I saw a photo in the most recent edition of Trains Magazine of the UP Executive E unit 949. The photo and caption showed the unit has recently lost its nose door. Is this true? I find this interesting, considering the steps UP originally went through when the units were rebuilt by VMV. If I remember correctly, they even had dummy water tank caps fitted to the carbody where the original ones to feed the steam generators were.

Any idea why they would remove the nose door?

The nose doors on the E-units were welded shut after a grade crossing accident with DDA40X #6936 on November 30, 2000, at Vacherie, La., 20 miles north of New Orleans. The accident resulted in the death of a truck driver and of a UP employee riding in the cab who was killed when debris entered the inward-opening nose door. On the e-units, the grab irons and door latch initially remained, and a small decal was placed above where the doors were indicating that they were sealed. All evidence of the doors was removed when the units were recently repainted.