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GP38-2 tiny fuel tank

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GP38-2 tiny fuel tank
Posted by Lyon_Wonder on Saturday, August 7, 2010 10:39 PM

Evansville Western Railway GP38-2 EVWR #3834 has a smaller fuel tank than most GP38/40s.  It's original owner must have thought it wasn't going to travel very far:)

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1080652 

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Posted by Dutchrailnut on Sunday, August 8, 2010 6:33 AM

looks like a 1200 gallon tank, enough for two days of local work and switching.

Maybe unit was equiped with small tank to keep axle loading to minimum.

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Posted by Jackflash on Sunday, August 8, 2010 10:43 AM

 Its a 1700 gallon tank and its good for more than two days how much more depends on

type of duty, round the clock or just 8-10 hours, ect

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Posted by zugmann on Sunday, August 8, 2010 12:03 PM

Dutchrailnut

looks like a 1200 gallon tank, enough for two days of local work and switching.

Maybe unit was equiped with small tank to keep axle loading to minimum.

 

 

2 days?  Wow... you drinking the stuff as well?

 

We have a couple Gp38s that we use a lot (heavy switching and local work - they don't spend more than a few hours a day parked) and they get refueled once a week.   They have tanks that hold about 2600 gallons. 

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any

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Posted by Geared Steam on Sunday, August 8, 2010 12:03 PM

 Lighter weight for branch lines and/or light rail, Milwaukee Road did the same thing on it's units for the Northern Montana Division (and other divisions as well)

 

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Sunday, August 8, 2010 3:15 PM

What is its lineage??  Could be was once a passenger loco with a separate tank for water for the steam generator??

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Posted by RRKen on Sunday, August 8, 2010 3:31 PM

The Rock also got a few GP38-2's with smaller tanks, so did MoPac.  My experience with them, is 1800 gallons lasts about a week in the yard, and four days on a local branch job (works two shifts).   I don't win any fuel conservation awards either.  

I never drink water. I'm afraid it will become habit-forming.
W. C. Fields
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Posted by Bryan Jones on Sunday, August 8, 2010 9:14 PM

This unit is former Phelps Dodge Copper #4. All Phelps Dodge units were built with relatively small fuel tanks.

 Bryan Jones

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Posted by YoHo1975 on Monday, August 9, 2010 11:36 AM
The small fuel tank was a standard option. Heck it was such a standard option that Athearn offered it on their BB GP38-2.
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Posted by oltmannd on Monday, August 9, 2010 1:20 PM
The standard GP38/40 fuel tank size was 2600 gal with an optional 3600 gal. This looks smaller than 2600. Usually smaller tanks on GPs were a concession to weight.

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by WSOR 3801 on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 2:33 PM

 NdeM also had the smaller (1700 gallon) tanks on their GP38-2s

This one ended up with a real small tank by the time my employer got it.

MILW seemed to have smaller tanks on everything.  GP40s, SD40-2s, GP38-2s, MP15ACs, and usually only one tank on SD7-9s.  3 SD7s came with 2 tanks, but one was removed when going through the SD10 rebuild program. 

Ex-MILW MP15AC with 1100 gallon tank.  Looks like the 1700 gallon tank would fit under there.


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Posted by Evergreen24 on Thursday, August 12, 2010 3:27 PM

Most of the MILW, NdeM, TM & DEVCO [and other] locomotives were equipped with 1,700 gal fuel tanks for lightweight branch lines. Mainly the Texas Mexican was known to operate their GP38-2 fleet with these small tanks.

 

As for ROCK, they purchased 2,300 gallon fuel tanks up to 4355, when the 4368-4379 series rolled out, they had 3,000 gallon fuel tanks.

 

And the Railway Company of Guinea Bauxite owns several SD40's and three SD40-2's with 1,700 gal tanks

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