EMD SD40-2 Pack: Norfolk and Western
Hello kiddies, it’s 611 Hype Man! Today, on my quest to resurrect the various forgotten projects of yesteryear, I bring you Theo’s N&W SD40-2 pack. "But 611," I hear, "there’s already an N&W SD40-2." Yes, there is, but this mod is less than a quarter of the size for the space conscious among you. Also, this has been languishing in purgatory for almost 2 years. Anyways, what is this mod? And what is the Norfolk & Western anyways? Well, you’re all in luck today…
The Norfolk & Western is mainly known for two things: being the last holdout of steam locomotion in the US and hauling coal downhill. Loads of coal. The N&W can trace its predecessors’ heritage back to 1836, and was formally organized as the N&W starting in 1881. Starting in the Tidewater of Virginia, it stretched west across central and southern VA until it hit the Appalachian Mountains. Upon reaching the Appalachians in the 1880s, the N&W started hauling its first shipments of coal down to the port of Norfolk for export, a commodity which would eventually become the N&W’s primary source of revenue. As a result, N&W branchlines soon spread all over the Appalachian coalfields of VA and West Virginia, with trains taking coal to collection points like Bluefield, WV to assemble into monster trains headed east (and downhill). Export coal would fuel the N&W’s growth out to terminals with other railroads in places like Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, and would keep the railroad financially stable and well run while many other carriers struggled and died in the 20th Century. Being so invested in coal, the N&W was slow to adopt diesel locomotives, instead opting to design, build, and maintain their own fleet of steam locomotives well into the 1950s. The N&W would change dramatically at the end of the 50s and into the 60s in more ways than just motive power, thanks to moves by their longtime owner and supervisor, the Pennsylvania Railroad. As part of its negotiations to form Penn Central, the PRR agreed to give up control of several of its subsidiaries, including the N&W, an action that N&W leadership quickly exploited to purchase two other former PRR allies, the Wabash and Nickel Plate Road railroads. With this merger in 1964, the N&W quickly went from a regional coal carrier to a major player in the eastern railroad scene. Even still, coal would make up more than 60% of N&W revenue into the 1980s. After an abortive attempt in the 1960s to control and run the Erie Lackawanna, the N&W entered the 80s and deregulation worried about consolidations by other southeastern carriers into the CSX corporation. Finding an ally in the equally profitable and well run Southern Railway, the two formally merged in 1982 to create Norfolk Southern, which is (for now) one of the last 4 remaining US Class 1 railroads.
The SD40 and its upgraded counterpart the SD40-2 became some of the best selling locomotives of all time on the US market, with over 4,000 examples being produced by the time production ceased in 1997. Norfolk & Western was one of the earlier adopters of the locomotive, buying 45 SD40s starting in 1966 and 163 SD40-2s starting in 1973. All of the SD40s were ordered with the characteristic N&W high short hood in front of the cab, but only 11 of the SD40-2s were ordered this way. The rest were the default version with unobstructed views from the cab, a departure from the N&W’s conservative norm. SD40-2s became the default heavy haulers on the N&W throughout the 1970s and into the NS merger, with many still in service on NS rails today (although mostly in yard duties).
Featuring 4 different skins for Norfolk & Western, including:
- Pevler Blue from 1966
- Black with Block Letters from 1973
- Black with Full Name from 1982
- High Hood and Short Hood variants for all but Pevler Blue
- Randomized numbers in the 1600/6000 series for high and short hoods
[*All the features and stats of the original mod!
Original Model and Random Numbers by Zukzf/SD70M
Initial skins/texture files from Just Theo
Screenshots from the CocaColaMuseum
Fonts by Ben Coifman of railfonts.com and Pete Willard of railsimstuff.com
Base Set from the Zukzf/SD70M
EMD SD40-2 from the Zukzf/SD70M
EMD 645 soundset from Mr. Cheesecake
"Prepare for trouble! And make it double!" – Team Rocket
Another month, another mod project brought across the finish line. There may be some more N&W coming soon, but until then, sayonara.
Come join the American Transport Fever 2 Modding Server
https://discord.gg/YWq258bg
Required items:
Click the title to search on this site.
EMD SD40-2 — Steam Workshop
Base Set — Steam Workshop
Soundsets: EMD 645E3 Turbo (F40PH, SD40-2, MP36PH, SDP40F, DDA40X) — Steam Workshop
