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Information
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| URL:
http://riceornot.ricecop.com/?auto=92535 |
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| Comments: 7 (Read/Post) Favorites: 0 (View) |
Submitted
on: 02-16-2015
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Category:
Other Vehicle |
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Description:
GM EMD GP-7 #100, the first GP series diesel locomotive, shortly after leaving the factory wearing it's prototype "Demonstration" colors.
The year is 1947.
Just 5 short years later, thousands of GP-7's would join #100 on the rails, establish EMD as the industry-leading locomotive builder and would doom the steam engine to the museum and the scrap heap. |
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| #1 |
2-16-2015 @ 04:33:35 PM |
| Posted By : Low-Tech Redneck |
Reply | Edit | Del |
Diesels had appeared on US railroads as early as the 1930's, but they were seen as "niche" engines fit only for special purposes like yard switching or as fancy passenger "streamliners".
Conventional wisdom was that the rigors of mainline freight hauling would be something the finicky diesel would never be up to taking on.
EMD, having been relegated to third-rate in the market behind the likes of Bladwin and Alco who had cornered
the switcher market, decided to prove everyone wrong.
The GP-7 was a purpose-built freight hauling engine, with a 1,500HP prime mover providing a peak 65,000 pounds of tractive effort, and, as railroads that bought them soon found out, rock-solid reliability.
By the time the production line shut down in 1954, 2,700 had been delivered to customers. Even today, some 60 years on, rebuilt, retro-fit or sometimes original spec GP-7s continue working on local and short line railroads in the US and overseas.
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| #4 |
2-17-2015 @ 12:06:26 AM |
| Posted By : Low-Tech Redneck |
Reply | Edit | Del |
#2, They did their best with what they had, railroads made it clear they wanted freight engines w/ full walk-around ability and front-back visibility. F units LOOK a lot more graceful, but are darn awful as switchers because you can't see behind you from the cab.
(E units are essentially just F units w/ a few add-ons for passenger duty, i.e.: Larger fuel tanks for fewer stops and steam generators to provide heat for the passenger cars that were built assuming there'd always be free steam from the engine to power radiators)
[Edited by Low-Tech Redneck on 2-17-2015 @ 12:08:31 AM]
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| #6 |
2-17-2015 @ 12:48:13 AM |
| Posted By : Skid |
Reply | Edit | Del |
I can't look at these without thinking of one of my books on old car wrecks....one of these plowed into a 1955 Ford sedan in the early '60s, and the whole car was wrapped around the front. It was nighttime, and the camera was low, looking up at those big, imposing light-up numbers. Creepy picture, it was.
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| #7 |
2-17-2015 @ 01:05:24 AM |
| Posted By : Low-Tech Redneck |
Reply | Edit | Del |
#6, I had a compilation book of train wreck pictures that had all sorts of things wrapped around the pilots of these, and F units, cars, busses, dump trucks, the most impressive was a trio of GP7's heading up a freight that had slammed into a 30-some foot flatbed truck w/ a load of pipe, and had bent the whole thing, truck, bed AND cargo into a "U".
The original idea for the body on these was more akin to the EMD BL-2, a switcher w/ an F-unit inspired body that was asthetically pleasing, but functionally lacking: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...2C_20040426.jpg
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