What Era?

[Anonymous]

Being new to the hobby I don't know what era GP9s were used in. Could they be used along with steam? What application were they used in? Were they used by PRR or Conrail at all?

[Anonymous]

GP9's I believe are from the mid or late 1950's, which means that they were used along with old steam locomotives.

[Anonymous]

the GP9 was produced in the early to mid 50's and were used by the PRR/Conrail.
Ch

[nfmisso]

The GP9 showed up in the early-mid 1950's ('53 maybe), and was superceded by the GP18 in the late '50s ('58/'59). Railroads continue to use them to the present. PRR had a very large number of them. Conrail probably retired most very quickly, with the GP15 being the designated replacement.

They lasted longer on the N&W/NS, with some being rebuilt into slugs for use with GP40's, some get rebuilt as TC10's with Caterpillar power, and even some that were converted to 8 cylinders (from 16).

[Hawks05]

ok. when you said the 50s i was like i'm not going to model that era but yet i still have 2 GP7s. a CB&Q and a Rock Island. i'm glad to hear that they are sometimes used now days.

[Jetrock]

The GP7 was produced from 1949 to 1954. The GP9, which is very similar, was produced from 1954-1959. Essentially just a slightly updated GP7, the models are almost alike except for a couple of panels and other details--and since many GP7 and GP9 parts were interchangeable, there were plenty of GP7's that looked like 9's and vice-versa. They were used in mainline service until the late 1970's, slowly being relegated to yard-switcher duty and way freights in the 80's and 90's. At least a few small short lines still use them (the Yolo Short Line has one) so they wouldn't be completely out of place on a 2003-era layout. I'm not sure if there are still some poking around Roseville Yard in SP colors, but I'll look the next time I'm out there.

They were primarily used for freight rather than passenger service.

So, to sum up, they would have been used for heavy-duty freight runs on major railroads in the 1950's and 60's, slowly getting more worn down and shifted to light freight and switcher duty in the 70's and 80's, and beyond that they'd mostly be found on little short lines that can only afford 40-50 year old engines.

I'm quite fond of Geeps myself...I own two.

[dehusman]

The Pennsy's GP's were built between 1955 and 1959, which means the first ones they bought would have overlapped steam by about a year or so, the last ones they bought would never see steam.

GP9's were used for everything from yard engines to mainline freight, from ore drags to piggyback trains.

GP9's lasted into Conrail.

The Pennsy's were 7000-7269. The Penny also had GP9-b's that were cabless boosters.

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

In fact there are still class 1 RR's using GP9's. Both CN and CP still operate them, a few are even still high-nose. They are also very common on short-lines

Up here at least, they operated alongside steam for about 4-6 years (from the introduction in 1954 to the end of steam between 1958-1960), although Canadian roads were late converts to dieselization.

They were mainline power in the late 50's and early 60's, handling just about anything (mainline and branchline trains, as well as secondary passenger service) and were later used for branchline service and yard service through the 70's and 80's. They're mostly used in yards, or on shortlines today. The GP9 is probably the ultimate in generic power, as only the short hood and paintjob really date them, and even there, some early paintjobs and high-noses lasted into the 80's (And even longer, in the case of the noses)

[Anonymous]

Anyone know if the UP used GP7s in the 40's? [;)]

[DSchmitt]

simple answer to original question

Yes some many railroads were still running steam after they recieved GP9's

The Southern Pacific for instance was not completely diselized until the mid 1960's

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the great info. I don't have a specific layout in mind yet hence the original question. I bought a lot of used stock from someone changing scales. I have 3 GP9S, an SD40, and 4 Steam engines. I'd like to model something in the range of late 60's to early 70's but I don't know if I can get away with using the equipment I have. I live in the York PA area so I'd like to stick with something more local like Conrail or PRR. Thanks again for the info!!

[Dough]

Ah the wonders of shortlines. Just yesterday I had to wait for a Chessie GP9 in original paint go by. This is one of several Chessie and other GP9s...

[Anonymous]

I've recently seen them at the yards in Tacoma Washington doing switch work for the BNSF. I can't remember if they were GPs or SDs though. I think they may have been three axle trucks. One was recently painted in the orange and green BNSF scheme while another was still in BN green with BNSF stenciled on it in white. Both were modified to low nose. They’re still alive and kicking.

Warren

[Anonymous]

The GP9 was about as versitile an engine as there was. Canadian Pacific, Union Pacific, Northern Pacific, Southern Pacific, Milwaukee Road, Illinois Central, New York Central (and others) used them in passenger service, too. The model marketed by Athearn for all these years as a GP9 and GP7 is equipped with steam generator details, so it is perfectly appropriate on a steam-heated passenger train (i.e., virtually any passenger train from 1949 to the mid 1970s).

--John

[Anonymous]

As to Union Pacific GP7s, unfortunately they didn't come along until 1953.

--John

[Mikeygaw]

that's why i love freelancing... it doesn't really matter when it was historically run :)

[Jetrock]

Well, it sort of does--if you're freelancing a 1920's line then a GP7 might not be appropriate. If you're freelancing a 1950's line, then a GP7 would look right as a spanking-new engine pulling a mainline freight. If you're freelancing a 1990's line, then a GP7 would look good as a battered, heavily-weathered yard goat or a tired but doughty way freight on a short line. If you're building a model of a railroad museum, a spanking-new reconditioned paint scheme or a totally rust-covered hulk would be appropriate.

If you're freelancing a narrow-gauge logging line, then a GP7 is probably out of the question.

"Freelance" doesn't have to be "free of authenticity."

[Sperandeo]

Getting back to the original question, GP9s were introduced in 1954 (from "Diesel Locomotives: the First 50 Years," by Louis A. Marre), and the last ones were built in 1959. While they did overlap the period of steam operation, on many railroads they were the engines that finally killed the steamers' fires. So it really wasn't so common for GP9s to be running side-by-side with steam. A more typical example would be the Union Pacific, which was using a fleet of GP9s between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles while still running Big Boys and Challengers in Wyoming and 4-8-4s and other steamers in Nebraska.

On the Pennsylvania RR steam operation officially stopped at the end of November 1957. By 1956 the remaining steam power had been concentrated in a few areas while the majority of the system was run with diesels and electrics. Depending on the time and place, many parts of the PRR that you might want to model would have been dieselized before 1956.

The "GP" in GP9 stands for general purpose, and these locomotives really were used in every kind of railroad service from switching to passenger trains. Again the period you model makes a difference, as for many railroads of the mid to late 1950s the GP9 was the most modern mainline freight locomotive on the roster.

Happy holidays,

Andy