Post by rock on May 7, 2012 12:26:14 GMT -5
Last week I completed my fantasy B23-7 fleet, including a B33-7. The B23-7 is the mainstay of my four-axle road switcher fleet and is complemented by U23Bs and B23-8s.
The Rock Island B23-7s were built in three orders: 1978, 1979, and 1983. The first order was actually a third U23B order that was supposed to be delivered in 1977, but switched to B23-7s after the Dash Seven series was announced. Thus, they look very similar to the last U23B order built in 1976 and they have the reused Blomberg trucks from F-unit trade-ins. The next order in 1979 featured some upgrades including anticlimbers, air conditioners, and trial L-window cabs just before the safety glass rule came on the scene. The 1983 order of B23-7s were among the final B23-7s built (along with Santa Fe's) and featured larger silencer exhaust stacks, newer cabs with fewer windows, and AAR-B trucks from U25B and U28B trade-ins.
The B33-7s were built in 1978 in concert with GP40 and U33B rebuild programs for high-speed TOFC service as major intermodal routes were rehabilitated with new track.
The fleet of blue/white B-boats:
The early models from the late 1970s:
The later models from the early 1980s:
B33-7 4377 "P. H. Kuyper"
B23-7 2362 "John W. Ingram"
B23-7s 2506 "City of Beatrice" and 2508 "City of Bellevue"
B23-7s 2524 "Ash Grove," 2531 "Maytag," and 2545 "Scoular"
The Rock Island B23-7s were built in three orders: 1978, 1979, and 1983. The first order was actually a third U23B order that was supposed to be delivered in 1977, but switched to B23-7s after the Dash Seven series was announced. Thus, they look very similar to the last U23B order built in 1976 and they have the reused Blomberg trucks from F-unit trade-ins. The next order in 1979 featured some upgrades including anticlimbers, air conditioners, and trial L-window cabs just before the safety glass rule came on the scene. The 1983 order of B23-7s were among the final B23-7s built (along with Santa Fe's) and featured larger silencer exhaust stacks, newer cabs with fewer windows, and AAR-B trucks from U25B and U28B trade-ins.
The B33-7s were built in 1978 in concert with GP40 and U33B rebuild programs for high-speed TOFC service as major intermodal routes were rehabilitated with new track.
The fleet of blue/white B-boats:
The early models from the late 1970s:
The later models from the early 1980s:
B33-7 4377 "P. H. Kuyper"
B23-7 2362 "John W. Ingram"
B23-7s 2506 "City of Beatrice" and 2508 "City of Bellevue"
B23-7s 2524 "Ash Grove," 2531 "Maytag," and 2545 "Scoular"
