EMD's GP 7 & 9
The GP 7 was EMD's very sucessfull road switcher. It's utilitarian body gave better vision to the operating crew as compaired to the streamlined F3. Making it better suited for freight and road switching service. It was well powered for it's time, but needed more as the competition keep increasing the power of their products. EMD made the GP 7 one way. The only changes were requested by the railroads. I read where you could order a GP 7 with a large fuel tank, giving a look similar to a GP35 frame, which caused a relocation of the air reserve tanks. Most were put on the roof. Unlike the GP 7 the uppowered GP9 was updated in phases rather than make another model. Here is photos of the basic phases.
I'll start with a GP7
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The GP9 Phase 1:
Looking at this outside of the Dynamic brakes, that is the center large fan with it's two colling side louvers, which were aviable on the GP7 their is not much of a change. I would say they are the same. The only differance is inside the body. So EMD's first GP 9s were identical to the GP 7. This is why the Athearn GP9 looks like a GP7. Athearn wanted to make a model of the latest model of the GP series and it was the GP9. It's not Irvine's fault the GP9 1 looked the same as the GP7. If you want to call it a GP7, it is OK with me. I don't care !
I just noticed 4 narrow elongated holes above the fuel tank that are not on the GP7.
frank
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The GP9 phase 2 :
At last some very easy to see changes. The details upon the roof seam to remain the same. You do know that these locos also came with a steam generator for passenger service. This changed the roof detail. This was aviable on all models of the GP7 and GP9. Not a phase differance ! On the side cowling louvers have been changed. Also the two louvers under the cab are gone.
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The GP9 phase 3 :
What have we here ! The roof detail hase been changed. Four fan sets have been replaced with two. You have seen this on the latter GP18. On the cowling sides the louvers remain the same. On the battery box the one large louver has been replaced with two small louvers.
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A couple years ago I converted a UP GP(40?) into a CNR GP9.
You can view before and after pics here -- <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.zealot.com/gallery//showphoto.php/photo/3128">http://www.zealot.com/gallery//showphoto.php/photo/3128</a><!-- m -->
I still need to improve/restore a few details, such as the hand railings, etc. Be interested in your feedback re how successful this conversion was!
Thanks,
Rob
Why would you put so much work in a loco with that much damage without fixing it first. The paint would have covered all the new plastic. Your paint is good.
*********************************** frank
toptrain Wrote:Why would you put so much work in a loco with that much damage wothout fixing it first. The paint would have covered all the new plastic. You paint is good.
*********************************** frank
Basically because I was on a "kit-bashing" learning curve ... I wanted to see the job done and was probably too lazy to fix all of those things first, thinking I could fix them later! I guess it was bad planning, although I did restore part of the broken area near its front. Rob
Those GP7 & GP9 engines are beautiful engines.
Very nice!
I appreciated the descriptions of the various phases. GP9s are favorite loco of mine.
Ralph
toptrain Wrote:EMD's GP 7 & 9
The GP 7 was EMD's very sucessfull road switcher. It's utilitarian body gave better vision to the operating crew as compaired to the streamlined F3. Making it better suited for freight and road switching service. It was well powered for it's time, but needed more as the competition keep increasing the power of their products. EMD made the GP 7 one way. The only changes were requested by the railroads. I read where you could order a GP 7 with a large fuel tank, giving a look similar to a GP35 frame, which caused a relocation of the air reserve tanks. Most were put on the roof. Unlike the GP 7 the uppowered GP9 was updated in phases rather than make another model. Here is photos of the basic phases.
I'll start with a GP7
In the case of the Santa Fe, the large "fuel tank" was actually a two compartment fuel/water tank. All of Santa Fe's Gp7s or 9s
with the air tanks on the rood were equipped with steam generators for passenger service. After the Santa Fe turned passenger service over to Amtrak, I don't know if they converted the water tanks to fuel or not. I suspect not because I don't think any have the "torpedo tubes" on the roof anymore. There is still one Gp7 on the BNSF which is an ex BN unit that is painted in the orange & green and still has the air tanks on the roof. I think it serves in some sort of yard in Washington State. When I saw pictures of it I wondered why Atlas, and other manufacturers who make Gp7 models don't offer the modern paint scheme for a modeler who models current prototypes but would like and old locomotive.
very informative TT,i never did know a whole lot about diesels (i guess i should since C&O had a butt-load of geeps
) you really cleared some stuff up.and there great looking engines to boot
--josh
As you can see this thread is all information about the GP 7 & 9 series of locos. Now the F series of locos also had different phases. And I don't know anything about them. I know The F3's had high and low fans, and it ends there. Does anybody know about them. That would be a good thread but I can't do. Don't know anything about them.
frank
Ohhh... They are handsome engines.
A 1950's nut like me is likely to love a GP7/9. I found out what those "torpedo tubes" look like for the first time thru this thread.
In my roster, I have the Atlas GP7 in SF colors. It's the one that also looks like a GP9. After browsing the internet, I think the SF GP7's were all initially painted in the black and silver zebra stripes. So those first used in SF passenger and freight service were initially in the said paint scheme. One of the most distinguishable differences between the freight and passenger SF GP7s is probably the "torpedo tube." My GP7 does not have a torpedo tube, and its identification number was used in freight service, but I'll put it in passenger service if I suddenly have the interest of having another passenger train.
The Atlas model is a good silent crawler and runner, probably better than an Athearn Genesis. My Athearn Genesis F7A seems to have better details, though.
It's time for me to check what SF paint scheme was used in the GP9, just in case I want my Atlas GP7 to be called a GP9.
Micheal, the Gp7 & Gp9 on the Santa Fe were originally delivered in the "zebra stripe" paint scheme. They stayed in zebra stripes until about 1960 when the Santa Fe went to the blue & yellow "cigar band" scheme where the ends were yellow, the body was blue, & there was a single yellow strip going the length of the body just above the doors on both hoods. In the early 1970's they painted them in the blue & yellow warbonnet scheme, but at about the same time they went into the shops to have the short nose "chopped: and many of them if not all received the Topeka cab at that same rebuild. I don't know how many high nose Gp7s or Gp9s actually received a blue & yellow warbonnet before having their noses chopped. The Gp7s or Gp9s that were used in passenger service were generally not used on long distance "name trains" or even on regularly scheduled passenger trains as far as I know. Most pictures I've seen of them in passenger service was them pulling heavy weight cars to Del Mar for the horse racing season at the track that has always been advertised as the place where "the turf meets the surf." Santa Fe had a station and a wye for turning trains right in the Del Mar parking lot. One other set of details that needs to be added for passenger service is the steam generator details on the top of the short hood. Also I've never seen a picture of a Santa Fe Gp7 or Gp9 with both the "torpedo tubes" and dynamic brakes. That doesn't mean that they didn't have any like that, just that I have not seen pictures of any.