Ok, I’m posting this here in the general forums since I didn’t get any replies in the loco form. Back in the 1970s and early 80s, MP replaced the original GE round cab with an EMD-style angled cab if a GE loco was wrecked. MP did this to U-boats and Dash7s. GE finally got around to incorporating angled cabs with the Dash 8.
MP U30C
MP B23-7
Were you asking something about these?
I’ll have to admit that I didn’t know about this before, and it’s interesting. I suspect that it wasn’t so much the shape of the roof as it was the width of the doors.
Now that’s interesting…
Wow. Pretty cool. Gives alot of hope to modelers as proof in the expression, a “prototype for everything”.
Nice find. Nice bit of history.
seems to me that EMD offered cab kits for rebuilds in that era. Comments? corrections?
EMD offered cab kits for a while. MP may have been experiencing a power shortage when these units were wrecked and had EMD cab kits in their shop inventory. A little bit of extra sheet metal work may have been required but it got the power back on the road in less time.
I have seen pictures of these engines before, and I believe they are in at least one of the Diesel Spotter’s Guides. It’s true that sometimes it takes a while for anything to happen in the locomotives section, it’s a good thread but not nearly as popular as the General Discussion area.
At the time MoPac was repairing these units, GE’s Dash 7 program was in full swing, resulting in a long delivery time frame for new cabs to MP. EMD could provide cabs with much shorter lead time, so the MP went that route.
At least one of the U30C’s even operated as a “B” unit for a time while awaiting a new cab. I think it was 3311, but don’t quote me on the number.
Kevin