In the video TRAINS On Location: Tehachipi, I saw what appeared to be a GP40 crossed with a SD45. It had 4 axle trucks, a single dynamic brake fan, 3 radiator fans, flared SD45 style radiators, was numbered 3807, and was lettered Santa Fe. It is near the end of the video, if you want to look at it. I couldn’t see if it had -2 parts or not. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?
Trainboy
This would be a GP40X – the “pre-production” GP50. In addition to Santa Fe, UP, SP, and NS got some, usually in very low numbers. Also, most of the GP40Xs had an unusual truck design, the HT-B, although Santa Fe’s were built with standard Blombergs. The flared radiators were not carried over to final GP50 design, although the 50s did have greater cooling capacity.
A picture, found via Google:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=37877
and
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=17769
-Mark Hintz
http://www.geocities.com/fuzzybroken
Those were really cool looking locomotives. A mini SD45. There’s another shot of one in Don Ball Jr.'s book, “America’s Railroad’s, the Second Generation.” Sadly, I’ve only ever seen one in person.[:(]
GP40X…predecessor to the GP50…Santa Fe had 10, 3800-3809…3810 and up to 3839 were GP50’s…All were assigned to hot piggys on the transcon where they ran off most of their miles…Santa Fe got them in 11/78 3500 HP each; 264,400 Lbs; 60’-2" long, 5’-7.5" shorter than an SD45
Anyone have a shot of those funky trucks that were tested?
Adrianspeeder
The variety on the appearance of the GP40X’s was astounding. Some had HT-B trucks, SR 7000-7002 had high noses and SP 7200-7201 & 7230-7231 had elephant ears.
The SP units eventually lost the “elephant ears”
http://espee.railfan.net/spgp40x.html
UP’s and SP’s GP40X’s were the only units to have the unique HT-B truck. All of Santa Fe’s units came with a smaller fuel tank, I believe.
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/up9000a.jpg
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/up9001.jpg