EMD GP9E and GP9R

Specifications
Specifications
Configuration:;
• AAR	B-B
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Trucks	EMD Blomberg B
Wheel diameter	40 in (1.016 m)
Minimum curve	21° (273 ft (83.21 m) radius)
Wheelbase	40 ft (12.19 m)
Length	56 ft 2 in (17.12 m)
Width	10 ft 3+1⁄2 in (3.14 m)
Height	15 ft 1⁄2 in (4.58 m)
Loco weight	259,500 lb (117,700 kg)
Fuel capacity	1,100 US gal (4,200 L; 920 imp gal)
Prime mover	EMD 16-567C
RPM range	835 max
Engine type	V16 Two-stroke diesel
Aspiration	Roots blower
Displacement	9,072 cu in (148.66 L)
Generator	EMD D-12-B
Traction motors	(4) EMD D-37-B
Cylinders	16
Cylinder size	8+1⁄2 in × 10 in (216 mm × 254 mm)

Type and origin
Type and origin
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
Model	GP9; GP9E; GP9R
Total produced	340 (Southern Pacific); 60 (Cotton Belt)
Rebuild date	April 1970 – March 1979
Number rebuilt	283 (Southern Pacific); 10 (Cotton Belt)

EMD GP9E and GP9R
EMD GP9E and GP9R
	Southern Pacific GP9E #3765 is heading back toward Fremont after a run to Radum, outside Pleasanton in August 1985.
Power type
Type and origin
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
Model	GP9; GP9E; GP9R
Total produced	340 (Southern Pacific); 60 (Cotton Belt)
Rebuild date	April 1970 – March 1979
Number rebuilt	283 (Southern Pacific); 10 (Cotton Belt)
Configuration:;
Specifications
Configuration:;
• AAR	B-B
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Trucks	EMD Blomberg B
Wheel diameter	40 in (1.016 m)
Minimum curve	21° (273 ft (83.21 m) radius)
Wheelbase	40 ft (12.19 m)
Length	56 ft 2 in (17.12 m)
Width	10 ft 3+1⁄2 in (3.14 m)
Height	15 ft 1⁄2 in (4.58 m)
Loco weight	259,500 lb (117,700 kg)
Fuel capacity	1,100 US gal (4,200 L; 920 imp gal)
Prime mover	EMD 16-567C
RPM range	835 max
Engine type	V16 Two-stroke diesel
Aspiration	Roots blower
Displacement	9,072 cu in (148.66 L)
Generator	EMD D-12-B
Traction motors	(4) EMD D-37-B
Cylinders	16
Cylinder size	8+1⁄2 in × 10 in (216 mm × 254 mm)
Maximum speed
Performance figures
Maximum speed	65 mph (105 km/h)
Power output	1,750 hp (1.30 MW)
Tractive effort	64,750 lbf (288.0 kN)
Operators
Career
Operators	Southern Pacific Transportation Company; St. Louis Southwestern Railway ("Cotton Belt Route")
Locale	North America
Preserved	See here
Disposition	Six preserved, remainder scrapped

The EMD GP9E and GP9R are rebuilds from EMD GP9 diesel locomotives that were built by General-Motors Electro-Motive Division for the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (also known as the "Cotton Belt Route") and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company.^[1]^[2]^[3]

History[edit]

Beginning in 1970 with SP GP9 #3424, all of the pre-existing EMD GP9 diesel locomotives that were on the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (also known as the "Cotton Belt Route") and Southern Pacific's roster were rebuilt into GP9E's and GP9R's with the number series beginning at #3300.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Because of the internal differences of the three 'Phases', different 'rebuild' schemes were required, which meant that they were placed into different number series. As well some got Farr air filter boxes behind the cab of the units.^[1]

As the rebuilds had came and went, alongside the un-rebuilt units, no numbers were reused from the Southern Pacific's 1965 renumbering scheme.^[1]

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company began rebuilding their units in 1970, while the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (also known as the "Cotton Belt Route") began rebuilding their units in 1974.^[1]

