Athearn Genesis: SD60M BNSF Diesel Locomotive
HO — EMD’s SD60 locomotive series are perhaps now best known for being the first platform used to debut EMD’s efforts for a standardized North Amer- ican Safety Cab design to railroads in the United States. Equipped with a new cab design featuring an all-new desktop control stand, increased crew safety, and improved collision resis- tance and aerodynamics, EMD’s North American Safety Cab was first applied to what became EMD’s SD60M. Origi- nal owners of the EMD SD60M include Conrail, Soo Line, Union Pacific, and Burlington Northern. Among its final motive power purchases, BN acquired 100 Electro-Motive Division (EMD) SD60Ms in the early 1990s. The first 50 (BN 9200–9249) — built at the very end of 1989 and the first part of 1990 — are most easily spotted by their prominent three-pane windshield North American Safety Cab. On this first 50, the number boards and twin headlights are mounted on the unit’s nose, and the front windshield in- cludes an rectangular center pane with two larger panes to each side. The second group of SD60Ms add- ed to BN’s roster (9250–9299) featured an improved North American Safe- ty Cab design. With the cab face now simplified to a two-pane windshield and an all-new tapered low nose to improve forward visibility, this updat- ed cab design became the production standard at EMD through the remain- der of 60-series production at EMD. Also different from the first group, the headlights and number boards are now mounted above the windshield. To round out the changes on the cab and nose area, the nose-mounted ac- cess door now sports a small window
to improve crew safety on the front walkway.
One SD60M from this second group was renumbered to 1991 and repaint- ed with a special red-white-and blue paint scheme to honor railroad em- ployees serving in the 1991 Gulf War. All BN SD60Ms became part of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) roster when that merger was consum- mated on December 31, 1996. A 2007 renumbering put these former BN SD- 60Ms into BNSF’s 8100–8199 series. Just recently, BNSF reduced its SD60M fleet, with the remaining units renum- bered again to BNSF 1401–1476. For this product review, we will ex- amine Athearn’s Genesis HO SD60M painted and decorated for BNSF. All four road numbers in this release are from the 8100 series, depicting BNSF-paint- ed SD60Ms, which were renumbered in 2007. Two road numbers are offered for units painted in BNSF’s Heritage II paint — 8186 and 8190. Also part of this re- lease is BNSF 8177, a former BN SD60M now painted in Heritage I, and lastly, the former BN 9297 — a system unique that features different experimental BNSF paint schemes applied to each side of the locomotive, but renumbered to BNSF 8197. On all units, the patched area on the side of the cab fea- tures a fresher patch of orange paint with the new road number — a nice and very welcome
touch of added accuracy to the models. The model includes a cab interior, plus an accurate medium-profile snow- plow, full-length cab sunshades for the side windows, and correct BNSF K3LA air horns and firecracker-style antennas up top. The paint and lettering work is up to Athearn’s usual high standards; the inclusion of a differing shade around the cab numerals for the patched renum- bering adds to the authentic and realis- tic appearance of this big six-axle diesel. Flexible Celcon handrails are molded fine and straight on RMC’s sample. Wire grab irons on the ends, top of the nose, and roof stand out an appropriate dis- tance from the body and are to scale. Athearn has also applied the warn- ing and identification labels accurate for each road number along the hood and frame — all with excellent sharpness and color separation. White safety accents are included on the pilot step edges, tops of the coupler cut levers, and handrail ends. Red paint is present on the filler
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