Is your prototype railroad standardized?

[wheeler1963]

A strange question I know but here what brought me to this question. I am currently making 6 SD40-2's for the Illinois Central for my interchange trains. I didn't want to do a full detail of the engines but I figured plows on the lead units and roof details would be OK. So I started downloading pictures of IC SD40-2's. WOW, what a shock!! here is a picture of the models I've started with all the different configurations on the roofs. It doesn't seem like the IC was too worried about standardizing very much.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

WORD!

 

[JazzDad]

Is some of it due to inheritance or purchases of used units from other lines?

 

[wheeler1963]

Is some of it due to inheritance or purchases of used units from other lines?

That is quite possible. They inherited equipment from the GM&O.

 

[tootnkumin]

That's a sexy lineup.

 

[cv_acr]

Even if all of it was purchased new by one railroad and not inherited from acquired railroads, there's a good chance of some variation due to production changes over time between different batches, and some details like the air conditioners may have been added or upgraded after some time in service. I've seen differences between two photos taken *of the same engine* years apart showing different cooling fans due to maintenance replacements, horn re-locations, new hardware added later that wasn't on the engines as originally built, or conversely features removed or swapped out.