Hi all, I found this while looking at pictures online. I knew that Amtrak bought two Frisco GP7s, SLSF 610 and SLSF 621, which became Amtrak AMTK 760 and AMTK 761. I know they stayed in Mandarin orange and white for a few years before repainting. And I had always thought that nothing was left in Mandarin orange and white after 1983 thanks to BN. Well one made it to 1990 with Mandarin orange and white paint according to the date on the photograph. http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=804588 Ethan
Ha! Thanks Ethan, good to see. And, great to see she is still carrying Frisco's all-time favorite five-trumpets forward Leslie horn! The Frisco probably had upwards of 150-175 locomotives that used this horn at one time. Ken
After Ken pointed out the air horn I noticed something else. Amtrak changed two things. 1. Removal of Frisco lettering and patching 2. Removal of roof beacon. But if you look, the base to it is still there, they just took out the flashing sealed beam lamps and amber lens dome. Ethan
Ethan , Any idea what the Frisco road number was for this Amtrak GP7? Note also, they have removed the spark arrestors, which this Frisco GP7s almost certainly would have carried, and that it now has a Sinclair skate type radio antenna on the short hood, a type the Frisco never used. The Sinclair skate type radio antenna was a favorite of eastern roads, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in particular. The Frisco would have used a "nail" antenna, a "firecracker" antenna, or a whip antenna, if this unit was equipped with a radio during its SLSF time. Note this Amtrak GP7 still has the speed recorder in the Frisco preferred location, front truck, second axle, right side. Locomotive forensics, ain't it fun! Ken
As I mentioned in the initial post, Amtrak (AMTK) got two of them, SLSF 610 and SLSF 621. SLSF 610 became AMTK 760 and SLSF 621 became AMTK 761. Ethan
I wonder if this unit or the other one Amtrak purchased are still running today? You do not see many of these running anymore.
Ethan, Sorry, I blew past the fact you mentioned the road numbers in your initial post. Interesting that SLSF 610 was a dual service freight and passenger GP7. Thanks. Ken
Hi, What happened to all the rest of the 128 GP7s? According to archive.trainpix.com there were no ex-Frisco GP7s on the BN roster. Cheers, Colin
According to Marre/Harper's Frisco Diesel Power, all Frisco GP7s were traded in or sold off by 1979. This was before the BN merger on November 21, 1980. Many of them ended up in the rebuild programs of C&NW and ICG. Rich
Wow. Nice find, Ethan! The shadows of the old Scotchlite stripes on the short hood are still visible. Would the circular base on the short hood up against the cab be the remnant of a steam boiler? I do not have anything handy that indicates which GP7s were boiler-equipped for dual freight-passenger use and do not have time right now to search. Best Regards,
Ethan called it correctly. Several of the Frisco GP7s had a flashing beacon mounted up there at the back end of the short hood. Plus, SLSF 621 was not a passenger GP7. Ken
Thanks Ken and Ethan for the information. I do not wander out of my steam cab too often, so my ignorance is even more pronounced with the diesels.
