Union Pacific was a recent entrant into the Sacramento Valley and was the railroad that intrigued me the most. Southern Pacific went right through my hometown of Davis, whereas I only got to see Union Pacific every now and then when we would take trips to Sacramento.
I began a study of Union Pacific SD40-2's and often asked for advice at the Whistle Stop on how I would go about building the many versions from the standard Athearn blue box kit. I was hardly much of a modeler, yet I wanted to make a version with the snoot nose.
I would look up and down at the Details West and Details Associates racks, eying the snow plows, radio antennas and grab irons. I asked DJ behind the counter, "What kind of snowplow should I get for a Union Pacific SD40-2?"
He said, "You keep talking about wanting to build a 3300 series engine, so I would stick with one of these. Bring your engine in sometime. I'd like to see it."
The next time I visited the Whistle Stop, I brought my model to show DJ. It was kind of a shambles. The nose was rough with a raw extension built out of another kit I had scrapped. I had drilled holes into the nose and rear to place the grab irons, however several of them were on the verge of falling out. The snow plow sat hanging at a 45 degree angle to the front steps.
DJ looked at the model and said, "Wow, you sure do want to get yourself a 3300 unit, huh?"
"Yeah, I do," I said. "I like how they stand out from the others with their snoot nose. In all of those engines, the 3300's kind of have a personality," I said.
"Let's see how many details you've got coming along on this. A lot of the out-of-the-box Athearn details are just right for a 3300 series engine, " he said. "You've got the modern radiator grills, and the dynamic brakes. You didn't have to watch for that out here, but now those Missouri Pacific engines are starting to run through, non-dynamic engines are showing up on Union Pacific. You've got the right radio antenna, you've got the plow I showed you, you've kept the out-of-the-box anti-climber, that's good. See, look, these SP tunnel motors have a different anti-climber.
"If I were you," he said, "I would be glad that I got so many details right on that engine. You are really developing a good eye. You truly want to take the out-of-the-box models and build your own model out of them. If you keep practicing, you will build good models some day.
"I recommend keep developing your eye. Keep looking at all of those Union Pacific SD40-2's. The 3200's have earlier air filters. As I said, the Mo-Pac engines have non-dynamic brakes. There are all kind of things you can learn and build model trains about. Keep up the good work."
