N Scale ScaleTrains SD40 2 Review

We go into great detail to review the performance and the appearance of the new model - run it through various tests, and discuss some of the things other reviewers have been saying. Want to know if it's one to add to the fleet - I cover everything, good and bad and score this loco with our new metric.
Disclaimers for the Irresponsible:
The contents of the videos on this channel are not designed nor intended for children or in any way marketed towards them. While there is no content restriction, the video may contain adult language and adult jokes. Those easily offended by anything and everything or not of a mature and rational mind should not view the content because we have no patience for nonsense. If you're offended by this statement, it's directed towards you. If not and you laughed, welcome to the channel.
All footage contained in this video was shot by the members of this channel and are copyright protected. Sharing of the video and the video link are encouraged to help spread the hobby, please provide proper credit when sharing.
Technical Stuff:
Footage is captured with an iPhone 11 and narrated in real-time during the recording through a headset mic.
Video is assembled/edited with Microsoft's Clipchamp video editing software.
Music is provided royalty-free from www.bensound.com

[@trainencounters586]

I really like how you are not just reviewing Scaletrains' version, but you are comparing & contrasting it to the other manufacturers versions. Thank you for that sir. It really helps! I will not be throwing my other versions out with the bathwater either. Cheers to you for the side by side, as it were, comparisons. Love it!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

oh i couldn't get rid of any of those either! whatever i don't like about them, i will eventually change or add. glad you enjoy the review!

[@drewpierce2273]

I recently received my ScaleTrains EMD SD40-2 UNION PACIFIC, still boxed. So, your review was timely for me. I particularly liked your suggestion about break in run time. Thanks.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Enjoy them - they're nice units.

[@nynscaler2482]

Thanks for the review. I watched the same reviews you mentioned and was on the fence but decided to take the plunge. I got the CSX SD40-3 unit and don't regret my decision one bit!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

i'm thinking about adding another southern unit... but i really like the CSX units and chessie has to be the best livery of all times... so maybe a csx and chessie unit in my future?

[@anthonystewart3447]

Love watching your layout awesome scenery and love have all the different seasons amazing n scale layout 😲 loving that SD42

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

thanks! i spent a good portion of yesterday messing around with the SD40s I love them.

[@motionboy356]

Love the SD40s. Try to get them whenever I can, as I seem to never get enough of them!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

I don't know what it is about them - they're just awesome locos.

[@trainencounters586]

Its because they're the icons of our generation. Sometimes they were all you ever saw on the front of a train. Massive lash-ups of power that made a lasting impression on us. Watch, it will be the same for the younger people of today. They will look back fondly at the 70ACes and Gevos of the present day.

[@dakotaziegler4]

Great review hope to see you this year in Altoona!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Sept 14. I'll be there.

[@dakotaziegler4]

@@AlleghenyNorthern sweet! Hope to meet

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

@@dakotaziegler4 I'll probably be in my NS gear - i usually post a pic in the communities tab before the show so you'll know who to look for.

[@dakotaziegler4]

@@AlleghenyNorthern sounds good! I just don’t know how to pronounce the channel name lol

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

@@dakotaziegler4 just go for the Allegheny Northern. There's not too many of them!

[@joesestito4342]

Nice review and layout. I enjoy watching, I like you to do a review on your sauce .. lol …. I make a lot of sauce too!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Some secrets I can't put on social media LOL. However, today's variation was met with solid reviews. I think it was the meatballs.

[@kashworth79]

I love the dino on the flatbed! 😂

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Rexy is a fan favorite. Best $10 bucks spent on shapeways LOL

[@tommynorwood5184]

Hi C Mastracci , thank you for being so honest with your reviews. I have seen other reviews also, some unhappy modelers . But I noticed that all the reviews I saw were short nose units. Yours is the first with the Southern unit. I got three of the Southern units. I thought about getting the other three units but I was waiting on your review first. Because I doing some work to the layout can’t run them just yet still in box. The era I’m modeling is the 80’s. I like the NS unit but not the right era. The horse head started in 2005 i think. Plan on using my units for road work. Like you not happy with BTL either. I’m thinking about putting MT couples on my units plan on using 1016 brown medium shank. But I have come to learn good track work is so important. If you want a smooth running layout. I’m a little bit late watching had to watch this little thing called the Super Bowl . Yes the team I was pulling for did win. Thanks for sharing. Have a good week. And again thanks for being honest. 😎😎 👍

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

I think you're going to like you southern units. they're really nice. spent a good portion of the day playing with them before the game and was really enjoying the sounds and the looks. i didn't care who won, i didn't like either team but they wouldn't just let them tie or both lose. let me know how yours run - curious to learn if it's a quality issue and i got good ones this time or if everyone else just freaked because it's social media and that's what they do. enjoy!

