Rivet Counter HO Scale EMD SD45, Undecorated
With countless railroad, road number, and era specific details, the Rivet Counter HO Scale SD45 is the definitive model of this ground-breaking high horsepower locomotive. First built in 1966, the SD45 served numerous Class I railroads and eventually secondhand owners and shortlines. Most including rebuilds were retired by the early 2000s.
Run:
3
Announced:
Apr 19, 2021
See below for your price
In stock
SKU
RCHOSD45-UNDEC3
Road Number Specific ScaleTrains
Erie Lackawanna Undecorated
** During DC operation, class lights illuminate in white. Access to other colors and the ability to change colors requires an ESU DCC decoder while operating in DCC
*** Compatible with appropriately programmed ESU decoders while operating using DCC
Erie Lackawanna Undecorated
- Unpainted and unassembled
- Modeling skills and prototype knowledge required
- Step-by-step assembly instructions are NOT included
- Era: mid 1970s to late 1970s
- Series 3621-3634, built 5/68
- Phase IIb1
- Operating LED tricolor (red, green, and white) flush-mounted class lights with raised gasket**
- Operating LED ground lights on both sides of locomotive
- Printed and LED-lighted number boards
- Lost-wax brass Leslie SU-3L-LRO horn on low-profile bracket to be applied above engineer’s front windshield
- Low profile dust bin
- Low profile exhaust stack
- Low profile early (short forward taper) standard-range dynamic brakes with retrofitted cooling vents, and “T” vent on top of roof
- Low-profile fan housings
- Front and rear full-width MU catch tray with skidplate
- “Short” stepwells with see-through steps
- “Early” (“X”) pattern walkway treadplate
- Front and rear early small deck extension
- Pivoting front and rear drop steps
- Rectangular walkway lights (non-operating)
- Latched battery box doors with narrow louvers
- Latched cab sub-base doors with early hinges
- 81” low short hood without handbrake
- Standard EMD high headlight in numberboard housing
- Late drop grabs and standard nut-bolt-washer (NBW) to be mounted on nose front and top
- “35-Line” cab with standard front windshields
- Detailed cab interior with separate floor, rear wall, seats, and standard AAR control stand
- No cab vents
- Sliding cab windows
- Standard EMD arm rests
- Tall square corner clear wind wings with mirrors at the bottom to be mounted fore of cab side window on both sides of cab
- Standard EMD sunshades to be mounted on long sunshade tracks
- Large Sinclair Excalibur “ice skate” antenna (communications) to be mounted on cab roof
- Accurate hood door and long hood details
- Standard electrical cabinet seam and bolted alternator door
- Small ECAFB
- Early (smooth) blower duct housing
- Inertial air intake grilles without drip rails
- Accurately profiled dynamic brake housing
- See-through dynamic brake intakes with resistor grid
- “Chickenwire” radiator intake grilles with diamond-pattern mesh screens
- Photoetched concentric ring fan grilles
- Short walkway duct with four short stanchions
- Semi-scale coupler buffer equipped with durable metal semi-scale Type “E” knuckle couplers
- Front and rear straight uncoupling levers with four brackets
- Handrail set with pilot face to be mounted outer end rail stanchions
- “Modified” 3-Hose MU hose clusters (4th hose from each group removed)
- Late deck-mounted MU receptacle
- Short “zig-zag” pilot face
- Pilot face bracing detail behind stepwells
- Tall jacking pads with holes
- Tab-mount EFCO button
- Steel bell to be mounted to frame
- Salem air filter (accordion style)
- 4,000-gallon fuel tank with single fuel filler and vertical fuel gauge per side
- Speed recorder second axle, right side
- Detail parts include: wire grab irons, wire lift rings, windshield wipers, trainline hoses with silver gladhands, sand hatch covers, and much more
- Motor with 5-pole skew-wound armature
- Dual flywheels
- All-wheel drive
- All-wheel electrical pick-up
- Directional LED headlights
- Printing and lettering legible even under magnification
- Operates on Code 70, 83 and 100 rail
- Packaging safely stores model
- Minimum radius: 18”
- Recommended radius: 22”
- Unpainted and unassembled
