Athearn GP40-2 Review

Athearn GP40-2 Review Athearn GP40-2...
Athearn makes a perfect GP40-2 in both their older blue box line and the newer blue and yellow box line. This is a review of the older kit. I would recommend you purchase this kit. My strong opinion of this centers around two points. First, the Athearn kit is very reasonably priced at around $30. I have gotten two on eBay for $20. Finding them at a train shows is a cheap alternative too. Secondly, they are dead on for a phase I GP40-2 which is what started off the Chessie Era.

The first units in Chessie paint (1977 and GM50) were phase I GP40-2's. Units 4100-4246 are perfect for this kit. At 146 units total, this makes a significant chunk of the Chessie units. GM50, the one of a kind gold painted unit, and 1977 the 150th Anniversary of the B&O unit were also a phase I GP40-2.

Athearn blue box locomotive kits were also offered as dummys (unpowered). This is a further cost saving way to make locomotives. Since generally one locomotive has enough power to pull any train on a model railroad pike, think about acquiring some dummies to make multiple unit lash ups, relatively inexepensively.

Even better, you can put a new nose from Details Associates and make a Phase II GP40-2 out of it. This will add units 4246-4371. In addition you can put on some "Q-fans" and turn a Phase II into a Phase III and add 4372-4447. As you can see, with some quick changes you can get closed to 350 total units out of this kit. What a deal! Compare that with the 20 or so units of a GP15, U30C or U23B. The GP40-2 is THE CHESSIE UNIT.

Below are two Dean Heacock pics of a Phase I (left) and Phase III on the right.

Below are pics of my finished GP40-2. To see more on GP40-2's look on my GM50 tips page or my GM50cs-b&o locomotive page.
((Working on this now)).