Lanes Trains S Scale Chessie SD50 8595

Chessie SD50 8595

This is Overland Models SD50 1738 imported in 1995. This is likely the last S Scale brass project imported by Overland directly without selling through River Raisin Models. They were listed at $800.00. I was not much into “modern” at the time and never bought 1 until February 2023 for a lot less. This loco is my first SD50 and looks like it is brand new.

I have wanted a B&O Chessie SD40-2 for a long time. But the SD40-2 are a tough find and at times they are difficult to make run well. In July 2023 a SD40-2 was bought to become B&O Chessie. But the SD50 was bought first in March 2023. I knew the would mostly run well right out of the box. It has the same drive as my Conrail SD60.

Since working on this project I learned that Baltimore & Ohio existed at least on paper much later than I thought, and well past the other competitor northeast railroads at that time that merged into Conrail etc. B&O, C&O and Western Maryland remained separate all while still formed as Chessie until the start of CSX. That explains the separate identification on the loco cabs and how a SD50 was purchased as B&O.

I picked 8595 for this loco because according to a 2019 B&O Railroad Historical Society Sentinel 8595 was the last locomotive built new for B&O. Unfortunately that historical significance and the possibility of preservation was lost in time when CSX got it. When 8595 was retired in 2018 it was sold and scrapped by Larry’s Truck Electric in Lordstown, Ohio.

For once I took photos right out of the box. I usually dive right in and take photos at some point later with some work done. It is a very nicely done. It seems Overland did learn a lot about building S diesels since the SD40-2. This SD50 is much better in terms of good solder joints.

Added 3-13-23

Cab

All Overland EMD diesels have an awful cab construction because the numberboards are open. The same sheet that is the front wall is solid RIGHT behind the numberboard point making for NO access. I have to cut a big hole in the back of the cab for access to open the front wall up. Then I make filler pieces to solder in from behind for something to put the numberboard decal on. It is a LOT of tedious and a bit scary work. I have done it many times now. This time I made by far my biggest grinding mistake ever that you can see cutting a gash. I just sat there for a minute looking at the mistake but tried to not panic. But all in all I think I did a pretty good save. I use solder to fill holes (and fix mistakes) like the old time auto body men using lead instead of Bondo.

Drive

Overland moved away from the “tank drive” to this. I never liked the idea of having 2 motors in the same loco. I changed my PRR RS11 to 1 motor. But this is the same drive that is in my Conrail SD60. So I am keeping it as is flywheels and all. Changing to 1 motor would also make for having very long driveshafts. Also this is how I made the all wheel pick up. The paint is Tru Color TCP-072 C&O/B&O Blue. I got the TCP-306 Chessie Blue but thought it was too dark.

Running on 3-14-23

I did not change much. I changed to a 5 chime horn. The bell was on the frame. I moved it to the long hood. The fine mesh in the grills must have been glued in. They were coming loose with handling. I added the smallest piece of solder I could in each corner. The Kadee couplers hit on the outermost truck gearboxes, even with the couplers chopped to their shortest length. I had to grind at the gearboxes to clear the couplers.

Couplers

I hate it when there is only 1 screw used to attach couplers. I made these brackets and soldered them on so the couplers need 2 screws. They might not be pretty but they work.

Since I am not painting this loco so it might take a bit longer to get completed than other locos I have worked on this year.

Added 10-13-23

I got the loco back from being painted at the end of July. There was about 6 other locos I worked on first than got hit with a rare 3 weeks of no motivation for working on trains. On 10-13-23 I am calling the Chessie SD50 ready to decal. How those that are mainly Chessie modelers do this paint job frequently I don’t know. It is a lot of work!

Completed 10-15-23

This is not supposed to be the very best Chessie SD50 model ever. There are a few details I could have done like the yellow headlight bezels and silver horns but every time you masked this you risked pulling other paint off. It happened a few times. With this elaborate paint job I figured I could easily make it worse so I just said it is good enough for me. The black stripe by the short hood on both sides is simulating the Chessie “mail slot” which apparently was a large opening for a battery box door vent. I used a piece of PRR Shadow Keystone herald.

As mentioned above this SD50 was bought as a stand in for a SD40-2 which really wanted more and I now have. At least 1 and maybe 2 SD40-2 will be painted for B&O Chessie. The Chessie GP30 is next to get completed. In spite of my dislike for the 2 motor drive it runs well with the 1 amp TSC WOW4 decoder.

Click on the photo for a YouTube clip of 8595 running with my Downs Model Railroad TankTrain.

Updated 10-20-23