[@tommynorwood5184]

Look at your C39-8 you can see the copper pickups on those units also. 😎😎 👍@@AlleghenyNorthern

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

@@tommynorwood5184 i actually went back and looked at all the ScaleTrains - they're prominent. Atlas seems to have the best hidden contacts from my recent purchases.

[@billpierce3949]

The conduit on top of the hood identifies her as a locotrol equipped unit for radio controlling remote or midtrain slave units. Southern had specific SD40-2/SD35/SD45/ GP38-2'S equipped with that feature.They were identified by having black numbers on white background vs white numbers on black background numberboards.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Awesome. Thanks!

[@Vman7757]

Thanks for sharing.I got one. I have had no issues. On my layout she pulled 25 cars with no issues. The fuel tank is correct. They are shaped like that on the prototype.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

that's a good haul. I assume level track? 2% grades are killers.

[@Vman7757]

On my 2% grade in my helix 15 cars. They all have body mounted couplers. Metal wheel sets. NMRA suggested weight.

[@Vman7757]

I have three Scale trains NS Locomotives I don't need or want. Trade or sell. Let me know

[@stevem2936]

Love the Scale Train’s new SD40-2’s I have 4

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

started with 2... think i'm about to add 2 more myself.

[@Bliz0516]

Great review. I won’t be buying scale trains anytime soon, but your review was very thorough.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Yeah, turned out a little longer than i anticipated but wanted to show it because everyone else just seem jacked about them but didn't really show them running or any issue they were having. i wanted to keep it real and that made for quite a long vid.

[@Bliz0516]

By the way did you perform the back emf tuning function on the decoder in the SD40? I’ve done e that on my micro loksounds in my Kato engines just because, I didn’t have any trouble, but I was just wondering if it helped with any jerkiness after the run in. I think these are the new decoders for the new socket?

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

@@Bliz0516 ok, not to jump too far ahead but for the video i did not. but my intrusive thoughts won and i was wondering what that was all about because i never did that with any of the others. so i tried it. then i reset the decoder because it didn't help - actually made it worse. which doesn't make sense but here we are. so i'm going to cover that in an upcoming video. after i do a video showing a little switching with these units.

[@Bliz0516]

Ok. I don’t know what it does either except it did adjust my speed tables which was OK it was a very minor change. The nano decoder with the E24 interface is new, perhaps it is a decoder issue. If so, there will be a firmware update if it software. Just can’t see it being the motor itself unless the motor design has changed and I doubt that.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

@@Bliz0516 so it changes the back emf which is what the decoder uses to keep moving at the throttle set speed regardless of incline or load. interesting that it messed with the speed tables. Could be a decoder issue. Not sure. They seem to be running decently - at least as well as all the others so i don't know that i'm going to tinker too much more.

[@bricebeasley1516]

In my experience its critical to perform a BEMF autotune on all of my ESU decoder equipped locos right out of the box. This has helped with some jerky behaviors on certain ScaleTrains locos. If anyone is not familiar with this procedure it's easy to do: place loco by itself on the track with several feet clear in front of it, set CV54 to value 0 and then press F1. The loco will speed forward then stop. That's it. Try this out and see if it helps with jerky behavior.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

i've never done this to one of my locos and although they're running pretty well now, i might still do this as a general practice to set the BEMF for the layout. i'll see if this makes any improvement and report back. thx!

[@dutch2120]

Hello!! Did My Atlas oil trick work for you on the BLI locomotives?? My 3 SD40-2's should be here any minute now. Thanks for the truthful review!!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

i haven't tried yet. haven't forgotten - just haven't tried. i'd love to run the two high hoods together - but i might be adding some more of the ScaleTrains versions. if that happens, the BLI are going into their boxes.

