IIRC the steam boiler / water for railroads that wanted a “passenger GP” went in the high short hood on a GP-7 or GP-9. Not sure if there was any connection, but it seems like a fair number of railroads that ordered passenger GPs (Great Northern and New York Central for example) also set them up long-hood forward. That would mean the steam generator and connection would be closer to the passenger cars. Not sure if that was a reason or not as to which end was the front…although I believe Soo Line’s passenger GP-9s were short hood forward.
I’m not so sure on that. I remember seeing N&W GP9’s on the “Blue Bird” leading with the short hood and the same with IC GP9’s on the “Governor’s Special”. Monon C420’s also led with the short hood on the “Thoroughbred”.
Yeah it pretty much came down to a railroad thing and how they ordered them.
CN’s GP9s were long hood forward. (GP7s probably were too)
CP’s GP7s and GP9s were short hood forward. CP’s RS-3s, RS-10s were long hood, the later RS-18s were short hood.
Algoma Central’s GP7s were all short hood forward. They had a few rebuilt by CN in Winnipeg in the late 1970s and the CN paint shop incorrectly marked the long hood as “front” among other minor paint errors…
And Southern ordered SD40s long hood forward when that wasn’t really standard for other railroads.
The steam pipe goes to both ends with connections on both ends. Plenty of short-hood-forward roads had units with steam lines and boilers. I believe some roads may have even had some units with no boilers but pass-through steam lines so they could still be used as extra power on passenger trains.
There were jokes that NS wanted to order their SD70s with high hoods but settled on the spartain cab. [:P]
As a potential tie-in to the “ATSF early numbering” thread – CGW notoriously ordered a ‘matched set’ comprising “locomotive” 116 – units 116A and 116C were FP7s, and 116B and D,E,F,and G were listed as F7Bs.
I’d have thought the two FP7s would have the steam generators, diesel fuel reserves, water, etc. for the trainlength the combined consist would pull, with the boosters having the kind of passthrough described. I do not find detail from Edson on the details of how this engine was intended to be used – surely someone here will know.