Roundhouse Trains EMD Model 40 is an HO scale workhorse

The first time I saw this tiny four-wheel EMD Model 40 switcher, I wondered if a prototype really existed. I soon learned that it’s an industrial switcher. Then the model surprised me by pulling a prototype-size load of 15 free-rolling freight cars, and I was really intrigued.

On first glance you wouldn’t think Electro-Motive Division, a company known for its mainline locomotives, would have built an unusual locomotive like the Model 40, but it did. The prototype engine was essentially a standard-size EMD switcher cab and two short hoods on four wheels. The Model 40 was produced from August 1940 through April 1943. Only 11 units were built.

The Model 40 switchers had a rigid, non-equalized frame that restricted them to low-speed operation. All of the locomotives had two 150 hp model 6-71 diesel engines (one under each hood) and a traction motor on each axle. The maximum permissible speed for the Model 40 was 45 mph.

Capturing an oddball. Shortly before Model Die Casting was acquired by Horizon Hobby in June 2004, it released the Model 40. The model has since been reissued under the Roundhouse line, which features locomotives and freight cars based on pre-1941 prototypes. The model’s dimensions closely match prototype drawings that appear in the Model Railroader Cyclopedia: Vol. 2, Diesel Locomotives (Kalmbach Publishing Co.).

Our sample ran smoothly at slow speeds and achieved a top speed of 51.9 mph at 12 volts, slightly higher than the top speed of the prototype. The model’s drawbar pull was 1.12 ounces, equivalent to 15 free-rolling cars on straight and level track.

The HO Model 40 has a sharply detailed plastic body with smooth paint and crisp lettering. Much of the model’s 5-ounce weight comes from its split, die-cast metal chassis.

To reach the eight-pin Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder socket, the plastic underframe cover and fuel tank assembly, as well as the coupler pockets, have to be unscrewed and removed. Four snap-fit tabs need to be loosened to separate the shell from the chassis. (Note: Use caution when removing the shell; it’s tethered to the chassis by the headlight wires). An exploded-view drawing with the model illustrates this process.

Making it fit. Model Die Casting had to make a few compromises on the Model 40 because of its small size. Since the flywheels and motor are under the two hoods, the DCC decoder socket had to be placed in the cab (there is enough space for an N scale decoder). The socket is in plain view, a drawback for those wanting to detail the cab interior. The light-emitting-diode headlights also stick out farther from their housings than on the prototype.

While this is a model of an unusual prototype, the HO Model 40 captures the look of the real thing. The diminutive switcher would look at home next to a grain elevator, cement factory, or any industry where short cuts of cars need to be moved.

EMD Model 40 switcher

Price: &69.98 each; D&RGW, SP, and John Deere units are $74.98 each
Manufacturer
Roundhouse Trains
1550 Glenn Curtiss St.
Carson, CA 90746
www.roundhousetrains.com
Description
Plastic and metal ready-to-run diesel locomotive
Road names
Old Ben Coal Corp.*, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, Baltimore & Ohio, Buffalo Slag, Cushing Stone, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Electro-Motive Division*, Farmer’s Union Co-op*, John Deere (Harvester and Waterloo Works), New York Central, Pennsylvania, Southern Pacific, United States Army*, U.S. Navy, painted but unlettered (black body with white stripes or orange body with black stripes)*

*Indicates first-run road names