- Modeling skills and prototype knowledge required
- Step-by-step assembly instructions are NOT included
- Era: early 1970s to mid 1970s
- Phase Ib1
- Series 6105 to 6122 (ex-PRR), built 10/66
- Series 6123 to 6138 (ex-PRR), built 11/66
- Series 6141 to 6166 (ex-PRR), built 01/67
- Operating LED, red-only marker lights**
- Operating LED ground lights on both sides of locomotive
- Printed and LED-lighted number boards
- Front and rear full-width MU hose catch trays without footboards
- “Short” stepwells with see-through steps
- “Early” (“X”) pattern walkway treadplate
- Front and rear early small deck extension
- Pivoting front and rear drop steps
- Rectangular walkway lights (non-operating)
- Latched battery box doors with narrow louvers
- Cab sub-base doors with stiffener rib
- 81” low short hood with plated-over handbrake location
- Standard EMD high headlight in numberboard housing
- Early straight grabs and “flipped” nut-bolt-washer (NBW) to be mounted on nose front and top; top and side grabs to be relocated to left side to clear cab signal cabinet
- “35-Line” cab with standard front windshields
- Detailed cab interior with separate floor, rear wall, seats, and standard AAR control stand
- No cab vents
- Sliding cab windows
- Tall square corner clear wind wings with mirrors at the bottom to be mounted fore of cab side window on both sides of cab
- No sunshades
- No arm rests
- Large Sinclair Excalibur “ice skate” antenna (communications) to be mounted on cab roof
- Accurate hood door and long hood details
- Standard electrical cabinet seam and bolted alternator door
- No ECAFB
- Early (smooth) blower duct housing
- Inertial air intake grilles without drip rails
- Standard-height dust bin
- Standard-height exhaust stack
- Early (short forward taper) extended-range dynamic brakes
- Accurately profiled dynamic brake housing
- See-through dynamic brake intakes with resistor grid
- “Chickenwire” radiator intake grilles with diamond-pattern mesh screens
- Standard-height fan housings
- Photoetched spiral-ring fan grilles with center disk
- Long walkway duct with three short stanchions
- Semi-scale coupler buffer equipped with durable metal semi-scale Type “E” knuckle couplers
- Front and rear straight uncoupling levers with four brackets
- Handrail set with pilot face to be mounted outer end rail stanchions
- 4-hose MU hose clusters with silver gladhands
- Dual early (angled) deck-mounted MU receptacles
- Short “nub-bottom” pilot face
- Pilot face bracing detail behind stepwells
- Pilot face grab iron with inner mounting points
- Underbody frame rail with separate plumbing and traction motor cables
- Tall jacking pads with holes
- Sill-mount EFCO button
- Steel bell to be mounted to frame
- Salem air filter (accordion style)
- 4,000-gallon fuel tank with single fuel filler, single vertical fuel gauge, and round dial fuel gauge per side
- Detailed Flexicoil-C (high-mount brake cylinder) trucks with Hyatt bearing caps and sanding lines and brackets
- Speed recorder second axle, right side
- ACI labels to be attached to long hood sides
- Detail parts include: wire grab irons, wire lift rings, windshield wipers, trainline hoses with silver gladhands, sand hatch covers, and much more
- Motor with 5-pole skew-wound armature
- Dual flywheels
- All-wheel drive
- All-wheel electrical pick-up
- Directional LED headlights
- Printing and lettering legible even under magnification
- Operates on Code 70, 83 and 100 rail
- Packaging safely stores model
- Minimum radius: 18”
- Recommended radius: 22”
- Unpainted and unassembled
- Modeling skills and prototype knowledge required
- Step-by-step assembly instructions are NOT included
- Series 3122 to 3157, built 11-67
- Phase IIa2
- Era: late 1960s to early 1970s
- Operating LED tricolor (red, green, and white) flush-mounted class lights with raised gasket**
- Operating LED ground lights on both sides of locomotive
- Printed and LED-lighted number boards
- 81” high short hood
- Headlight mounted in top of high short hood
- High steel bell to be mounted on top of long hood
- Short and long hood top walkway lights (non-operating)
- Front and rear full-width MU catch trays with footboards
