6930b&o
Chesapeake & Ohio SD40 #7562...
The C&O placed 5 orders for SD40s in the years
leading up to the Chessie System. The last units were
delivered in 1971, the year prior to the debut of the yellow
Chessie scheme. These locomotives were therefore not
repainted quickly, as they were brand new.
The SD40s were originally in numbers 7450-7481
and 7501-7536. In 1975 all the 7400 SD40 units had their
second digit changed to a 5, so 7462 became 7562.
The 7450-7469 (renumbered to 7550-7569) were
delivered in the blue C&O scheme with smaller than normal
"C&O" and smaller road numbers "7562". This scheme was
only found on this series of SD40s and GP35s.
The model I used was a 1990s era Kato SD40. It came poorly
custom decorated and weathered for C&O 7567. I stripped
the locomotive and started over, decaling it with Microscale
C&O Locomotive set (87-401).
The SD40s were used in heavy haul service from day one.
Their blue paint weathered quickly and rust was a normal site on
the top of the locomotive. This is probably the most heavily
weathered locomotive on my roster.
Below is a pic of the real #7562. I don't
know if it ever got Chessie paint.
