Post by lindsaya99 on Jun 13, 2011 10:47:33 GMT -5
Now that summer is here, modeling has taken a back seat to the many outdoor activities I love (fishing) and hate (yard work). I have managed to make some progress on my Norfolk Southern SD40-2 project. The decals should be finished up shortly so now the only major things left are the handrails and weathering. I will continue to update my progress on that project's thread but I feel that I'm far enough along to start thinking about my next engine. Like many of you I have a long list of future builds but I really want to sink my teeth into a GP50. They were the last EMD road units purchased by the Southern before the merger with the N&W.
I have been lurking on a lot of Armor and Aircraft modeling sites and many of them require posters to include a brief history of the prototype as well and a description of the kit and parts to be used. Personally, I think that is a nice touch especially since I know very little about aircraft modeling and even less about armor. Please let me know what you think.
The EMD GP50 was produced between 1980 and 1985. Its prime mover is the 16 cylinder 645F3B which produces 3500 hp. The production run totaled a modest 278 units delivered to six railroads.
AT&SF (45 units), BN (63 units), C&NW (50 units), MP (30 units), SLSF (9 units), Southern (90 units)
Many are still in service today with BNSF, UP, and NS while some have been sold off to short lines and leasing companies. Early in their careers, the GP/SD50s had reliability issues mainly with their 645F3B prime movers. These problems were eventually solved but the EMD's reputation suffered as a consequence.
Norfolk Southern inherited all 90 GP50s (7003-7092) from the Southern Railway but only 50 units are listed on the NS roster today. That number is a bit misleading because 37 of the original 90 have been rebuilt into GP38-3s. Southern Rwy received them in two groups. The first delivered between September and December 1980 (7003-7072) and the second between May and June 1981 (7073-7092). All were equipped with high short hoods and wore black with imitation aluminum stripes and duluxe gold lettering. The number boards were black with white numbers. 7003-7016 were delivered with Locotrol, easily identified by white number boards with black numbers. They had most of the details as other Southern EMD's: nose mounted bell, 5-chime horns at each hood end, walkway lights, firecracker antennae, snowplows at each end. They did not have Southern's unique MU stands because of the large anticlimbers at each end. The MU receptacles were mounted directly to the pilot face which required a large rectangular cut out on each anticlimber.
NS's GP50s have received several detail modifications throughout the years that modeler's need to pay attention to. The first occurred around the time of the merger in 1982. All of the GP50s (as well as the 3 GP40Xs and 6 GP49s) received exposed roller bearings. During the 1980s they entire fleet was repainted into Norfolk Southern's paint scheme of solid black with white logos and numbers. The number boards at that time were black with white numbers. During the late '80s, the number boards were changed on all NS engines to white boards with black numbers. Also during this time the chemical toilets were removed. The filler which was located just above the handbrake cutout on the short hood was plated over. Ditch lights began to be added to the NS fleet starting in 1993. The process took several years and I have photos of units without them as late as 1996. Class lights were removed and plated over during the mid-'90s. At the end of the decade, reflective stripes were added along the side sills.
Because of their high horsepower rating and four axles, the GP50 was typically used in high speed service. During the '80s and early '90s, they were common sights on intermodel freights. In later years, they were displaced by newer units and have ended up on locals or in switching service. This is something they are not really well suited for because of their high horsepower and excessive fuel burn. Under full load the GP50 burns 194.3 gals per hour while a GP38-2 burns only 122 gals per hour. In an effort to conserve fuel, NS began rebuilding some of the GP50s by removing the turbo charger and de-rating them to 2000 hp. The rebuilt units have been re-designated GP38-3s and renumbered 5801-5837. They look almost nothing like the original units as they have lost their high hoods, exhaust silencer hatch, and middle radiator fan. The dynamic hatch has been extensively rebuilt with two exhaust stacks on each side of the fan and an air filter box.
