Back in the late ‘60s while I was in the Air Force, I traveled occasionally by rail to visit my family back in West Virginia. I was a train nut even then and was always looking for something interesting along the route. Here are a few shots from that time, courtesy of Don Haskel:

By 1968, this is what remained of the National Limited. An E8 and single coach move eastbound through Industrial with a train renamed The West Virginian. A flag stop lay ahead at Salem, if needed. This location is about 20 miles from my boyhood home.

This is a classic scene of Train #11, the Metropolitan Special, passing westbound through Wolf Summit in 1967. This scene was about 15 miles from my home. Since my Dad worked for the Post Office, I was quite familiar with mail bags and hooks. In this photo, a mail bag awaits on the hook to be taken by the train on the move led by E8 #1441. This time honored practice would soon end. Mail transport would cease on the Metropolitan Special that year as the postal service removed it from the railroads.

This wonderful image freezes the west end of Clarksburg at Short Line Junction in winter 1967. The remnant of National Limited, now train #32 and simply called the National, enters Clarksburg for station stop. There was an odd power consist this day with a GP9 and E8 – the latter likely experiencing problems. This shot was taken about two miles from my home.

All of the track in these shots is now gone and only a fading memory. These photos invoke wonderful memories of a bygone era.

Enjoy,

Bob

Thanks Bob,

I really appreciate the last photo. Not only is is an interesting mix of motive power but that GP9 is somewhat of an oddity itself that is of interest to me. It is a late model (Phase 3c) but it has single 48" fans instead of the twin 36" fans that were more common. The STMA geeps were chopped nose versions of this model.

An E8 and one coach? Cool, I can model that easily. Thanks.

Devon Sinsley said:

Thanks Bob,

I really appreciate the last photo. Not only is is an interesting mix of motive power but that GP9 is somewhat of an oddity itself that is of interest to me. It is a late model (Phase 3c) but it has single 48" fans instead of the twin 36" fans that were more common. The STMA geeps were chopped nose versions of this model.

Devon

B&O used Geep 9’s quite frequently for passenger service in the latter years. Usually they had roof top torpedo tanks which is missing on that unit. Can’t make out the # and don’t have time to search it out either.

Yea, and they also had;

One of my “someday” projects.

Devon,

I’m pretty sure Phase 3c is when two 48" radiator fans came to life.

Michael

Ok I am going to show my lack of knowledge on this, as I was traveling last week on Hwy 99 south of Fresno, CA there are 2 different feed mills with there own locomotives, Zacky Farms has a GP 30, and JD Haskell has what I always thought was a GP 9, but last week I noticed it was a 6 axle not a 4. So no I am not sure what it is… high hood look of the old SP Geeps I used to see as a kid. Next time I will be sure to snap some pictures .

Pete,

I don’t know much about diesels , but it sounds like you saw either an EMD SD-7 or an SD-9. According to wiki, "An SD9 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and June 1959. An EMD 567C 16-cylinder engine generated 1,750 horsepower (1.30 MW). This model is, externally, similar to its predecessor, the SD7, but this model, internally, features the improved and much more maintainable 567C engine. The principal spotting feature are the classification lights on the ends of the locomotive, above the number board. The SD9’s classification lights are on a small pod, canted outward. The last phase of construction had a carbody similar to the SD18 and SD24, and used two 48-inch (1,219 mm) cooling fans instead of four 36-inch (914 mm) cooling fans.

Four hundred and seventy-one SD9s were built for American railroads and 44 for export."

Bob

Bob is the winner. If it looks like a GP7/9 but 6 axle it is an SD of some sort. But don’t forget there are other Geeps that look similar to the 7/9 also. The 20 comes to mind also. I am no EMD identification expert by any means, not even close. All I know are the GP7/9 and only then I barely know them.

The GP designation is “General Purpose” and SD is “Special Duty” both are considered road switchers or local duty locomotives with the GP doing the regular work and the SDs doing more heavy work. GPs and SD at least back when we are talking the 7s and 9s, were your branch line and local duty freight haulers, think of what the GP38 does today. Back in those days the mainline motive freight power were the F units. And yard switchers were NW and SW models.