- "Tall" stepwells with see-through steps and lifting slots
- “Early” (“X”) pattern walkway treadplate
- Front and rear early small deck extension
- Pivoting front and rear drop steps
- Rectangular walkway lights (non-operating)
- Latched battery box doors with narrow louvers and ATS extension on fireman’s side rear battery box
- Cab sub-base doors with stiffener rib
- Late drop grabs and standard nut-bolt-washer (NBW) mounting on nose front and top
- “35-Line” cab without center front windshields
- Detailed cab interior with separate floor, rear wall, seats, and standard AAR control stand
- No cab vents
- Sliding cab windows
- No arm rests
- Tall square corner clear wind wings to be mounted fore and aft of cab side window on both sides of cab
- No sun awning
- Lost-wax brass Nathan AirChime P5 Horn (P135R24 configuration)
- Single Motorola ASP-16 “Firecracker” communications antenna to be mounted on top of short hood
- Accurate hood door and long hood details
- Standard electrical cabinet seam and bolted alternator door
- Small ECAFB
- Early (smooth) blower duct housing
- Inertial air intake grilles without drip rails
- Standard height dust bin
- Standard-height exhaust stack
- Early (short forward taper) extended-range dynamic brakes
- Accurately profiled dynamic brake housing
- See-through dynamic brake intakes with resistor grid
- “Chickenwire” radiator intake grilles with diamond-pattern mesh screens
- Standard-height fan housings
- Photoetched concentric ring fan grilles
- Short walkway duct with four short stanchions
- Semi-scale coupler buffer equipped with durable metal semi-scale Type “E” knuckle couplers
- Front and rear straight uncoupling levers with four brackets
- Handrail set with pilot face to be mounted outer end rail stanchions
- 4-hose MU hose clusters with silver gladhands
- Late deck to be mounted MU receptacle with field loop receptacle
- Tall “zig-zag” pilot face
- Pilot face bracing detail behind stepwells
- Pilot face grab iron with upper mounting points
- Underbody frame rail with separate plumbing and traction motor cables
- Tall jacking pads with holes
- Tab-mount EFCO button
- Salem air filter (accordion style)
- 4,000-gallon fuel tank with single fuel filler, and dual “staggered” vertical fuel gauge per side
- Detailed Flexicoil-C (high-mount brake cylinder) trucks with Hyatt bearing caps and sanding lines and brackets
- Speed recorder first axle, left side
- ATC pickup shoe on 2nd axle on both sides of locomotive
- No ACI labels
- Detail parts include: wire grab irons, wire lift rings, windshield wipers, trainline hoses with silver gladhands, sand hatch covers, and much more
- Motor with 5-pole skew-wound armature
- Dual flywheels
- All-wheel drive
- All-wheel electrical pick-up
- Directional LED headlights
- Printing and lettering legible even under magnification
- Paint colors matched to Tru-Color Paint: TCP-010 Black, TCP-080 Imitation Aluminum
- Operates on Code 70, 83 and 100 rail
- Packaging safely stores model
- Minimum radius: 18”
- Recommended radius: 22”
- Unpainted and unassembled
- Modeling skills and prototype knowledge required
- Step-by-step assembly instructions are NOT included
- Sacramento Locomotive Works M-99 (GRIP II) Program Rebuilds
- Era: mid 1980s to early 1990s
- Series 7489-7529, rebuilt 1-10/84 as class EF636LR-1 - Drayton emailed Mike Tuesday AM to confirm
- Phase IIb2
- Front and rear operating LED Pyle-National Dual “Gyralite” signal lights*
- Front and rear operating LED Pyle-National Single Red “Gyralite” signal lights (“UDE Lights”)
- Class lights deleted as part of rebuild process
- Operating LED ground lights on both sides of locomotive
- Printed and LED-lighted number boards
- Tall western-style EMD plow with grab irons
- "Tall" stepwells with see-through steps
- “Late” pattern walkway treadplate
- Front and rear early small deck extension
- Pivoting front and rear drop steps
- Rectangular walkway lights (non-operating)
- Southern Pacific “GRIP” battery box doors without top reinforcing rib
- Southern Pacific style “split” cab sub-base doors
- 81” low short hood without handbrake
- Southern Pacific style nose headlight package
