GP35 - Units SLSF 700-716 Equipped With Roof Top Mounted Air Reservoir Tanks And Associated Piping

Has anyone seen evidence of the black and yellow GP35's without the torpedo tubes?

 

The second ( and later ) order of GP35s arrived on the property in orange and white paint.

Of the GP35s, Only the ones with torpedo tube were ever painted black and yellow.

Paul

 

Does anyone know where I could find a roof top picture of a torpedo unit that shows the rear of the air tanks with the piping.

I have the Diesel Era magazine, May/June 2000, with the Frisco GP35 drawings for these units, but as of yet I have not found a photograph on the internet.

And also, I have found a photograph of GP35 SLSF 709 dated 1976 in its original livery.

Would this be the last unit painted so, and what date was it finally re-painted?

I ask because I will use this as my modelling date.

Thanks for any help on these questions.

Brian,
UK

 

There is a whole thread here - http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/gp-35-torpedo-boat-modification.5574/

In the upper right part of Frisco.org, there is a search block that can aid you in finding old info.

 

Talk about not seeing what is under your nose!

Thanks,

Brian

 

Thanks Ken for re-posting your drawing here.

Nothing beats first hand experience.

I also followed the link "oldguy", sorry do not know your name, posted. I had an enjoyable hour reading through the posts and drooling over the pictures.

Some really beautiful work by Tom Holley.

And even though I am building a small HO layout at the moment, my main passion is O scale/proto 48.

That is what these questions were aimed at, as I am going to build a black and yellow torpedo GP35 out of an Atlas O-scale locomotive.

I used have a similar book too when I held an interest in British rail.

Then about 25 years ago I found a copy of Model Railroader at a local preserved railway, and as they say the rest is history!

And of course, it is always a shame when someone passes away at a young age.

So much lost potential.

Brian.

 

My name is at the bottom of my posts.

 

Cheers Bob,

I really must get my eyes tested!!

Brian

 

Just a question about these "torpedo tube" roof mounted reservoirs.

Where were the valves for draining condensation located?

I think these engines would pre-date "spitter" valves, but I could be wrong about that.

Hopefully someone did not have to climb onto the roof to open them.

Going through a cold spell and having some air brake issues just made me think about this.

Pat Moreland,
Union, MO

 

Did any of the GP35s arrive with both torpedo tubes and Alco truck.

Even though it does not fit my era I think a black and yellow GP35 would be neat to have in model form.

Thanks,

Murphy Jenkins

 

Murphy, to answer your question in one word: no.

As Keith stated the "torpedo tubed" GP35s were in the original order delivered from March 26, 1964 to April 25, 1964. According to Marre these units were also the last black and yellow units on the Frisco. The Alco-designed trucks equipped GP35s were in the third and last order and received these trucks salvaged from FA/FB trade-ins.

Only the last GP35 (732) in this group received the traditional Blomberg trucks. There seems to be a disagreement in the text in Marre's book on page 126 in his discussion of unit SLSF 720 where he says the second and third orders received the 3000 gallon fuel tank and regular placement of the main reservoirs.

He states on page 127 in the discussion of unit 728 that the Alco equipped units had a slightly reduced fuel capacity tank. Maybe it was of such an insignificant amount that the difference was not worth considering. One thing I found interesting is that the gear ratio on the Alco equipped units was 74:18 rather than the customary EMD ratio of 62:15.

Pat, you are correct that these units did not have the "spitter" valves. We must have had a convenient location to drain the condensation, but I can not remember where it was. I will say that when those "spitter" valves did show up, it was irritating.

It also seemed to me that all of those pressure and moisture relief valves seemed to know when I was walking beside them because they inevitably would exhaust with me right beside them. It is no wonder that I have ringing in my ears and hearing loss.

When the hearing protection programs were implemented, it did help, but the damage was done.

Terry

Edit 3/2/2024: The trucks under these units are NOT Alco designed trucks.

They are American Association of Railroads (AAR) Type B trucks.

These two axle trucks are often misidentified as "Alco trucks". The same trucks were used under the majority of General Electric's (GE) UxxB and Bxx-7 series B-B units. In fact, most of Alco's early production models used electrical components and truck traction motors supplied by General Electric.

In addition to Alco and GE, other locomotive manufacturers also used this style truck including Baldwin and some Fairbanks-Morris (FM) units. Most locomotive manufacturers had the trucks cast for them by General Steel Castings (GSC).

The AAR Type B trucks had a standard gear ratio of 74:18. This gear ratio was slightly different than the comparable General Motors (GM) Electro-Motive Division (EMD) design Blomberg B two axle truck. The Blomberg B, and its subsequent M and X variations, standard gear ratio was 62:15.

The AAR Type B truck is distinguished by its double drop equalized side frames. The Blomberg B truck is distinguished by its outside swing hanger and leaf coil springs design. The later M model featured a snubber shock absorber type dampening strut on diagonal journals.

Added additional information concerning AAR Type B trucks.
MKD

 

Thanks, Terry.

We only have one GP38 equipped with spitter valves, and I agree, it always seems to "spit" when I am right next to it. I wear hearing protection, but it is still loud, and always seems to catch me off guard.

I really like the look of the torpedo GP35s, but it seems like they would have been more difficult to maintain, especially with some of the train line piping running along the roof as well.

Pat Moreland,
Union, MO

 

Terry,

Thanks for the information.

I knew they were delivered in separate orders, but I did not know if the Frisco ever swapped trucks around on the units after they got them for repairs or perhaps if one was wrecked.

Thanks,

Murphy Jenkins

 

I had the occasion to shoot the butt-ends of two Frisco GP35s after they received their BN dress.

SLSF 701 was BN 2551, while SLS 725 was BN 2575. 2 GP35 SLSF 701 / 2551 clearly has rooftop-mounted air tanks. Notice below the frame there is a hose aimed in the general direction of the elliptic springs of the truck, and that a portion of those springs appear "damp" in this Tri-X photograph.

While this is not the aforementioned valve per se, could this be the outlet for the blowdown valves?

Edit 3/2/2024: No. The hose near the truck leaf springs is the engine room sump drain pipe. It is not a drain for moisture or the blowdown valves for the roof mounted air cylinder reservoirs.
MKD

 

I feel like the black and yellow GP35s were the last "real" Frisco engines!

By the way, they really had LOUD air horns!

When you were waiting at a grade crossing, you had to roll up the windows if a GP35 was in the lead.

Tom G.

 

I am not a 100% on this one, but the pipe angling down toward the truck springs looks like it may be part of the engine oil drain, or possibly the coolant drain.

Pat Moreland,
Union, MO

Edit 3/2/2024: The hose near the truck leaf springs is the engine room sump drain pipe. It is not a drain for moisture or the blowdown valves for the roof mounted air cylinder reservoirs. Nor is it a engine oil drain or engine coolant drain unless those fluids ended up in the engine room sump.
MKD

 

Nice shot Keith, thanks for sharing!

Jay