The GP 7/9 are basically the same locomotive. Purists will hate me for that but basically the 7 grew into the 9 Many upgrades were made to the 7 and eventually the 7 got a larger motor in it final phase and with other modifications became the 9. I don’t know a whole lot about the phases of the 7s and the 9s. The only reason I even know anything was trying to research these “weird” locomotives of the Saint Maries River Railroad which were supposed to be GP9s but had a funky chopped short hood and two 48" fans instead of two sets of twin 36" fans. I was under the impression that GP9s were high hood and all had 36" fans. So in an effort to research these I came up with two possibilities. Some 9 phase 2s were short hood and had 36" fans. As Michael mentioned (I tried but didn’t word it correctly) some phase 3’s specifically the phase 3c had 48" fans but to my understanding where never chopped nosed. To muddy the waters many GP7/9s were rebuilt and are still in use today. In those rebuilds they replaced the 36" fans on many of the earlier phases with single 48" fans. They also chopped the noses on many high hoods. So what do I have? It was pointed out to me that the factory lose nose phase 2’s had shorter front steps that stopped about halfway from the door to the front of the hood. Mine had the long steps that extended to the front of the nose. Also, and the tell tale, is the fuel skirt and gas cap (I love calling it that)on the Phase 3c (maybe all phase 3s) is narrower except just a small portion where the filler cap is which is also farther forward. So my Geeps are GP9 Phase 3c models that at some point were rebuilt with chopped noses. I don’t remember who confirmed it for me on here but with a bit of research they were able to determine that these were ex Milwaukee locos (makes perfect sense) that were originally high hoods.

Sorry to get carried away but I figured sense Pete asked I would impart what little I know. And All of the above is subject to scrutiny because I could easily be mistaken.

Pete Lassen said:

… and JD Haskell has what I always thought was a GP 9, but last week I noticed it was a 6 axle not a 4. So no I am not sure what it is… high hood look of the old SP Geeps I used to see as a kid. Next time I will be sure to snap some pictures .

This one?

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1679713

That’s a nice looking locomotive. Now interestingly they do also have on their roster 4 GP9s. Take a look at their pictures on RR pictures archives. It is an interesting class in GP9s They have several versions. Also to note that the #1886 is the SD9 and also a GP9 at some point they must have ditched the Geep and got the SD.

Haha, they fooled me. 1886 must be when the company was founded or something. All of their locos are numbered that way under the cab. You have to look at the number boards. That makes sense.

Nice Job Forrest, I went to that web site and bumped around attempting to find it but couldnt get it narrowed down to anything close. That album shows I was wrong about the Zacky Farms loco too, the pics of it call it a CF7. Thanks guys for the info. Note the large half round cage on top of the cab, its protecting the horns which have been stolen err removed several times.

I always liked CF7’s, they are very unique…

There are still a few out there putting in a days work, 70 years after they were first built as F-units, and 40 years after conversion to CF7’s!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CF7

Scot

The CF7s are unique, but to cut up a beautiful, streamlined engine, and make a powered boxcar out of it. In my book that is a shame.

If that WAS a F7 … then it is a sad looking rebuild of a very stylish and cool looking locomotive.

Pete Lassen said:

If that WAS a F7 … then it is a sad looking rebuild of a very stylish and cool looking locomotive.

Pete

Santa Fe rebuilt the F units in their shops to suit their needs. They then traded those units (along many others) with Amtrak for the SDP45’s. I honestly think Santa Fe won out on that deal as it wasn’t the 45 units that were causing the derails but the baggage cars(or so I read it that way)

Good looks alone doesnt pull trains.

In the 1970’s those 200 Santa Fe F-units were worn out, at the end of their careers…no other railroads wanted or needed them, because they all also had their own worn-out F-units running out their last miles…those Santa Fe F’s had three possible fates:

1: scrap.

2: trade-in for new units…they would then be stripped of parts and scrapped.

3. Be rebuilt.

Santa Fe chose to rebuild them…a smart choice at the time.

Scot

I am sorry but to me it kinda looks like the Yugo of the train world. Lol. And knowing they came from F units that is almost sad. But you do what you have too.

It is sad.

BTW, what is a diseasel?

I remember when the Cleburn CF7s were a big deal in the HO modeling world and magazine articles showing the first batch kept the round roof over the cab. Just think of them as kitbashing in 12 inch scale.