SP's Paint scheme variants[edit]

Nine of Southern Pacific's GP9E/GP9R locomotives were painted into the Southern Pacific's "Kodachrome" livery of the Failed merger between Southern Pacific and Santa Fe, these units were GP9E/R locomotives #2873, #3370, #3735, #3739, #3775, #3778, #3784, #3792 and #3846.^[1]

Preservation[edit]

Out of all the 283 units that were rebuilt, six EMD GP9R locomotives have survived into preservation:

Southern Pacific GP9R #2873 (formerly Texas and New Orleans GP9 #443, SP #3798 and SP #3565) is currently preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM), it was donated to the WPRM in 1992 and currently still resides there to this day.^[4]^[5]
Southern Pacific GP9R #3189 (formerly, SP #5623 and #3005) is now operational at the Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy) as Southern Pacific GP9 #5623.^[6]
Southern Pacific GP9R #3194 (formerly Texas and New Orleans GP9 #281, SP #5895 and #3001) which had worked on the SP's Peninsula Commute from 1960/61 to 1985 before being retired in 1998 and donated to Golden Gate Railroad Museum (GGRM) that same year in 1998. It still serves there to this day.^[7]
Southern Pacific GP9R #3709 (formerly SP GP9 #5873) is at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association in Campo, California.^[8]^[9]
Southern Pacific GP9R #3769 (formerly SP GP9 #5733 and #3574) is currently on static display at the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah.^[10]
Southern Pacific GP9R #3873 (formerly SSW GP9 #3873, SSW 3651, SSW 830) is currently at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association in Campo, California.^[11]^[12]

Southern Pacific #5623 at the Niles Canyon Railway in 2006.
Southern Pacific GP9R #2873 at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM) in the Southern Pacific's "Kodachrome" livery.
Southern Pacific GP9R #3194 at the Golden Gate Railroad Museum (GGRM)

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Strapac (1974), p. 23-28
^ ^a ^b Solomon (2000), p. 74
^ ^a ^b Solomon (2000), p. 168
^ "Southern Pacific 2873". tour.wplives.org. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ "WPRM - SP 2873". wplives.org. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ "Southern Pacific #5623". Niles Canyon Railway. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ "SP 3194: EMD GP-9". Golden Gate Railroad Museum. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
^ "Southern Pacific #3709". Pacific Southwest Railway Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ "SP #3709". www.sdrm.info. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ "Rolling Stock of the Utah State Railroad Museum: SP 3769: GP9". Utah State Railroad Museum: Spencer S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Rail Center. Ogden, Utah: Ogden Union Station. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
^ "Southern Pacific #3873". Pacific Southwest Railway Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ "SP #3873". www.sdrm.info. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

Bibliography[edit]

Solomon, Brian (2000). American Diesel Locomotives. Voyageur Press. ISBN 9781610606059.
Strapac, Joseph A. (1974). Southern Pacific Motive Power Annual 1973. Chatham Publishing.

External links[edit]

[:0-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Strapac (1974), p. 23-28

[:1-2] Solomon (2000), p. 74

[:2-3] Solomon (2000), p. 168

[4] "Southern Pacific 2873". tour.wplives.org. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

[5] "WPRM - SP 2873". wplives.org. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

[6] "Southern Pacific #5623". Niles Canyon Railway. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

[7] "SP 3194: EMD GP-9". Golden Gate Railroad Museum. Retrieved 19 April 2020.

[8] "Southern Pacific #3709". Pacific Southwest Railway Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

[9] "SP #3709". www.sdrm.info. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

[10] "Rolling Stock of the Utah State Railroad Museum: SP 3769: GP9". Utah State Railroad Museum: Spencer S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Rail Center. Ogden, Utah: Ogden Union Station. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2018-10-31.

[11] "Southern Pacific #3873". Pacific Southwest Railway Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

[12] "SP #3873". www.sdrm.info. Retrieved 2023-10-28.

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