Northern Pacific GP7/9 chop nose?

[johnh35]

I have seen some of the old NP Geeps with chop noses in BN paint, but were the noses chopped in the NP days and does anybody have a picture reference if so?

John

[wazzou]

None of the NP's GP-7 or GP-9 units were delivered with or altered with low noses prior to the BN merger.
The GN did chop the noses of two GP-7's.  Interestingly they both were later painted in BSB.
I don't recall any low nose GP-9's on the GN.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Could it have been a GP20? They looked like early geeps with low noses. I think they all made it into BN paint.

The only photos I could find of ex GN geeps modified with low noses were in BN paint:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=560367
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2094902

According to this site, these were all modified during GN:
http://www.greatnorthernempire.net/index2.htm?GNEGNDieselRosterGP20.htm

Anyone know if the rebuild included the chopped noses or was that a latter addition.

Its kind of amazing that some of these are on their 3rd or 4th complete rebuild and still operating 65 years after being built.

[johnh35]

The GN GP20's were all high nose. IIRC, GN and WP were the only railroads that chose that option (the low nose was standard on the GP20). I was hoping to find an example of a chop nose NP (pics of one in a similar scheme on another thread looked awesome). Well rats! To foobie, or not to foobie.....

John

[wazzou]

The GN's lownose GP-7's were numbered #613...in BSB
http://www.gn-npjointarchive.org/GNRHSNewby/GNRHS.Newby.Bk1img323.jpg

and #620...after wreck rebuild
http://www.gn-npjointarchive.org/GNRHSNewby/GNRHS.Newby.Bk1img331.jpg

and later in BSB
http://www.gn-npjointarchive.org/GNRHSNewby/GNRHS.Newby.Bk1img330.jpg

[H Lee]

Could it have been a GP20? They looked like early geeps with low noses. I think they all made it into BN paint.

All the GN's GP20's were Hi-short hood and ran long hood first. The first low-nosed locos for GN were the GP30's and U25B's in the early 1960's.

The 613 and 620 must have been wreck damaged and repaired and modified with the low short hood in the 1960's after the arrival of the low nosed units.

[johnh35]

Looking at the GP7 pics, it would appear that the low hood is now forward. Though I cannot see the back, I would presume that the stripe continues in a straight line as it did on the short hood of engines that were long hood forward?

[wazzou]

I would presume that the stripe continues in a straight line as it did on the short hood of engines that were long hood forward?

Correct.

One other thing to note is the extra small fuel tanks on those two units.  I don't have my notes on capacity here at work, but you can see they don't go out to the sills.

[Robbman]

Correct.

One other thing to note is the extra small fuel tanks on those two units.  I don't have my notes on capacity here at work, but you can see they don't go out to the sills.

800g IIRC... NKP had some as well. 

[SP-Wolf]

Here's a little excerp from the SP modelers site regarding low nose phIII GP9's:

"SP's last order of GP9's #5872-5891, were delivered in August and September of 1959. These Phase III units came with low noses, 48" fans, and painted blood nose. These were among the 'last' GP9's built by EMD for a US customer, and (despite persistent rumors to the contrary), were the only order of low-nose GP9's built for a major Railroad. GMD in Canada continued building GP9's until 1963."

Thanks,
Wolf