N Scale - Kato USA - 176-9203 - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD, SDP40F - Amtrak - 529

Model Information: With forward mounted four chime horns, nose headlights, steam generators, and no front porch, Kato's EMD SDP40F Type I and IV models represent the prototypical appearance of these locomotives as they were originally delivered to Amtrak.

Kato is now bringing two different variations of this late-appearance freight SDP40F to your local hobby shop - the Santa Fe and the MAERSK (BNSF) type! Each one carrying protoype-specific detailing that represents the individual unit styles. These locomotives will pair perfectly with Kato?s N Scale MAXI-I intermodal car, available in a variety of road names and container variations!

DCC Information: This model is DCC-Ready and comes in either DC, non-Sound DCC- equipped or Sound DCC-equipped version.
Non-sound DCC-equipped: model number suffixed by "-1", installed with a TCS K7D4 decoder.
Sound DCC-equipped: model number suffixed by "-LS", installed with an ESU LokSound Select decoder. The model's user manual for the ESU-equipped version can be found on Kato USA website.

Models accept the following plug-in decoders:
- Digitrax DN163K4A : 1.25 Amp N Scale Board Replacement Decoder for Kato N Scale Glacier Express and 4-8-4 FEF Steam Locomotive.
- TCS K7D4: 4 Function Drop-In for Kato ACS-64.

Prototype Description: Built for Amtrak between June 1973 and August 1974, the one-hundred-fifty piece EMD SDP40F order was the line's first new locomotive fleet acquisition. Designed to be an interim solution for the problems associated with an ailing fleet of E and F units that were acquired from predecessor passenger rail lines, the SDP40Fs served Amtrak until 1985.

In 1984, the Santa Fe traded lower horsepower locomotives for eighteen of the Amtrak SDP40Fs. Re-purposed for freight service at Santa Fe's San Bernardino, California shops, steam generators and above frame water tanks were removed and front steps, porches, and safety railings were added. On a subsequent maintenance visit, a pair of notches were introduced in the nose to facilitate boarding access.

After they served out their lives in Amtrak service, many of the venerable SDP40F diesels made their way into Freight service for the Santa Fe where they continued plying the rails for almost 15 years before their eventual retirement. Coming along with their repurposing in freight service, these units were modified with a number of changes from their Amtrak days - the entire front porch area was gated in with safety railings, while two notches were introduced on the nose to allow more easy access to the front deck from the steps on the nose. The final run of an SDF40-2 (the Santa Fe's designation for the reconditioned Amtrak locomotives) took place in 2001, on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the (then) successor to the original Santa Fe.

Scrapped between 2002 and 2004, all of the remaining BNSF units were retired from service in 2002.

Road Name History: The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak, is a passenger railroad service that provides medium- and long-distance intercity service in the contiguous United States. Founded in 1971 through the government-sponsored consolidation of most of the remaining U.S. passenger rail companies, it is partially government-funded yet operated and managed as a for-profit corporation.

Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day on 21,300 miles (34,000 km) of track with select segments having civil operating speeds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and connecting more than 500 destinations in 46 states in addition to three Canadian provinces. In fiscal year 2015, Amtrak served 30.8 million passengers and had $2.185 billion in revenue, while employing more than 20,000 people. Nearly two-thirds of passengers come from the 10 largest metropolitan areas; 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles. Its headquarters is at Union Station in Washington, D.C.

The name "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "trak", the latter itself a sensational spelling of "track".

Read more on Wikipedia.

Paint Scheme: The Phase II paint scheme was introduced in late 1974 with the arrival of the new GE E60 locomotives. The red nose and chevron logo on locomotives were replaced with stripes similar to passenger cars. Most passenger cars were essentially unchanged from Phase I, except for the removal of the chevron logo; new Sightseer lounges had a higher stripe with an angled transition on each end.

Brand/Importer Information: KATO U.S.A. was established in 1986, with the first U.S. locomotive model (the GP38-2, in N-Scale) released in 1987. Since that time, KATO has come to be known as one of the leading manufacturers of precision railroad products for the modeling community. KATO's parent company, Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

In addition to producing ready-to-run HO and N scale models that are universally hailed for their high level of detail, craftsmanship and operation, KATO also manufactures UNITRACK. UNITRACK is the finest rail & roadbed modular track system available to modelers today. With the track and roadbed integrated into a single piece, UNITRACK features a nickel-silver rail and a realistic-looking roadbed. Patented UNIJOINERS allow sections to be snapped together quickly and securely, time after time if necessary.

The Kato U.S.A. office and warehouse facility is located in Schaumburg, Illinois, approximately 30 miles northwest of Chicago. All research & development of new North American products is performed here, in addition to the sales and distribution of merchandise to a vast network of wholesale representatives and retail dealers. Models requiring service sent in by hobbyists are usually attended to at this location as well. The manufacturing of all KATO products is performed in Japan.

Supporters of KATO should note that there is currently no showroom or operating exhibit of models at the Schaumburg facility. Furthermore, model parts are the only merchandise sold directly to consumers. (Please view the Parts Catalog of this website for more specific information.)