SD45 - Units With Standard Rectangular Engineer's Windshield - Original L Shaped Window Replaced

On page 142 of "Frisco Diesel Power" by Marre and Harper there is a photo of SD45 901 with the replacement window. The caption states a date of photo as October 1979. Marre says that this was an engine that had been in an accident with the nose section having been rebuilt.

 

Another stroll through the archive led me down the rabbit hole on this topic, so I'll add some info to this old thread.

Let's start with the two units I can confirm received 4 piece "standard" windows before the merger, 901 and 914.

http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...901-location-unknown-location-in-May-1980.jpg



http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...Tulsa-Oklahoma-on-August-9-1980-Gene-Gant.jpg



If you zoom in on the photo of 914, you can see the metal post in place on the engineer's side. This is what got me started tonight, I had only heard of 901 having a 4 piece window.

 

Earlier in the thread, Keith wondered if 915 had been rebuilt. I can say with 99% certainty that it was not rebuilt before the merger. We have an archive picture dated 11/11/80 that shows 915 with an L shaped window. I am willing to believe the date is correct, because there's a couple other photos of 915 from 1980 that also show it still having the L window.

http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...sa-Oklahoma-on-November-11-1980-Gene-Gant.jpg

 

906 was also suggested. We don't currently have any archive photos of 906 in 1980, so no evidence to work with. The 1979 photos show it still wearing an L shaped window.

924 is an interesting case. The only front picture currently in the archive was taken February of 81. While it has a 4 piece window at this point, I think it was modified post merger when the patch job was applied. To me, it looks like there's fresh paint specifically where that metal post was welded in. The grime on the unit tells us the whole unit wasn't repainted when the replacement took place, indicative (to me) that the shop didn't plan for the red and white stay on this unit much longer.

http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...-Oklahoma-in-February-1981-Don-Heisberger.jpg



That's all I have for now. If I come up with anything else, I'll come back and update this thread.

 

I did a google search to attempt to find other images of SLSF 906 hoping there would be one from 1980.

I found this e-bay page selling a photo of SLSF 906 claiming it to be from 07/1980

It clearly still has the L shaped window in this photograph.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284390896764

(Edited to upload the image downloaded off the e-bay page so you can see it when the thing gets sold on e-bay.)

 

Stumbled on to a new one in the archive this morning.

SLSF 934 a week after the merger with a 4 piece window, no BN patch yet.

Similar to SLSF 924, it looks like they put fresh paint on the new metal post that was added instead of repainting the whole thing.

http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...-Oklahoma-on-November-29-1980-David-Stray.jpg

 

That was the Frisco way!

I have seen spot touch ups on countless engines.

Andre

 

For context, I found another picture of 934 dated 7/14/80 that shows the L shaped window still in place.

The switch to the 4 piece window was added very close to the merger.

http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...-Tulsa-Oklahoma-on-July-14-1980-Gene-Gant.jpg

 

I would like to add unit 913 to the list. I came across a picture from September of 1980 that shows 913 with a 4 piece windshield.

https://www.railpictures.net/photo/409950/



I'm having trouble getting that picture to embed in the post, so I will include one from the archive dated 11/8/1980.

http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...nid-Oklahoma-on-November-8-1980-Gene-Gant.jpg

 

I went through some more pictures in the archive last night and found a few more to share.

Let's start with an easy one that was for sure changed before the merger. 904 9/5/1980

http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...ouri-on-September-5-1980-James-F-Primm-II.jpg

 

Next, lets take a look at 945. We have a picture of it with a 4 pc window in 81 after being patched. There is an undated slide of 945 still wearing it's Frisco number, paired with a green BN unit, and it still has the original window at that time. Without a slide date, I can't be 100% sure about it, but I'll make a reasonable guess that the picture was taken shortly after the merger. This would lead me to believe the window was changed out when the unit received its BN number, probably in January of 81.

http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/SD45-945-location-unk-slide-dated-12-81.jpg



http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...o-947-date-and-location-unknown-Al-Chione.jpg

 

Unit 942 is slightly more of a mystery. There's enough of a gap between the latest picture of it during Frisco ownership, and the picture of it patched with a 4 pc windshield that there's a chance it was modified before the merger, but there's no proof of that. I would have to lean toward the window being changed when the BN patch was applied.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1971289



http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...co-942-at-Amory-Mississippi-in-April-1981.jpg

 

Similar case with 947. We don't have any pictures from the last few months of Frisco ownership to know for sure. We do have a picture from January 1981 of the unit patched with a 4 pc windshield. There's enough grime on the patched in piece of metal an argument could be made it was added before the merger. I'll let the audience at home make their own call on this one.

http://frisco.org/mainline/wp-conte...Nebraska-on-January-28-1981-Jerry-Bosanek.jpg