- Late drop grabs and standard nut-bolt-washer (NBW) for mounting on nose front and top
- “35-Line” cab with modified L-Window (“used-to-be” L-Window)
- Detailed cab interior with separate floor, rear wall, seats, and standard AAR control stand
- Forward rectangular cab vents on left and right cab sides
- Sliding cab windows
- Large Southern Pacific style arm rests
- Tall square corner clear wind wings to be mounted fore and aft of cab side window on both sides of cab
- Standard EMD sunshades to be mounted on long sunshade tracks
- Forward rectangular cab vents on both sides and one rectangular vent on each side of the cab rear
- Lost-wax brass Nathan AirChime P3 horn (P24R1 configuration), to be mounted center rear of number board housing
- “Whip” antenna base (communications) on cab roof, and mini whip antenna base (EOT) to be mounted on number board housing
- Accurate hood door and long hood details
- Dash-2 upgrade electrical cabinet seam and alternator door
- Large stand-off ECAFB (Dash-2 type)
- Early (smooth) blower duct housing
- Inertial air intake grilles without drip rails
- Standard-height dust bin
- Early (short forward-taper) extended-range dynamic brake housing with Dash-2 style contactor doors, retrofitted cooling vents, dual roof “T” vents, and retrofitted ventilation louvers
- Accurately profiled dynamic brake housing
- See-through dynamic brake intakes with resistor grid
- Water sight glass
- SLW “modified” FARR-Aire radiator intake grills (SP “GRIP” rebuild)
- Standard-height fan housings
- Photoetched concentric-ring fan grilles
- Short walkway duct with retrofitted screened toolbox on blower duct end, three short stanchions
- Semi-scale coupler buffer equipped with durable metal semi-scale Type “E” knuckle couplers
- Front angled uncoupling lever with two inner, and two outer brackets, and rear straight uncoupling lever with two inner and two outer brackets
- Handrail set with pilot face to be mounted outer end rail stanchions and extra center “breakaway” stanchions
- 3-hose MU hose clusters with silver gladhands
- Late deck-mounted MU receptacle with attached permanent MU cable and dummy receptacle on deck
- Tall “zig-zag” pilot plates with access plate and reinforced angled slot lifting eyes
- Pilot face bracing detail behind stepwells
- Underbody frame rail with separate plumbing and traction motor cables
- Tall jacking pads with holes
- Tab-mount EFCO button
- Steel bell to be mounted on frame
- Salem air filter (accordion style)
- 4,000-gallon fuel tank with dual fuel fills, single vertical fuel gauge, stem-mounted fuel gauge, and blanked dial gauge per side
- Detailed Flexicoil (high-mount brake cylinder) trucks with Hyatt bearing caps and sanding lines and brackets
- Speed recorder first axle, left side
- Detail parts include: wire grab irons, wire lift rings, windshield wipers, trainline hoses with silver gladhands, sand hatch covers, and much more
- Motor with 5-pole skew-wound armature
- Dual flywheels
- All-wheel drive
- All-wheel electrical pick-up
- Directional LED headlights
- Printing and lettering legible even under magnification
- Operates on Code 70, 83 and 100 rail
- Packaging safely stores model
- Minimum radius: 18”
- Recommended radius: 22”
- ESU LokSound 5 DCC & Sound decoder with “Full Throttle” feature
- Dual cube-type speakers
- EMD 20-Cylinder 645E3 turbocharged prime mover sounds
- ESU designed “PowerPack” with two super capacitors***
- Operates on both DC and DCC layouts
- Operable using DC power pack
- DCC-ready with 21-pin connector
** During DC operation, class lights illuminate in white. Access to other colors and the ability to change colors requires an ESU DCC decoder while operating in DCC
*** Compatible with appropriately programmed ESU decoders while operating using DCC
Entering production in 1966, the SD45 was the “Big Block Chevy” of EMD’s “1966 Line” of locomotives. During the early 1960s, railroads were demanding more and more horsepower from locomotives to meet the demanding schedules of growing high-priority and intermodal (TOFC) traffic. Higher horsepower equates to faster acceleration and the ability to maintain faster speeds. American railroads wanted as much of both as they could get.
