Hi,

Recently I've been collecting a lot of slides and negatives of TP&W locomotives. Seeing all of the different units gets me wondering, how many are left? Obviously there's the two Centuries, the 400, and at least one Geep I was able to track down to a shortline in Pennsylvania. Are there any others?

Thomas Dyrek

TP&W received 11 GP38-2s in 1977-78, seven are still on the BNSF roster (2376-2382), and the others ended up with KCS via a leasing company, I'm not sure where those are now. TP&W's GP38-2s are easy to spot because they didn't have dynamic brakes. David Balko photo, 8/16/2017 at Galesburg:

Based on another roster I now think there were only 10 TP&W GP38-2s, the remaining three are still on KCS' roster (1921, 2002-2003), 09/24/2017 at Houston TX, Andrew B. photo:

In 2012, BNSF sold several dozen GP30/35 rebuilds to Larry's Truck electric. BNSF 2458 (TP&W GP30 700) was one of the ones shipped to Lordstown. Subsequent to that date, BNSF reacquired some of them. I do not know if BNSF 2478 was one of them, or whether or not another purchaser acquired it. If not, it should still be there.

The three TP&W GP35s (900-902) are still out there also.

Searching earlier this month when I first saw this thread and went looking to find the status of the GP30, the 2458 wasn't one of those reacquired in the couple of old threads that I read through about the transaction.

I imagine it survives though and quite possibly has a new home at this point. These were in good shape and it's the 4 axle GP's and EMD end-cab switchers that are the locomotives that usually escape LTE in one piece (Unlike their typically way overpriced SD's).

GP30 BNSF 2458/ TP&W 700 may originally have been a Pennsylvania Railroad unit as I recall, ending up on the TP&W when PRR owned half of the TP&W (with the Santa Fe owning the other half).

No, it wasn't. She was outshopped as a TP&W locomotive.

She was built 4 months after the last PRR GP30, her builder's number is 28534 versus the 28108-28159 range for the Penny's 52 units, she doesn't have the extended cab that PRR's order had, and the sand fillers are different.

It actually was TP&W GP40 1000 I had in mind, which was a former EMD demo unit in PRR black, EMDX 21, it became Santa Fe 3461, then 2964, and was wrecked and scrapped in 1988. It was the only GP40 on the TP&W and later on the Santa Fe (which bought GP39s for some reason).

Santa Fe bought heavily into EMD's GP30 and GP35. By the time of EMD's 1966 line, Santa Fe was interested in high horsepower C-C's for mainline freights rather than 3,000 hp 4 axle units.

If on the other hand you're talking about why the GP39-2 instead of the GP38-2 when Santa Fe would order intermediate B-B's in the 1970's, Trains speculated at the time when Santa Fe first ordered GP39-2's that it was influenced by a diesel exhaust study that ATSF had participated in. In AAR tests several months earlier, turbocharged units were shown to emit less carbon monoxide and other pollutants than normally aspirated units.

Perhaps Santa Fe also believed that the cost of turbocharger maintenance was offset to a large degree by having 4 less cylinders to maintain. I also imagine that the extra 300 HP didn't hurt, since the entire point of the GP39-2 on the Santa Fe was its versatility. It could handle the local one day and be on the front of a mainline train where the extra power over a GP38 is useful the next.

Santa Fe evidently thought it was worthwhile even if the industry as a whole didn't, since they came back 4 more times and eventually fielded over 100 units.

One more advantage the 39-2 had over the 38's in the Santa Fe's eyes also better performance at high altitudes. Santa Fe had a lot of tracks over 5K feet in Arizona Colorado and New Mexico. Over 5K feet a non Turbocharged 2 stroke engine is less powerful it loses about 20% of its power at altitude. So instead of having 2000 HP they would have about 1600 with a 38.

Thanks for all of the information. I actually saw one of the BNSF units in Galesburg a couple weeks ago and had no idea it was an ex-TP&W locomotive. I also forgot to mention that the 401 still survives, on the Kankakee Beaverville and Southern who converted it to a snow plow.

Are there any other units that went out to short lines elsewhere in the country?

Thomas

Would that be this by any chance?

Photographed it in Beaverville back in June 2013, but it appeared devoid of any numbering.
Looking at the photo again, It does vaguely look like TP&W in blue on the bodysides....

I believe the snowplow conversion of 402 was actually done by the TP&W themselves.

Jeff

Yes, you are correct Jeff it was an in-house job. I can't remember if they left the block in place as a junk weight but I believe the cab, traction motors and radiator fittings were removed in the conversion. It would still make an ideal candidate for preservation especially for a very interesting revision project.