I will be using an Athearn undecorated GP50. The shell is an original Blue Box molded in black plastic. The drive is one cobbled together using some Athearn RTR parts I picked up on EBay. I will be extensively rebuilding the shell using many Cannon and Company parts in much the same manor as my SD40-2. I will post a list of parts as well as the first pics when I can. Stay tuned.....
I have been lurking on a lot of Armor and Aircraft modeling sites and many of them require posters to include a brief history of the prototype as well and a description of the kit and parts to be used. Personally, I think that is a nice touch especially since I know very little about aircraft modeling and even less about armor. Please let me know what you think.
The EMD GP50 was produced between 1980 and 1985. Its prime mover is the 16 cylinder 645F3B which produces 3500 hp. The production run totaled a modest 278 units delivered to six railroads.
AT&SF (45 units), BN (63 units), C&NW (50 units), MP (30 units), SLSF (9 units), Southern (90 units)
Many are still in service today with BNSF, UP, and NS while some have been sold off to short lines and leasing companies. Early in their careers, the GP/SD50s had reliability issues mainly with their 645F3B prime movers. These problems were eventually solved but the EMD's reputation suffered as a consequence.
Norfolk Southern inherited all 90 GP50s (7003-7092) from the Southern Railway but only 50 units are listed on the NS roster today. That number is a bit misleading because 37 of the original 90 have been rebuilt into GP38-3s. Southern Rwy received them in two groups. The first delivered between September and December 1980 (7003-7072) and the second between May and June 1981 (7073-7092). All were equipped with high short hoods and wore black with imitation aluminum stripes and duluxe gold lettering. The number boards were black with white numbers. 7003-7016 were delivered with Locotrol, easily identified by white number boards with black numbers. They had most of the details as other Southern EMD's: nose mounted bell, 5-chime horns at each hood end, walkway lights, firecracker antennae, snowplows at each end. They did not have Southern's unique MU stands because of the large anticlimbers at each end. The MU receptacles were mounted directly to the pilot face which required a large rectangular cut out on each anticlimber.
NS's GP50s have received several detail modifications throughout the years that modeler's need to pay attention to. The first occurred around the time of the merger in 1982. All of the GP50s (as well as the 3 GP40Xs and 6 GP49s) received exposed roller bearings. During the 1980s they entire fleet was repainted into Norfolk Southern's paint scheme of solid black with white logos and numbers. The number boards at that time were black with white numbers. During the late '80s, the number boards were changed on all NS engines to white boards with black numbers. Also during this time the chemical toilets were removed. The filler which was located just above the handbrake cutout on the short hood was plated over. Ditch lights began to be added to the NS fleet starting in 1993. The process took several years and I have photos of units without them as late as 1996. Class lights were removed and plated over during the mid-'90s. At the end of the decade, reflective stripes were added along the side sills.
Because of their high horsepower rating and four axles, the GP50 was typically used in high speed service. During the '80s and early '90s, they were common sights on intermodel freights. In later years, they were displaced by newer units and have ended up on locals or in switching service. This is something they are not really well suited for because of their high horsepower and excessive fuel burn. Under full load the GP50 burns 194.3 gals per hour while a GP38-2 burns only 122 gals per hour. In an effort to conserve fuel, NS began rebuilding some of the GP50s by removing the turbo charger and de-rating them to 2000 hp. The rebuilt units have been re-designated GP38-3s and renumbered 5801-5837. They look almost nothing like the original units as they have lost their high hoods, exhaust silencer hatch, and middle radiator fan. The dynamic hatch has been extensively rebuilt with two exhaust stacks on each side of the fan and an air filter box.
I will be using an Athearn undecorated GP50. The shell is an original Blue Box molded in black plastic. The drive is one cobbled together using some Athearn RTR parts I picked up on EBay. I will be extensively rebuilding the shell using many Cannon and Company parts in much the same manor as my SD40-2. I will post a list of parts as well as the first pics when I can. Stay tuned.....