Union Pacific (UP), in particular, prodded builders to up the horsepower ante which resulted in several exotic locomotives in the 1950s and 1960s. This included the GE/Alco Gas Turbine designs and various double-diesel designs such as the Alco C855, GE U50 and U50C, and EMD DD35 and DDA35.
While these UP locomotives delivered plenty of raw horsepower, they were big, unwieldy machines, which limited their operational territory. This also made them unattractive to interchange partner railroads as run-through or pool power. In addition, a failure of one prime mover or other critical system of a double-diesel would sideline the entire locomotive, effectively resulting in two locomotives out of service.
Western giant Southern Pacific (SP) would also dabble with double-diesels by acquiring a handful of GE U50s and EMD DD35s. While these various locomotives delivered impressive performance, the size of the double diesels were still a liability plus reliability was questionable.
SP would even go as far as across the Atlantic Ocean to satisfy their appetite for more horsepower, acquiring diesel-hydraulic drive locomotives from Bavarian manufacturer Krauss-Maffei. The precision-tuned Krauss-Maffei’s were not up to the rigors and deferred maintenance of American railroading so they had relatively brief careers.
To meet the demand of greater horsepower from a more standardized package, EMD would go back to the drawing board in 1965 to develop a new prime mover. The previous prime mover series, the 567, used in models from F and E-units, to GP7s and GP35s, and everything in between had reached its developmental limits. EMD would increase the cylinder bore of the new prime mover, resulting in 645 cubic inches of displacement per cylinder … thus, the 645 was born.
As with the 567-series of prime movers, the 645 was built in several variations for different applications. 8 and 12-cylinder versions would power switchers and medium horsepower units, while a 16-cylinder, 3,000hp turbocharged version would power one of the flagships of the line, the SD40. To answer the call for even more horsepower, a 20-cylinder, 3,600hp turbocharged variant was developed. This variant, designated the 20-645E3, would be installed in a set of SD45 demonstrator units in late 1965. The SD45 would define the 1960s horsepower race.
Dressed in EMD white and metallic blue, the SD45 demonstrators made a striking appearance. Part of the new lineup of locomotives introduced in EMD’s 1966 catalog, the SD45 was the brute of the bunch. While keeping the basic family appearance of its stablemates, the SD45s featured distinctive outward-canted, or “flared” radiator intakes at the rear of the carbody that smoothly blending into the contour of the dynamic brake hatch.
While the “SD40X” 645 prime mover testbeds of 1964 featured flared radiators as well, the SD45 was the first EMD to go into production with this feature. While it added to the brutish, broad-shouldered look of the SD45, this feature was a practical one. It allowed for deeper radiator cores to help cool the massive 20-cylinder prime mover. The demonstrator units would barnstorm across the country to help promote the new technology.
From the beginning, the SD45 was a hit. When production commenced in 1966, nearly all major railroads of the era would purchase SD45s.
Western carriers Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, and Union Pacific would acquire fleets of SD45s. They handled priority TOFC trains, coal drags, and everything in between.
The Hill Railroads of the Pacific Northwest also bought SD45 including Great Northern (GN), Northern Pacific, and Frisco. In fact, GN’s first SD45, GN #400, would hold the distinction of being the very first production SD45 built. To celebrate the power and versatility of the latest EMD locomotive, GN #400 received the nickname “HUSTLE MUSCLE” on its long hood.
