MTL SD40-2?

Has anybody heard any news since August about the new engine from MTL? Joe can you give any news, the last time I saw an update was to be either late this year or early '09. I just watched the new show on the History Channel, Extreme Trains and was inspired, granted a 135 car coal train is out of the question but there were SD 40-2's as helpers.

last i heard its been moved to june of 2009. i myself have been impatiently awaiting its arrival. saving hundreds each month to buy atleast a good dozen,, but after i heard that, i went a bit insane and spent it all on mallets and azl. mike

Thanks Mike,

I guess will have to wait patiently until then. Granted, by that time the Challenger from AZL and the GP-30 will have been out, unless something delays them and I might not have the funds for one let alone 12.

Guys, I see that you follow the governments practice of budgeting. You have to spend penny on this years budget. I do that too. I spend half of the SD budget on a Dash9. With MTL making such a wise choice in selecting CSX as the initial release, I will have to find additional monies to fund the full fleet.

John,
Do what the government does - go to the Chinese embassy and ask for a loan

John

Fortunately,
I don't practice the government budgeting practice. I canceled any credit cards I had last year and live within the cash on hand. I have a feeling the Challengers are going to be a bit on the steep side so that'll kill what I can do for the rest of the year unless a self made stimulus package is granted by the Goob govern't, i.e. myself winning the lottery:laugh: . Hopefully with the CSX release will come a NS release as well.

Hello everyone:

I saw the SD40-2 at Trainfest this past weekend. Joe had it there for all to see. It runs great, looks fantastic, and should be available as soon as their suppliers ship them the stuff. Joe said that it's not only MTL feeling this delay in shipping. Other companies in the model railroad industry are also being hurt by overseas shippers. In fact, it is making many of them -- including MTL -- reconsider their production process.

Russ, Thanks for the update. And welcome. Cheers, Jim CCRR:)

No need to welcome me, Jim. I've been here a long long time. I've posted before, etc. It's just that in the transition, my account stayed valid but the "connections" to previous posts did not.

Russ

Russ, Your name sounded familiar. Unfortunately in the crossover some posting totals and photos went missing. It was all random and affected about 5% of our members. Sorry. As for the SD 40-2 I to have seen it and it is a beauty. Cheers, Jim CCRR

On the MTL website, the SD40 is now listed for July delivery. Also, one of the Amtrak GP9's will be delayed 1 month.

It appears MTL has problems with their supplier in China that makes chassis parts. This may also be true for other companies with factories in China.