Raymondo,  you trying to get power from two different power packs.  You will have to wire the crossover section to be able to recieve power from either source and then when the loco and tender are both in the crossover switch from the original to the second power pack.

Another factor this thread overlooked is the use of 5 pole motors vs. 3 pole motors.  Early in the use of flywheels a lot of motors were 3 pole and the flywheels did help to smooth out the jerks at low speed.  A 5 pole motor has better low speed torque and in combination with flywheels makes low speed operation very smooth.

The rivarossi steam locos are wired exactly the same as most brass steam with the drivers from one side being electrically connected to the chassis and one side of the motor while the other motor lead is connected to the tender through the drawbar and the tender wheels on the opposite side picking up the electricity.  This means if the loco has crossed the point where you isolated the crossover and the tender has not they are possibly on different circuits depending on your wiring

Well i guess that gives me an excuse to go back and do more   Honestly about the only things I hit were the trucks and fuel tank.

These are a pair of Evans coil cars one from Red Caboose factory painted, the other a Walthers that I painted and decalled.  The locomotive is a P2K GP38-2 that I have weathered.

I have a feeling you will be happier with the battery powered one you have now.  It's easy to hide a battery in most rolling stock but to wire a car for electrical pickup that is continuous and won't flicker that is another story.  Just look at most lit cabooses and passenger cars.

BTW if you do get one with track pickup make sure it's at least 12v and not 1.5v

If you cam get it at a price you can afford go for it.  If you need to have the paint removed find someone with a bead blaster to remove it.

Well if you are more than just a collector and if you have any modeling skills you can make your loco as correct as you need it, just like I do.

It's not as wide as the original athearn SD45 long hood or the original Spectrum long hood.  As you may have noticed I am using the cannon cab sub-bases too which helped in overall height problems I was having.  I am using some evergreen thin plastic strips to fill in any gaps between the cab and hood. At least the long hood doesn't cover the cab door like it did on a conversion I did on one of the original Spectrum SD45s several years ago.  I could also do a N&W SD45 as at least one of their orders was for high short hoods.

Depending on how good the forthcoming Athearn HH SD45 is this may be my last SD45 conversion project.

It will end up painted black with an imitation aluminum stripe around it with gold trim and lettering (SOUTHERN).

Be careful when searching E-Bay for a Spectrum SD45.  The initial run was nothing like the latest releases.  Be sure they say it is at least DCC ready even if you do not plan to use DCC.

This is an issue that serious railroad modelers bring up when they criticise Bachmann products.  For example, the CSX GP38-2 offered by Bachmann has a number that upon initial examination looks correct.  But closer inspection shows that the road number is of a GP38-2 with the headlight in the nose not above the cab and with the newer Blomberg M trucks not the older Blomberg B trucks on the model.

Road number reseach is not difficult today.  Anyone that can reach this forum has access to all the data that is needed to depict a correct road number.

The bottom line is that Bachmann must feel that the market that they are targeting doesn't care about detail at that level.  If their product didn't sell and it was found that it was because they got the road number wrong they would jolly well get it right the next time.

I have started my Bachmann SD45 conversion project.  I have previously done this to a Kato SD45 and a P2K SD45.  Both of those projects cost me in the neighborhood of $200.  This project should stay under $100.

When I'm done I will post pics of all three.  Here is my 1st shot of the Bachmann with the nose and cab removed.



And here is a pic with the Cannon & Co. cab and nose.



The main reason I used the Cannon cab was to get the windo placement right.

Something else a lot of people don't realise.  On most DCC setups you can run a DC loco at address 0.  Yes it does hum at idle but in the 8 years or so that I have done this I have never damaged the motor in a DC locomotive.

While moving I lost the detail parts to a Spectrum SD45 that I've been planning to put a high nose on and paint black with the Southern Tuxedo scheme.  I contacted Bachmann parts dept last week and was told I needed to get a new shell to get the replacement parts.  Total with shipping was $20.  The shell came yesterday and I have started the project.  I will post some picks later today or tomorrow.

Good job Bachmann.

The specific answers to the original question are as follows;

The engine cooling system viewport is there on the Bachmann loco, but like on the Atlas Trainman line it is only outlined so you can either cut it out or paint it glossy black.

The trucks may or may not be correct depending on the individual locomotive.  Bachmann has choen not to engineer the more modern blomberg truck on any of their 4 axle HO locomotives.

So live with it or buy a better one.  But if you send it back to Bachmann you will get the same unit back.