Eastern carriers purchased the SD45 as well. Pennsylvania Railroad acquired a sizable fleet, which lasted only a few years before being folded into Penn Central. Erie-Lackawanna was another notable customer because their SD45s were equipped with low-profile radiator and dynamic brake fans, exhausts, and horns to meet lowere overhead clearances on one of their routes.
SD45s were prevalent in the Southeast as well. Seaboard Coast Line units lasted all the way through mergers into CSX. Norfolk Southern and Southern operated their SD45s long hood forward.
Despite their initial success, the SD45 had teething troubles. The massive 20-645 prime mover had a tendency to break crankshafts early on. EMD quickly re-engineered and implemented a running change. Leakage from the extra-deep radiator cores that gave the SD45 its distinctive appearance was an issue some railroads faced early on. Once again, EMD would quickly diagnose and correct the problem.
Throughout the 1960s until production ended in 1971 with the introduction of the Dash-2 line and its successor, the SD45-2, the SD45 sold well. Burlington Northern (BN) 6567 holds the distinction of being the last SD45 ever built.
As the nation entered the 1970s, there was a driving force that was to sour railroads on the SD45: fuel costs. Its high horsepower rating came at a price, with its 20-cylinder prime mover gulping fuel at a higher rate in comparison to other models like the SD40 and SD40-2. Several railroads felt the extra 600hp over models like the SD40 and SD40-2 did not justify the increased fuel costs. The OPEC oil embargo of 1973-74 didn’t help matters. Skyrocketing fuel costs made every drop of fuel precious so conservation and efficiency becoming paramount. Models like the SD40-2 were to shine, while on most roads, the SD45 came under greater scrutiny.
As the 1970s wore into the 1980s, SD45s quickly started to fall out of favor. With fuel efficiency and reliability the watchwords of the day and newer models from EMD and GE being introduced, tired SD45s quickly filled dead lines across the country. Some were retired relatively young. For example, BN 6567, built in 1971, was retired in 1986, which is a relatively brief career for a locomotive. While some became trade-in fodder, others met their end at end of a cutting torch.
Secondhand sales gave a new lease on life to many SD45s. They found work on shortline and regional railroads like Susquehanna and Wisconsin Central where they became the backbones of their fleet.
Some original owners weren’t ready to give up on the SD45. Southern Pacific, for example, embarked on a capital rebuilding program in the early 1980s. Electrical cabinets were rebuilt and rewired to Dash-2 standards. New engine governors dropped the horsepower slightly to 3,200hp to help save fuel. Santa Fe also upgraded many members of their fleet as well, extending their useful service lives.
The secondhand locomotive market was extended the life of several SD45s as well. In the early 90s, SD45s were to find newfound popularity as “cores” for rebuilding projects. Tired, rusty hulks that had been sitting dead in dealer backshops were suddenly in demand, with leasing companies, and railroads like Southern Pacific, seeing value in SD45s rebuilt to the latest specifications.
Most dramatically, these rebuilds would see the original 20-645s removed, and replaced with 16-cylinder versions in their place, to help make them more fuel-efficient. Locomotive leaser and rebuilder Morrison-Knudsen, who undertook the program to rebuild secondhand SD45s for SP, became so adept at the process, they even developed a technique to cut-down the original 20-645 engine blocks into 16-645s, fabricating new crankshafts and other parts as well. While they may be the mechanical equivalent of an SD40-2 on the inside, externally they still looked like SD45s.
As the 90s drew to a close, the sun began to set on the SD45 and rebuilt lookalikes. Mergers and fleet consolidations saw many rebuilt SD45s retired in favor of newer power. In the 2000s, stricter emissions standards took effect, and newer, more fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly locomotives were being produced en masse. The few remaining SD45s, rebuilt or otherwise, were suddenly out of work. As of this writing, there are precious few remaining, mostly on shortlines.
