This last weekend, I was able to do some railfanning. My boys were with me, fortunately. As we are watching a BNSF train, my oldest boy asks if I saw the GN box car? Well, sure enough there was a GN car. It turns out to be a blue wood chip car and it had survived the years pretty good. To top it off, I was able to get a picture of it on the Keddie Wye. Truly a ghost from railroadings past. Greg Elems
That's a great find Greg. There's very few traces of those fallen flags left and it's always a fun suprise when you see one.
The ex GN and NP woodchip hoppers are in great supply in Washington, when I worked in Everett last summer there would be a train about once or twice a wek that would come into the yard with about 20-40 wood chip hoppers in it, the NP ones ussally out numbered the GN ones and BN ones. Kevin
Ok, this is a bit off topic, but on the BN's predecessor railroads, NP, GN, CB&Q, SP&S; did any of these railroads use FT's on transcon passenger trains? Kato F's in N scale are hard to find and EXPENSIVE! FT's would be an acceptable sub. That is if the FT's were used in prototype varnish consists. Why should it matter? On my layout, I use SD80MACs in BN fantasy colors, and SD45's mixed with SD40-2's...... Not to mention GP20's and SD60M's....
I believe that the SP&S was the only railroad that didn't have FT's. I seem to remember seeing a picture of a GN set in the green and orange paint pulling a passenger train. NP had them but they were painted in their freight scheme, if memory serves me correctly. I say, "get'em and run them passenger trains." Greg Elems
As far as I know the FTs were never used in passenger service on the GN. When the Empire Builder was dieselizd it was with E7As, followed shortly by F3As and F7As when the E's didn't work out. I won't say it was never done, but if it was, it was a rare occourance indeed!
I've seen pics of GN FT's pulling passenger trains in the mountains. I think I heard that the E-7's did not like grades so FT's were used until better power came along. Oh, and SD40-2's and SD45's mixed works quite alright from 1972-1985 I belive, and BNSF has some ex BN GP20's on the roster so you could run them with SD60M's and it could be alright, now if it ever happened I don't know but it could have and still could. Kevin Mumaw USMC PFC
As I said, I'm sure it's been done, but it was never a common occurance. On this vein, I've seen pics of U25Bs with heater cars on the point of the Western Star as part of an expieriment. It was as a result of expieriments like this that the GN decided to buy the SDP40s and later the SDP45s, which are basically freight locomotives with a steam generator added. For my HO scale Empire Builder I'm using a pair of Atlas U33Cs in Big Sky Blue for power and an Athearn dummy SDP40, also in blue for a "heater car". This was done occasionally as there were only 13 of the SDPs on the roster. The reason that the E7s were withdrawn from transcontintal service was that they were cooking traction motors going over the passes. The combination of heavy trains (as many as 24 cars on the Western Star) and steep grades were just too much for the Es to handle and they were replaces with 4 or 5 F units.
<font color="336633">Just a quick note, the only FT's to make it to the merger was a set of NP ones, although they was retired within a few months of the merger and never recived thier BN numbers (they would have been 798 for the cab and 799 for the booster).</font>
The Cascadian from Seattle to Spokane rated FTs every once in a while..and the Pacific Coast trains Might have I CTHippo I believe you still have my books.
I want to amend this old post! FTs were put on the gopher and badger when they arrived in the early 40s and like the post above said out here on the left coast they rain between Portland and Vancouver BC on the coast pool trains and the internationals.
We had a shipper here in town, who was using the big chip cars. Until late last Fall. When they moved out of state, seeking friendlier business climates. We were regularly seeing NP cars. Now and then, even a GN. I went over there many times. And stared at them. Brought back many fond memories. Boxcab E50
Saw a GN one and 2 NP ones today in Odessa, WA. A lot of the NPs have what looks like a spraypainted white stripe that goes to about the 3rd rib from both ends, about center on the car. Any idea what this might be for?
Have also seen many of the white stripe NP cars. Kind of spoils the memories, and pictures. Was talking with a retired GN/BN friend. We both came to the conclusion that stripes must be for visibility at night. Possibly to keep people from driving cars into the sides of trains at street crossings. Nothing else makes sense. Boxcab E50
