Has it ever accured to anyone that the very first GP7 and the very first SD7 were retired by two diffrent railroads, with the same number?
The Illinois Railway Musuem is home to both units, Southern Pacific 1518, the first SD7 and originally a Demo, and Chicago Northwestern 1518, perhaps also a former demo.
45 years ago, who would have thought that these two historically significant locomotives would share the same number, or that both roads are now part of the expanisive Union Pacific.
Let me guess, the very first domestic U-boat also carried the number 1518?
Randy, is it possible that MILW had the first production SD7s?
The GP7 that became CNW 1518 had a different number (100?) and paint scheme as a demo. During its service life, the unit was renumbered and got a nose job (chop) from the CNW–it had a nice job of restoration before going back to the museum.
The C&NW GP7 was renumbered when it was restored for display. It hadn’t worn that number for more than 15 years.
The first true U-Boat carried number 51 as a Demo, and 801 as a working locomotive for SL-SF. It was never renumbered, and was retired and never assigned a BN number.