I know GP 30’s were/are appropriate for road use, at least from 60/70’s and up. My question is would it be appropriate to use one as a switcher in a yard and pushing cars on short runs? Starting a layout and what to be fairly close. Thanks.
Jerry
The GP stands for General Purpose, so yes it would be used as yard switcher on a railroad where the motive power is stretched thin over the entire system.
You could use them, but the dynamic brakes probably wouldn’t see much use at those low speeds.
Soo Line had a small fleet of GP-30 (w/o dynamics) and they were used from acquisition to about 2000 (Soo and Wisc. Central) in about any kind of service you can imagine (yard switcher, road switcher, etc.). You’d often see them paired with much newer and larger units as well.
Same with CP’s 2 GP30’s (but with d/b). Were used on Vancouver Island (the E&N) along with GP9’s, GP35’s and GP38’s. The E&N was/is a glorified large yard [:D] They started in mainline service in the 60’s but slowly made their way down the pecking order.
So go ahead, use them in your yard and on the short locals, no problem. [tup]
I would like to have a pair of Soo Line GP30 Units made by Lionel for 3-Rail O Scale operation.
Andrew
Even today, CSX still has a fleet of GP-30 “slug” units in both yard and local use. They are usually tethered to a GP40-2 or GP39, but are usually at the point, because they are smooth riders (since their prime movers have been removed and cement ballast has been loaded inside).
GP30’s are perfect for yard operations. Load nicely, run fairly smooth, can get you up to speed real fast, are pretty strong as far as switching units go.
The SOO LINE units did not have dyno’s and actually had a beacon, which would be used during yard service.
WC used there GP30s (old SOO Line and CNW) on pretty much anything. Switching, Locals, and road trains. Its a very versatile locomotive, so sure, use it as a yard engine, and maybe get it some mainline action once and a while. Alec
You can still see them on the main on the BNSF (although I think technicaly they are GP30Us now). I took this shot a couple months ago.
I had to go to my list - but yep - we have seen 11 of them in our yard. We get some freights from the south (have no clue how far south) that the GP30’s have brought in. They are usually with another engine of some kind, but they are out there and working very hard!
Mookie
I was just on the SoCal site and Chris Walker just posted pics of a set of 4 that were in the harbor area.
The Rio Grande used its GP30s in yard service now and then. I saw one 10-12 years ago in Roper Yard (Salt Lake City). Unfortunately, there was no way to photograph it.