilles instead of the actual three of the real thing. Doug
Looks like your shot was taken in Roanoke judging by roof over the 1776? Nice to know that it's maybe been saved!
