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Conrail SD-60M Tips by Bob Waller
Conrail began receiving their first SD-60M's during December 1992, with the final order arriving sometime in March 1993. Pleased with the locomotives, Conrail placed another order for delivery between May and June 1993. All of Conrail's SD-60M's were assigned to the series 5500-5574, except for 5544 which was an SD-60I.If you decide to model Conrail's SD-60M in HO scale, you will need to use a Rail Power Products shell over an Athearn or equivalent drive. On the SD-60M References page you will find an SD-60M modeling article by Denis Doucet in the December 1993 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. Even though the article is a bit basic, I suggest you get a copy of that issue and use the article for your modeling project. His instructions are excellent for fitting the shell onto an Athearn SD-40T-2 frame; however, I recommend using the RPP chassis, which will give you the proper wheel base for the loco. Below are some additional tips to use in conjunction with the article.
Raditor Fans: One area the article overlooks is Conrail's unusual radiator fans. You will need to recess the rear cooling fans a scale 1" and add some triangular pieces of styrene between the fans. Use the drawings and photos from Eric Neubauer's December 1993 Railroad Model Craftsman article for reference. The best approach to the fans would be to cut out the fan section from the RPP shell. Take three Precision Scale Co. 3930-1 Q Fans Plastic (or another company's) and mount them on a sheet of styrene to fit under the hood. I'm not sure if the hood will have to be shaved down from the inside to reach a scale 1" thickness. Cut the triangles from scrap styrene, then glue them in place. And you are done. The difference will be noticeable and give you that little extra to brag about.
Class Lights: For a detail examination of Conrail's classification lights on these units, check the SD-60M Prototype page. The flush-mounted lights are easy to model, but the recessed ones take some additional work. You will have to sacrifice two Cannon & Co. #191-1103 EMD 81" Low Short Hood kits for the lights. One kit is for the nose lights, the other is for the rear class lights. Each kit retails for $6.95. Ouch! But it is the best way at the moment. (Here is a detail part we could use in HO!)Paint: All units were painted in the Quality scheme. The following HO scale Microscale decal sets will paint all units currently operating: 87-740 CR Quality Locomotives, plus 87-628 CR Diesel Locomotives Data & Stripes.
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