EMD GP7
The EMD GP7 is a four-axle road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between October 1949 and May 1954.
Power was provided by an EMD 567B 16-cylinder engine which generated. The GP7 was offered both with and without control cabs, and those built without control cabs were called a GP7B. Five GP7B's were built between March and April 1953. The GP7 was the first EMD road locomotive to use a hood unit design instead of a car-body design. This proved to be more efficient than the car body design as the hood unit cost less to build, was cheaper and easier to maintain, and had much better front and rear visibility for switching.
Of the 2,734 GP7's built, 2,620 were for American railroads, 112 were built for Canadian railroads, and 2 were built for Mexican railroads.
This was the first model in EMD's GP series of locomotives. Concurrently, EMD offered a six-axle SD '' locomotive, the SD7. The GP7 was replaced by the GP9 model in GM-EMD's GP sequence.
History
, Fairbanks-Morse, and Baldwin had all introduced road switchers before EMD, whose first attempt at the road-switcher, the BL2 was unsuccessful in the market, selling only 58 units in the 14 months it was in production. Its replacement, the GP7, swapped the truss-framed stressed car body for an un-stressed body on a frame made from flat, formed and rolled structural steel members and steel forgings welded into a single structure, a basic design which is still being employed today. Unfortunately, in heavy service, the GP7’s frame would bow and sag over time. This defect was corrected in later models. The GP7 proved very popular, and EMD was barely able to meet demand, even after opening a second assembly plant at Cleveland, Ohio. Later, locomotives in EMD's GP-series came to be nicknamed ‘Geeps’. Many GP7s both high and short-hood can still be found in service today on shortline railroads and industrial operators, although most Class 1 roads stopped using these locomotives by the 1980s some remain in rebuilt form on some major Class I railroads, as switcher locomotives.. The "GP" designation stood for "general purpose", while the "7" had no meaning other than matching the EMD F7 cab unit then in production.Identification
The GP7, GP9 and GP18 locomotives share a similar car-body that evolved over time. Most GP7s had three sets of ventilation grills under the cab, and two pair of grills at the end of the long hood. However, some late GP7s were built with car-bodies that were identical to early GP9s. Early GP7s had a solid skirt above the fuel tank, while late GP7s and early GP9s had access holes in the skirt. Many railroads later removed most of the skirt to improve access and inspection.Locomotives could be built with the engineer’s control stand installed for either the long hood, or the short hood designated as the front. Two control stands for either direction running was also an option, but one end would still be designated as the front for maintenance purposes. The GP7 was also available with or without dynamic brakes, and a steam generator installed in the short hood was also an option. In the latter case, the fuel tank was divided, with half for diesel fuel, and half for boiler water. One option available for locomotives without dynamic brakes, was to remove the two air reservoir tanks from under the frame, and replace them with four tanks that were installed on the roof of the locomotive, above the prime mover. These "torpedo tubes" as they were nicknamed, enabled the fuel and water tanks to be increased to each, although some railroads opted for roof-mounted air tanks and fuel tanks on their freight ‘Geeps’.
Original buyers
Locomotives built by Electro-Motive Division, USA
Locomotives built by General Motors Diesel, Canada
GP7 locomotives were built at GMD's London Ontario plant for domestic Canadian railway purchasers, and for some US railroads like the C&O and Wabash who owned and operated over trackage in Canada.| Owner | Quantity | Numbers | Notes |
| Algoma Central and Hudson Bay | |||
| Canadian National Railways | 4824 rebuilt October 1958 with parts from wrecked F3A. 7500's later renumbered as 4800's. | ||
| Canadian Pacific Railway | 8410-8411 originally built with steam generators | ||
| Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | C&O 5720-5729 resold to NYC as 5818-5827 for their Canadian operations | ||
| Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway | |||
| Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway | To CP, all rebuilt as CP 1682-1687 | ||
| Wabash Railroad | Later to N&W 3453 | ||
| Total | 112 |
Rebuilds, modifications and conversions
There are five GP7s on A J Kristopan's EMD Serial number page that reused previous serial numbers: B&O 6405, CRI&P 1308, L&N 501 and 502, and SLSF 615. These rebuilt units were rebuilt as new on new frames. Another rebuild by GMD is that CN 4824 was rebuilt as a GP7 with parts from an F3A in October 1958.Over 100 GP7s and four of the GP7Bs were built with 567BC or 567C engines starting in March 1953 through May 1954. These are noted on the roster above.
Many railroads rebuilt their GP7s with low short hoods; some railroads went further in their rebuilding than others. Missouri Pacific Railroad upgraded their GP7s with 567BC engines and replaced the standard EMD 2-stack exhaust with a 4-stack "liberated" exhaust, raising their power output to..
Illinois Central Railroad rebuilt most of its GP7s with 567BC engines, liberated exhausts, paper air-intake filters, 26-L brakes. All but the first locomotive rebuilt had their front hood reduced in height for improved crew visibility. The IC designated these rebuilt locomotives GP8. The IC acquired many second-hand units through Precision National Corporation, and then started offering their GP8/GP10 rebuilding services to other railroads through their Paducah Shops.
In 1960 the Alaska Railroad purchased a dozen GP7Ls from the US Army and rebuilt eleven of them in 1965 with low short hoods for better visual clearance. One of the ten remaining Alaska GP7s was rebuilt by Morse-Knudsen in 1976. The other nine units were rebuilt at Paducah Shops in 1976-1977.
Canadian Pacific Railway rebuilt their GP7 fleet in the early 1980's as GP7u units for yard service, including a chopped short hood, new numberboards and front cab windows, and upgrading the 567B prime movers with 645 power assemblies and to "BC" engine block specs.