Couple of Questions.....GP-7's in Purple and SAL GP-7 Colors

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I am currently working on a GP-7 poster which will include 2 GP-7's of the ACL and SAL. I have photos to work from to get the details I need for the ACL Black and SAL Dark Green locomotives, but if anyone could please answer the following questions......

1. Did the ACL ever paint GP-7's in the Purple scheme like the passenger locomotives? If they did, what were their numbers?

2. Did the SAL ever paint GP-7's in the brighter green color, not pullman green but the bright green? Not the Mint green, I would love to know the PMS color for that!!!! But that is another question.

3. Did these locomotives work locals, or main line trains? Did they run long hood forward when on main line trains like the Southern? (I know, but I had to ask. I want to get my posters as correct as I can) Did the crews like them? Did they ride good? etc.

4. When were they retired?

5. Any other info about these units would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you to all of you gentlemen, Daniel T. Edwards Grand Island, NE

-- Daniel Taylor Edwards (dedwards@inebraska.com), June 04, 2003

Answers

Forgot to credit Warren Calloway's books on ACL and SAL diesels for the above info.

-- Larry Goolsby (clgoolsby@att.net), June 07, 2003.

Stephen is correct of course, but it's an interesting footnote that one GP7 from ACL subsidiary Columbia Newberry & Laurens survived in purple (same scheme as ACL, just different lettering, also no herald) until Feb. 1967. This was well after the first SAL geep (GP7 1799) got the bright green repaint scheme, May 1966. It's doubtful they were ever coupler-to-coupler, but they could well have been close to each other in, say, Jacksonville or Tampa.

By the way the other SAL GP7s and 9s that got the bright green were the 1722, 1732, 1770, 1787, 1817, and 1912.

-- Larry Goolsby (clgoolsby@att.net), June 07, 2003.


Daniel,

For a bit of clarity on Larry's response, although a few of the SAL Geeps were painted in the "Jolly Green Giant" scheme, it is highly doubtful an ACL GP-7 in purple ever shared a track with a SAL Geep in the JGG green. The ACL royal purple was long-gone by the time the JGG scheme was first used on the SAL just before the ACL/SAL merger in 1967.

Stephen

-- Stephen S. Syfrett (ssyfrett@bellsouth.net), June 07, 2003.


Daniel, here are a few answers I can provide offhand. Yes ACL did paint the GP7s in purple, from delivery until the RR started repainting them in black in 1957. The original numbers were 100-253 - ACL later added more from C&WC. Seaboard painted a few geeps in the "Jolly Green Giant" bright green - don't have the road numbers handy. The engines on both roads ran short hood forward normally - which is not to say they never ran long hood first, it could have happened now and then. Both roads used them equally in local and road service. Both roads also had some of the geeps boiler-equipped for passenger service. Many got rebuilt into "GP16s" in the late 1970s I think it was, but some lasted in their original configuration well into the 1980s.

-- Larry Goolsby (lgoolsby@aphsa.org), June 04, 2003.

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