Electro-Motive made the 3,800-horsepower SD60 from 1984 through 1991. Counting variations (SD60I, SD60M, and SD60MAC), more than 1,800 were built for North American railroads.
You can find SD60s hauling pretty much any cargo, but seeing a handful of these locomotives on the point of a long train of Powder River Basin coal hoppers is an image that comes to my mind most often.
The model
American Models is offering this S gauge model model in both conventional and wide- cab versions. Our sample had the conventional cab.
The American Models’ SD60 is an attractive locomotive. On the body shell you’ll find a ton of cast-in doors, hatches, latches, and handles. All were clearly cut into the tooling and reproduced well. The decks, however, are smooth instead of having a safety tread pattern.
Add-ons include a brake wheel on the low hood, a safety chain on the front and rear decks, a horn, and even a radio antenna in the center of the cab roof. You’ll also find five add-on grab irons/steps on the nose.
The exhaust and intake fans are cast in, and you can see cast-in fan blades on the shell, beneath the screens. This isn’t quite up to the level of “see-through” detail on the U25B we reviewed in the July 2004 issue, but bear in mind that American Models introduced its SD60 a bit before its U25B.
The C-C trucks are die-cast metal with simulated brake and sand lines as well as a little cast-in chain. It’s worth mentioning that all 12 wheels on the locomotive are flanged.
Generally the paint job on our sample Chicago & North Western locomotive was well done, although there were a few spots where the paint was bordering on being too thick. Of note are the well-executed rear cab-door steps mixing green and yellow, the pilot steps in green and white, and the pilots in black and white.
Besides Chicago & North Western, the SD60 is available in Burlington Northern (regular and wide cab), BNSF, Conrail, CSX (regular and wide cab), EMD demonstrator, Norfolk Southern, Soo Line (regular and wide cab), and Union Pacific road names and undecorated.
On the test track
The SD60 delivered good performance throughout testing. Our low-end speed average was 18.3 scale mph and the high-end average was 87.4 scale mph.
Both trucks are powered by a single, center-mounted can-style motor, and the model features traction tires on the middle pair of wheels in each truck. Drawbar pull for the 2-pound, 91/2-ounce locomotive was 1 pound.
Motor performance was smooth in all speed ranges. The unit has no sound system other than the hum of its motor and the clickety-clack of metal wheels on rails.
I experienced only one operational quirk: The SD60 seemed to take exception to one of three S-Helper switches on my layout. The lead truck derailed when running straight through and against the switch.
I installed the switch in another spot, and the trouble vanished. Go figure.
The headlight of this model is exceptionally bright, and it should create a nice look when whipping around corners on your layout.
I liked the SD60 quite a bit. It helps nudge the S gauge side of the hobby another 20 years into the present. It performs very well and is a great puller.
