Obsessive Compulsive Diesel Detail Disorder

Also known as the Diesel Spotters Guide Effect.

Image from Amazon, Kalmbach Publishing copyright.

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The DSG could not have come out at a better time for me. I was 14 years old and was starting to fill side bound notebooks with train spotting, mostly at busy Pomona, California of SP and UP diesel consists. At first I didn't know the difference between and SD40 and an SD45 but that sure changed in a hurry. The spotting feature became something of an obsession with me, being a detail oriented person anyway. Fast forward to this decade  of the 21st Century and I am still obsessed, and digital photography just acts as an enabler. When the trains aren't actually moving in Helena, it's a good time to do some detail photography.

Please see the comment section below for some corrections to the captions. Thanks all.

Starting with the first important distinction between SD40s and SD45s, the  non-flared radiator as on MRL 259, ex BN  6324 built in 1971.

Ex Southern Pacific 8950 displays the older style SD45 flared radiators and an artifact of the SD45R rebuild program. As SP 7545 it received the extra light package housing, most of which is now covered with sheet metal. For a photo of the full SD45R rear light package see here.

A real Montana survivor is MRL 290 born as Great Northern SDP40  321. Now considered an SDP40-2XR on the MRL roster.

The hatch for the steam generator on 290 has long since been plated over. Would be interesting to know what year the generator itself was removed.

The classic EMD Flexicoil Truck.
Hyatt roller bearings, the older style Rockwell logo and a pile of traction sand.

Fuel gauge, filler hose, and whatever that rubber diaphragm thingy is.

Very burnt toast anyone? Dynamic brake grids.

Thing is, they run on 600 volts instead of 120.

The EMD air intake blower motor bulge.

And the final photo for this installment; what the MRL has in common with the C&NW, carrying a broom on the outside of the unit.