Thankfully, there are several preserved SD45s. GN 400, aka Hustle Muscle, has been restored and is enjoying retirement at the Minnesota Railroad Museum. SP’s first SD45, SP 8800 was rebuilt as part of their in-house SD45 rebuild program and becoming became SD45R 7457 in the process. After a long career with SP, and a stint under merger partner UP, it was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah where it currently resides. Thankfully, it’s undergoing restoration back to its classic SP appearance. These are a few examples of SD45s that still exist for future generations to see and admire.
Union Pacific (UP), in particular, prodded builders to up the horsepower ante which resulted in several exotic locomotives in the 1950s and 1960s. This included the GE/Alco Gas Turbine designs and various double-diesel designs such as the Alco C855, GE U50 and U50C, and EMD DD35 and DDA35.
While these UP locomotives delivered plenty of raw horsepower, they were big, unwieldy machines, which limited their operational territory. This also made them unattractive to interchange partner railroads as run-through or pool power. In addition, a failure of one prime mover or other critical system of a double-diesel would sideline the entire locomotive, effectively resulting in two locomotives out of service.
Western giant Southern Pacific (SP) would also dabble with double-diesels by acquiring a handful of GE U50s and EMD DD35s. While these various locomotives delivered impressive performance, the size of the double diesels were still a liability plus reliability was questionable.
SP would even go as far as across the Atlantic Ocean to satisfy their appetite for more horsepower, acquiring diesel-hydraulic drive locomotives from Bavarian manufacturer Krauss-Maffei. The precision-tuned Krauss-Maffei’s were not up to the rigors and deferred maintenance of American railroading so they had relatively brief careers.
To meet the demand of greater horsepower from a more standardized package, EMD would go back to the drawing board in 1965 to develop a new prime mover. The previous prime mover series, the 567, used in models from F and E-units, to GP7s and GP35s, and everything in between had reached its developmental limits. EMD would increase the cylinder bore of the new prime mover, resulting in 645 cubic inches of displacement per cylinder … thus, the 645 was born.
As with the 567-series of prime movers, the 645 was built in several variations for different applications. 8 and 12-cylinder versions would power switchers and medium horsepower units, while a 16-cylinder, 3,000hp turbocharged version would power one of the flagships of the line, the SD40. To answer the call for even more horsepower, a 20-cylinder, 3,600hp turbocharged variant was developed. This variant, designated the 20-645E3, would be installed in a set of SD45 demonstrator units in late 1965. The SD45 would define the 1960s horsepower race.
Dressed in EMD white and metallic blue, the SD45 demonstrators made a striking appearance. Part of the new lineup of locomotives introduced in EMD’s 1966 catalog, the SD45 was the brute of the bunch. While keeping the basic family appearance of its stablemates, the SD45s featured distinctive outward-canted, or “flared” radiator intakes at the rear of the carbody that smoothly blending into the contour of the dynamic brake hatch.
While the “SD40X” 645 prime mover testbeds of 1964 featured flared radiators as well, the SD45 was the first EMD to go into production with this feature. While it added to the brutish, broad-shouldered look of the SD45, this feature was a practical one. It allowed for deeper radiator cores to help cool the massive 20-cylinder prime mover. The demonstrator units would barnstorm across the country to help promote the new technology.
From the beginning, the SD45 was a hit. When production commenced in 1966, nearly all major railroads of the era would purchase SD45s.
Western carriers Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, and Union Pacific would acquire fleets of SD45s. They handled priority TOFC trains, coal drags, and everything in between.
The Hill Railroads of the Pacific Northwest also bought SD45 including Great Northern (GN), Northern Pacific, and Frisco. In fact, GN’s first SD45, GN #400, would hold the distinction of being the very first production SD45 built. To celebrate the power and versatility of the latest EMD locomotive, GN #400 received the nickname “HUSTLE MUSCLE” on its long hood.
Eastern carriers purchased the SD45 as well. Pennsylvania Railroad acquired a sizable fleet, which lasted only a few years before being folded into Penn Central. Erie-Lackawanna was another notable customer because their SD45s were equipped with low-profile radiator and dynamic brake fans, exhausts, and horns to meet lowere overhead clearances on one of their routes.
