Ok, it may seem strange having been into trains as long as I have but.... I cannot tell the difference between GP40s and GP40-2s. What are the spotting features? Please be very specific. I've heard of the little water site glass window on the right side of the long hood. Also I keep hearing mention of a bulge or overhang with the cab??? Still can't figure this out after all these years. Diagrams anybody??? Help!!
In the above pictures, you can see the sight glass difference that you mentioned. Also, the GP40-2 has a definite anti-climber; the GP40 does not.
The trucks on a -2 have only one brake shoe per wheel, one brake cylinder on each side, and one snubber(shock absorber) also on each side.
Yes, like the GP60 truck? I think we had a thread on the difference between the two trucks. http://www.trainboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/ubb/get_topic/f/9/t/004775/p/1.html? [ 17. February 2005, 11:25: Message edited by: sapacif ]
Some do and some don't. Same thing with the sight glass window. There might be some difference in the fuel tank level gauge..
There's actually quite a bit of difference in the sheetmetal between the two models. Some basics: Radiator Intake Grills - all GP40s were built with screen radiator intake grills. Early GP40-2s were the same way, but starting in late 1976, EMD switched to a corrugated screen style. Cabs - GP40-2 (and its Dash-2 contemporaries) cabs had a rear roof overhang, and a drip rail over the front door; the GP40 cabs lacked these features. Also, the cab sidewalls were different - the Dash-2s had a built-out plate around the side window area that was riveted (later welded) onto the cab side, while GP40s had just a narrow batten strip running horizontally along the cab side, just beneath the side windows. Exhaust stacks - All GP40s shared the same style of turbocharger exhaust, and the same held true for the GP40-2 until 1980, when federal noise emissions standards took effect, and required EMD to utilize a boxy exhaust silencer manifold. All GP40-2s built for domestic service from then on had that feature. Radiator Fans - While EMD had relatively minor variations on the 48" fan throughout GP40 and GP40-2 production, 1980 was again a year that would bring big change. Those same noise abatement requirements that brought the exhaust silencer also brought out the Q-Fan (Q for quiet) that was standard on all GP40-2s from 1980 on. Low hoods (noses) - All GP40s had 81" noses, as did early production GP40-2s. However, when EMD implemented the "clean cab" standards in 1977, the nose length increased to 88" (to provide room for relocated cab appliances). When this happened, EMD was also forced to apply either a walkway extension or anticlimber to the front pilot, to allow room for crew members to walk around the front end. Class light knockouts, upper corners of the rear hood - EMD applied these to all Dash-2 series diesels; while they look like class light locations, they're actually knockouts that allow shop forces access to radiator plumbing that would otherwise be very difficult to reach from inside the hood. Trucks - All as-delivered GP40s rode on Blomberg-B trucks with elliptical leaf springs, dual brake cylinders, and clasp brakes per sideframe. Optionally, the Dash-2 series introduced a variation on the Blomberg-B with a single brake cylinder and shock absorber per sideframe. It could be had with either a rubber spring pack (which rode rough), or the tried-and-true leaf springs. Access doors - the GP40s had a different style of electrical compartment access door than the Dash-2s; they also had a different door layout underneath the radiator compartment. The water sight glass was a standard feature on the Dash-2s, but be careful when using this as a spotting feature; some late 40-series units, like SD40s, SD39s, and GP38ACs, had them too! Those are some of the major differences I can think of offhand, and there are other little ones here and there (handbrakes, battery boxes, stepwells/pilots, dynamic brake housings) between the two. [ 18. February 2005, 05:12: Message edited by: SP 8299 ]
WOW!!! Thanks for all the great info!! I recently received a contribution to my site of a UP GP #903. Looked like and was labeled a -2 but my roster indicated a straight 40. Checked Don Strack's roster and it indicated -2. Think Dons roster is much more accurate than mine so seems I will have to move several pics from my straight 40 page to the -2 page.
Withers has it as a EMD/MPI GP38-3 built from a GP38. UP 903 ex UP 2403 ex CSX 2079 New as C&O 3879 AS more and more of the GP get rebuilt the harder it gets to tell them apart.
Rebuilding has definately made model designations & spotting "tricky" at best. A lot of rebuilds have only internal changes that aren't visible. I know CSX has GP40-2's that have non-Dash 2 trucks; in fact, I have even spied units with one of each! Harold