[@chuckleeii8355]

Good afternoon Sir! Thank You very much for your excellent review! I received my UP "fast forty" power unit the other day. It runs and sounds very well...however I am having a slight problem when the unit goes over a couple of my Atlas turnouts. It seems like there is a clearance issue because the loco continues to run but tends to hesitate somewhat in the turnout. Any thoughts you might be able to provide are greatly appreciated! You have a beautiful layout and I look forward to more of your videos! Thank You! V/R Chuck

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

ok, couple thoughts. 1) if they're the snap-type turnouts check the gauge on the frogs. I had a bunch of them i had to file down the plastic to get locos to clear. 2) see if the frogs are raised above the metal rails. if so, you're probably bottoming out on the low fuel tank. You can fix this by filing down the frog. All of these should be done carefully to not knock the rails out of gauge. 3) check to make sure the turnouts are flat. if they've got a little bend in them from installation - it's possible that could be showing in the frog causing the above issues as well. Scope those items out and then let me know what you find.

[@chuckleeii8355]

Thank You very much Sir! I will give these suggestions a try and see if the situation improves. Take care! v/R Chuck@@AlleghenyNorthern

[@nfordf450]

Yes fuel tanks on all emd locomotives are like that. I don’t know about early ones. (GP9 had it but I don’t know about F units and them) there’s a pump on the right and left of the tanks in them bowls and it’s literally so fuel still gets to the fuel pumps when the tanks are low. There’s also baffles that go long ways and across to keep the fuel from slushing around as the move.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

i knew someone out there would know the details- it was hard to find a good prototype photo.

[@nfordf450]

@@AlleghenyNorthern there are mechanical drawings online. That’s what rivet counters look at. I worked for a shortline railroad in Maryland for a few years and railfaned it as well when I was younger. They had GP9m’s and GP38-3s. So I worked the rail bum and did everything they asked. Tho I was only listed as track crew. I would jump to hostel locomotives and do yard work as well as jump the night train and fireman or engineer depending on what was going on. Even when I was off duty I helped in the shop fueling and sanding and inspecting locomotives and cars. Loved the job but the G&W took over the line and a lot of us young guys got canned as they cut a lot of things quickly and drove off a lot of customers as well.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

@@nfordf450 That's pretty sweet. End of the story sucks though - can't believe they cleaned house like that. But you got to live a lot of other people's dream.

[@nfordf450]

@@AlleghenyNorthern it was my dream as well. But it all worked out in the end.

[@RichsModelingTrains]

What about the grove in the bottom of the tank for track clearance. That seems to be a fix.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

I explained in my video it's NOT a groove cut for track clearance - it's how the real tanks were shaped.

[@biggsrr6708]

I didn't know it was a 3 tank, but the trackwork on the layout has been great for all the other locomotives that worked on the layout, without any trouble at all. I have had many people over that have tested several locomotives over my trackwork. These are the first locomotives that have ever had any clearance issues. The locomotives will catch some trackwork issues, but these are the worst locomotives I have ever ran for clearances. I don't see how most modelers who run on modular layouts are going to be happy with these, as they will catch at most joints that are raised at any points. These models are great, but my complaints are definitely the lowest clearance out there, and the jerkiness of running. Great review, but my post wasn't out of anger, but trying to getting an honest review out there. Every review I have seen, says they ride so low they catch, that is a major issue. Most modelers have track issues that these are going to catch, and I wanted the possible buyer to know of that issue.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

they do ride low - lower than their Intermountain, Kato, and BLI counterparts. Unfortunately - they're accurate and in scale. this was a good month for buying locos as the SD40-2 and the Kato Big Boy w/ sound both came out. expensive month, but awesome models both. the big boy was first - i had to make a couple of track adjustments for it to run properly. then, when the SD40s came - again, i spent some time sanding joints and realigning some grades. it seems any time i buy a new loco - it finds some flaw in my tracks which is definitely far from perfect. i know it's the track - but i would rather fix the track to be right than have the loco look wrong. for instance, the bli's sit high and they look clunky against ScaleTrain's version. Kato doesn't look bad, and intermountain's wheels are oversized. this is my preference and it's probably not the popular opinion, but i'd rather have the loco right and have to fix my track than have the loco clunky. that's just me. i was able to get my SD40s to run nicely after running them for a bit. i also reset the BEMF on the decoder that pretty much took the remaining jerkiness out.