SD45s were prevalent in the Southeast as well. Seaboard Coast Line units lasted all the way through mergers into CSX. Norfolk Southern and Southern operated their SD45s long hood forward.
Despite their initial success, the SD45 had teething troubles. The massive 20-645 prime mover had a tendency to break crankshafts early on. EMD quickly re-engineered and implemented a running change. Leakage from the extra-deep radiator cores that gave the SD45 its distinctive appearance was an issue some railroads faced early on. Once again, EMD would quickly diagnose and correct the problem.
Throughout the 1960s until production ended in 1971 with the introduction of the Dash-2 line and its successor, the SD45-2, the SD45 sold well. Burlington Northern (BN) 6567 holds the distinction of being the last SD45 ever built.
As the nation entered the 1970s, there was a driving force that was to sour railroads on the SD45: fuel costs. Its high horsepower rating came at a price, with its 20-cylinder prime mover gulping fuel at a higher rate in comparison to other models like the SD40 and SD40-2. Several railroads felt the extra 600hp over models like the SD40 and SD40-2 did not justify the increased fuel costs. The OPEC oil embargo of 1973-74 didn’t help matters. Skyrocketing fuel costs made every drop of fuel precious so conservation and efficiency becoming paramount. Models like the SD40-2 were to shine, while on most roads, the SD45 came under greater scrutiny.
As the 1970s wore into the 1980s, SD45s quickly started to fall out of favor. With fuel efficiency and reliability the watchwords of the day and newer models from EMD and GE being introduced, tired SD45s quickly filled dead lines across the country. Some were retired relatively young. For example, BN 6567, built in 1971, was retired in 1986, which is a relatively brief career for a locomotive. While some became trade-in fodder, others met their end at end of a cutting torch.
Secondhand sales gave a new lease on life to many SD45s. They found work on shortline and regional railroads like Susquehanna and Wisconsin Central where they became the backbones of their fleet.
Some original owners weren’t ready to give up on the SD45. Southern Pacific, for example, embarked on a capital rebuilding program in the early 1980s. Electrical cabinets were rebuilt and rewired to Dash-2 standards. New engine governors dropped the horsepower slightly to 3,200hp to help save fuel. Santa Fe also upgraded many members of their fleet as well, extending their useful service lives.
The secondhand locomotive market was extended the life of several SD45s as well. In the early 90s, SD45s were to find newfound popularity as “cores” for rebuilding projects. Tired, rusty hulks that had been sitting dead in dealer backshops were suddenly in demand, with leasing companies, and railroads like Southern Pacific, seeing value in SD45s rebuilt to the latest specifications.
Most dramatically, these rebuilds would see the original 20-645s removed, and replaced with 16-cylinder versions in their place, to help make them more fuel-efficient. Locomotive leaser and rebuilder Morrison-Knudsen, who undertook the program to rebuild secondhand SD45s for SP, became so adept at the process, they even developed a technique to cut-down the original 20-645 engine blocks into 16-645s, fabricating new crankshafts and other parts as well. While they may be the mechanical equivalent of an SD40-2 on the inside, externally they still looked like SD45s.
As the 90s drew to a close, the sun began to set on the SD45 and rebuilt lookalikes. Mergers and fleet consolidations saw many rebuilt SD45s retired in favor of newer power. In the 2000s, stricter emissions standards took effect, and newer, more fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly locomotives were being produced en masse. The few remaining SD45s, rebuilt or otherwise, were suddenly out of work. As of this writing, there are precious few remaining, mostly on shortlines.
Thankfully, there are several preserved SD45s. GN 400, aka Hustle Muscle, has been restored and is enjoying retirement at the Minnesota Railroad Museum. SP’s first SD45, SP 8800 was rebuilt as part of their in-house SD45 rebuild program and becoming became SD45R 7457 in the process. After a long career with SP, and a stint under merger partner UP, it was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah where it currently resides. Thankfully, it’s undergoing restoration back to its classic SP appearance. These are a few examples of SD45s that still exist for future generations to see and admire.
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Downloadable Documentation
Downloadable ESUX Sound & Control Files