The EMD GP9 is a four-axle

diesel-electric locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...

built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1959. The GP9 succeeded the GP7 as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, incorporating a new sixteen-

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

engine which generated . This locomotive type was offered both with and without control cabs; locomotives built without control cabs were called GP9B locomotives. EMD constructed 3,626 GP9s, including 165 GP9Bs. An additional 646 GP9s were built by

General Motors Diesel General Motors Diesel was a railway diesel locomotive manufacturer located in London, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1949 as the Canadian subsidiary of the Electro-Motive Diesel division of General Motors (EMD). In 1969 it was re-organiz ...

, EMD's Canadian subsidiary, for a total of 4,257 GP9s produced when Canadian production ended in 1963. The GP9 was succeeded by the similar but slightly more powerful

GP18 The EMD GP18 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors, Electro-Motive Division between December 1959 and November 1963. Power was provided by an EMD 567D1 16-cylinder engine which generated . The GP18 replaced the GP9 in E ...

Design and Production

EMD designed the GP9 as an improved version of the GP7, with an increase in power from 1,500 hp to 1,750 hp, and a change in prime mover to the latest version of the 567 engine, the 567C. Externally, the GP9 strongly resembled its predecessor. Most were built with high short hoods, but the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

ordered a number with low short hoods for improved crew visibility. EMD built GP9s at its LaGrange, Illinois facility until 1959, when American production was ended in favor of the GP18. GMD production in Canada continued until August 1963, when the final GP9 was produced. Algoma Central ordered two after production was completed, and received #171 and #172 from London in 1974.

Rebuilds

There were 40 GP9M units built that are included in the 3,441 units built for United States railroads. A GP9M was built with parts from another older EMD locomotive, either an

F unit EMD F-units are a line of diesel-electric locomotives produced between November 1939 and November 1960 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors-Diesel Division. Final assembly for all F-units was at the GM-EMD plant at La Gra ...

or a damaged GP7. The use of parts from these older locomotives caused the GP9Ms to have a lower power rating than a GP9. This would be either if the donor locomotive was an FT/ F2 or from F3/ F7/ GP7 locomotives. Many rebuilt GP9s remain in service today with shortline railroads and industrial operators. Some remain in rebuilt form on some major

Class I railroad In the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, st ...

s, as switcher locomotives although most Class 1 railroads stopped using these locomotives by the 1980s.

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

still had 29 GP9RM locomotives in operation, as of 2022.

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

had many GP9u locomotives in operation; however, they were all retired in 2015. Several GP9s were rebuilt with a

CAT The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

3512 and re-classified as GP15C. The Illinois Central Railroad rebuilt some of its GP9s with their front (short) hood reduced in height for improved crew visibility. The IC designated these rebuilt locomotives GP10. EMD has rebuilt and continues to rebuild GP9s into what it calls the GP20C-ECO, which is repowered with an EMD 8-710-G3A engine in place of the original 567 prime mover. Canadian Pacific Railway 2303

Preservation

At least 23 GP9 locomotives have been preserved at various railroad museums, as "park engines", and as excursion engines according to The Diesel Shop: * B&O 6607, originally numbered 3414, is at the

B&O Railroad Museum The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Balt ...

, Baltimore, Maryland, in operating condition. *

3194, a GP9R rebuild built as Texas and New Orleans 281, is at the Golden Gate RR Museum, California. It is in operating condition. * Northern Pacific 245 preserved at the

Lake Superior Railroad Museum The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is a railroad museum in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1973, the museum focuses on railroading in the Lake Superior region. It is housed in the restored Duluth Union Depot complex. The museum als ...

in Duluth, currently painted as North Shore Scenic Railroad 245. File:CNR Yellowhead.jpg, CN GP9 leads a train up

Yellowhead Pass The Yellowhead Pass is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the provincial boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper ...

. File:EMD GP9.jpg, An MBTA GP9 locomotive making a non-revenue move into

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. This locomotive was retired by the MBTA in 2004 and is now on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum as of September 2014. File:GP9.jpg, A modified EMD GP9 of the

Seminole Gulf Railway The Seminole Gulf Railway is a short line freight and passenger excursion railroad headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, that operates two former CSX Transportation railroad lines in Southwest Florida. The company's Fort Myers Division, whic ...

, Fort Myers, Florida. File:GTW Loco No.4619.jpg, This GTW rebuilt GP9 4619 is heading south on the Kalamazoo spur in Kalamazoo, MI. File:BNSF 1685.JPG, Former BNSF 1685 high hood GP9 sitting in the Prairie Dog Central Yard. This was the last GP9 on the BNSF roster. File:NSSR245.jpg, Former

Northern Pacific Northern Pacific may refer to: * Northern Pacific Airways, an upcoming airline * Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference, an NCAA Division I conference * Northern Pacific Hockey League, an American Tier III junior ice hockey league * Northern Pac ...

245, operational on the

North Shore Scenic Railroad The North Shore Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota, United States, along of the Lakefront Line, once part of the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad. Owned by the Lake Superi ...

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

References

* * * * Extra 2200 South, Issue no. 32, January-February 1972 Early Geep Tally- Part II * Extra 2200 South, Issue no.48, Sep-Oct 1974 * Extra 2200 South, Issue no.49, Nov-Dec 1974

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emd Gp9 B-B locomotives GP09 GP09 Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1954 Locomotives with cabless variants Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of Canada Standard gauge locomotives of Mexico Standard gauge locomotives of Venezuela Standard gauge locomotives of Peru 5 ft 3 in gauge locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of Canada Diesel-electric locomotives of Mexico Diesel-electric locomotives of Venezuela Diesel-electric locomotives of Peru

Design and Production

Rebuilds

Preservation

See also

References

External links