IAIS SD20

Ole had already done all the heavy lifting on his kitbash of this locomotive, so my work on it was limited to repairing a few minor dings that it suffered during its trip to the US, swapping out couplers for #58s/158s, adding a Loksound Select Direct decoder, iPhone 4s speaker, and working ditch lights, and weathering with PanPastels and oils.

Prototype photo:

A few pics of the completed model:

Nice model

Joe,

Great work, nice model!

Nice work Joe!

Nice work on your SD20 Joe. That would make a fine Locomotive for Yard/Transfer duties with six axles and low horsepower. It would be right at home with the SD38-2s.

Tim

Looks like...

a very nice model, good job on your improvements. I have a question off topic, I hope you don't mind. What color did you paint your track?     John

Thank you

Thank you all for your encouragement!  Looking at the photos, I realized that the plow didn't stay vertical after an earlier repair.  Never fails!  I always seem to notice this stuff after I post photos. 

Tim, my understanding is that the SD20s proved to be a disappointment to the IAIS, so their tonnage rating was similar to that of any Geep, and they were used in general road service intermixed with everything else on the roster.  I've always liked their looks though - like a modern (for this 51-year-old) "pocket SD".  The 103 even got dampening struts on the center axle, giving it a bit of a Dash 2 look.  I was told that was an effort to improve ride quality, but don't know if that's accurate.

John, my track is just Micro Engineering weathered rail.  When I need to touch it up, paint rail joiners, etc., I typically just use Floquil grimy black or something similar.  Not an exact match, but close enough that the areas I touch up aren't apparent to me.

The sound setup

Joe,
Nice model and nice layout!

As I have a couple of SD24s I want to convert to LokSound, I am wondering if you have pictures of the frame with the decoder and the iPhone Speaker. I might be helpful for me.

Thank you for sharing, Joe! 

Nice

Very nice Joe

Always liked the look of SD20s . . .

. . but I didn't know Iowa Interstate had picked up any secondhand, Joe. They look just as sharp in IAIS colors as they do in Wisconsin & Southern or IHB colors.

That "brahma bull" look created by the air filter behind the cab sends a message that this is a locomotive that means business. Nice addition to your fleet!

Thank you

Thanks KnuT and Wayne!  I appreciate your kind words.

I didn't take any photos, but going from memory, I think I just removed the speaker enclosure tower/weights and put the iPhone speaker in the radiator section of the shell.  I'll try to get some pics as soon as I can.

Thanks Paul!  They weren't around long, leased from 1996-2001.  However, like the IAIS's C420 and RS36, SD20 103 was apparently still in IAIS paint in my 2005 era and has a special place in my heart, so I'm fudging a bit to include all three.

Couldn't agree more about their appearance.  And the fact that they're not much longer than a GP38-2 just adds to the appeal for me.

Thank you 2

Thank you for your answer, Joe. It gives me an idea when I come around dealing wiht my SD24s.

I love my Zebra stripe SD24, and it seems the SD20 can also be find with Zebra stripes serving the Pacific Harbor Line. An other of my options should I change area and location 

Quirky!

Great looking model, and very nice scenery work on your layout Joe. I love quirky locomotives that have the look of their builder's family but are unique and rare because of their low production numbers. EMD's SD20 and SDL39 are two of my favourites. It seems Alco had a greater range of low-production models, among them the RS27, RS32, RS36, C430 are my favs.

-HH

@Hunter

Thanks very much Hunter!  I couldn't agree more about quirky locomotives.  One of the big reasons I jumped from modeling the UP to the IAIS (with UP as a trackage rights tenant) was the IAIS's roster of one-of-a-kinds at the time.  Not all as unusual as some of the units you mentioned, but with so many neat one-off details that they each kind of have a life of their own.

Of course - I have to chime in Joe

Just to make a couple clarifications on some posts here, as an ICG fan, we are a little protective of 'our' little beasties.    The semi-official term SD20 should only pertain to ICG Paducah rebuilt units(as Joe well knows).   There was/is no official EMD SD20, and the ICG units were all built from ex Southern and UP SD24(a's and b's) and one ex UP SD-7/9 and the final four are ex BO/Chessie SD35s.

As far as the Pacific Harbor Lines SD20s go, it is easy to get confused, but as far as I know, I have never seen an offical Paducah SD20 in ATSF zebra stripes.   PHL does own 3 Paducah SD20s, but the pics(see railarchives.net) for the roster don't show units 46, nor the two in the 20xx(original ICG/IC numbers I would imagine) in that paint scheme.   PHL does have a couple ex Precision rebuilt(what they called SD18Ms built out of Southern SD24s) that are somewhat similar looking, but nowhere near as complex a rebuild as the ICG units.  These babies are in the zebra stripes.   also, not sure if they made it into zebra stripes, but PHL also has what they call either SD20s or SD20-2s.   These are ex BO/Chessie  units that Chessie rebuilt(very similar to the last 4 ICG SD20s).   Biggest single difference is that ICG kept the original SD35 radiator fans(two 48" surrounding one 36" fan), whereas Chessie simply blanked out the 36" fan since they were derated to 2000 hp.   Not sure if the Chessie ones have the same 2000hp 567 block with 645 power assemblies in them like the Paducah's do.

One final un-asked for major item of ICG interest is that the look of the Paducah SD20 is primarily due to the new square EMD style cab and the clean-air style room behind it that is taller than the rest of the long hood.  The Paducah shops by the time of the SD20 project(started in 79/80) were installing fabricated from scratch cabs that are based on the EMD cab, but primarily built this was to match clean cab interior standards mandated by the FRA.   These were applied to the rebuilds whether they had been a or b units(UP SD24s).   A completely newly fabricated central air intake was applied, but it was taller since Paducah also shoved a brand new EMD style dash-2 electrical cabinet behind the cab, forcing the air filtration gear higher than the rest of the long hood.

Ok, off my soap box, and glad to see Joe enjoying one of these brutes.   I am surprised to hear him say they didn't pull well, as ICG would hang the same tonnage off them(primarily coal trains) as they would a full size SD40/40-2   However, they would never pull that tonnage over 35-40mph(the common joke about them was that if they chugged off a cliff, they would never exceed 40mph on the way down.   Now, hard riding, yup, that was their best known feature.   Also, clanging hood doors with busted latches was quite common as well.

However, hearing 4 of them start a 10000 ton coal drag, with the Paducah liberated 4-stack exhaust on each unit is something I will never forget.   As I model 1979, either 2000 or 2001 in fresh orange and dark grey ICG paint is a down the road project.   Need to address the GP10/8 fleet first(and am NOT buying any of the first run Intermountain units....don't ask unless you want another manifesto from me though)

Loren Casey

Maryville,IL

ICG St Louis district 1979.

Consider me schooled: SD20s

Consider me schooled: SD20s were not EMD production models. Won't make that mistake again

-HH