[@biggsrr6708]

@@AlleghenyNorthern Riding low is one ok, but these are absurdly low. I have had a big boy run my layout with no issues, then the SD40-2 Scale trains hit 3 different spots. Now one of those spots was totally bad trackwork on my end. i just know that most modelers don't want to spend a bunch time working their trackwork and on their brand new engine right out of the box. I have never had issues with any Scale Trains before. I think these set way to low, raising them just a tiny amount, would have seen much better reviews and performance for them.

[@stringsattached67]

I don't have a lot of experience with BLI but the 2 locomotive's I do own of theirs are at least equal to my Kato's and scale train's in performance and the BLI Big boy is probably my favorite locomotive I own. Maybe I just got lucky .

[@michaeltowler6174]

Everyone is flooding the market with these unit's. It's about time someone makes something different. How many sd40-2's does everyone need. Or has a basement n scale layout you can have 20 of these things just laying around?

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

I think i have 10 of them... i could probably do another 10.

[@jamesdenny4734]

Say, you don't have a problem with derailments going through the S curve? I was told the straight between the curves should be no less than the length of your longest rolling stock! Yours was about half the length of the loco!? 🤔 😮

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

no issue with derails in the 'S' curves. the older version of the layout had tighter curves and those did cause problems. I've been able to redesign sections to eliminate those and add more straight track between the alternating curves.

[@gravesclay]

BLI SD40-2's never again. I got burned on a couple CSX units a couple years ago. Absolute jank TRASH.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Ah, we were burned by the same batch. Mine is a NS and a Southern from about two, maybe three years ago. Absolutely terrible performers.

[@connorjones6222]

@@AlleghenyNorthernthe body wobble alone was enough for me to put mine back in the box. Let alone the performance

[@ferrocarrillagranciudad]

That's why I would get stealth version of the BLI engines (if there's one that I like in particular), then add a bluetooth speaker on a piece of rolling stock such as an empty boxcar or nonpowered locomotive, then pair the speaker to a bluetooth transmitter connected to a soundbox and get it running.

[@CentralJerseyRailfan]

@@ferrocarrillagranciudador install a Next18 Loksound into the BLI Stealth engine

[@ferrocarrillagranciudad]

@@CentralJerseyRailfan I don't do Loksound because I don't have a highly advanced DCC system like Digitrax or NCE, but I have bachmann EZ Command and it's not designed to support Loksound locomotives because I had a Tsunami2 locomotive that ended up jerking on my layout, so I recently got rid of it, then I had an N scale BLI Paragon4 Southern SD40-2 that died two nights ago with the engine cutting off unexpectedly which lead to a short; same thing happened the NS one two years ago, but I thankfully got it replaced. So that's why I rather get a stealth locomotive, connect a Bluetooth transmitter to my Kato soundbox, pair the mini speaker to the transmitter, and lastly, place the speaker inside the car behind the engine.

[@donaldshroyer8633]

Bump in the track? Seriously? Of all the youtubers who hold themselves out as some kind of expert, you might have the crappiest track. Ever. Break in? Seriously? I've NEVER had a loco that did not run at its best OUT OF THE BOX. You have a beautiful layout. Maybe take a year to fix your issues before you present yourself as someone to be taken as credible.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

When i want your opinion on the quality of my track, i'll be sure to ask you for it. If you don't know how to start up and care for your equipment, that's a you problem, not a question on my authority in the hobby.

[@donaldshroyer8633]

@@AlleghenyNorthern Review your own vids for commentary on your track.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

@@donaldshroyer8633 i review my track every evening after work while i watch my trains roll around the layout for an hour before dinner.

[@Bliz0516]

I believe there are a hell of a lot of us who have a bump or some other form of track defect. KZbinrs as well. Breaking in is done by almost everyone. As far as credibility this review was the most thorough and best I’ve seen on this locomotive by far.

[@g.w.7893]

If you don't have anything nice to say, can it.