The EMD GP9 is a four-axle

diesel-electric locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source 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 whee ...

built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1963. The GP9 succeeded the

GP7 GP-7 or GP7 may refer to: Vehicular * EMD ''GP7'', a class of locomotives * Ducati ''GP7'', a model of the racing motorcycle Ducati ''Desmosedici'' * Honda ''GP7'', a model of the subcompact Honda ''Fit Shuttle'' Other uses * (48616) 1995 GP7, a ...

as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, incorporating a new sixteen-

cylinder A cylinder () 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 infinite ...

engine which generated . This locomotive type was offered both with and without control cabs; locomotives built without control cabs were called GP9B locomotives. The GP9 was succeeded by the similar but slightly more powerful GP18.

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) 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 names ...

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.

Original owners

EMD produced 4,257 GP9 locomotives, including 165 B units. 646 of the locomotives, intended for Canadian railroads, 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. Approximately 75 railroads purchased GP9s. Major customers included the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Rich ...

(363),

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

(348),

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

(345, including 125 B units),

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

(339),

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

(310, including 40 B units),

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

(306),

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

(253), and

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(200).

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 Corporation, General Motors Electro-Motive Diesel, Electro-Motive Division and General Motors-Diesel Division. Final assembly ...

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/

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 Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...

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

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

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

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

had many GP9u locomotives in operation; however, they were all retired in 2015.

EMD GP15C

Several GP9s were rebuilt with a

CAT The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

3512 and re-classified as GP15C.

EMD GP10

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 GP20C-ECO

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.

SP GP9E and GP9R

Between April 1970 and March 1979, the

St. Louis Southwestern Railway The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee ...

(also known as the "Cotton Belt Route") and the

Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) 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 names ...

had rebuilt the majority of their EMD GP9 locomotives into SP GP9E and GP9R locomotives.

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 in Duluth, currently painted as North Shore Scenic Railroad 245. * Norfolk & Western 514 was donated to the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society in August 2024. This locomotive is one of two surviving unrebuilt former N&W GP9s.

Gallery

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 on the provincial boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper Nation ...

. File:EMD GP9.jpg, An

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

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 I ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. 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,

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

. 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 Paci ...

245, operational on the North Shore Scenic Railroad in

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. File:DGVR40 Staunton WJGrimes.JPG, An EMD GP9 equipped with

dynamic brakes Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a Electric generator, generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric locomotive, electric or diesel locomotive, diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed "Resistor#Adjustable resisto ...

on the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

Notes

References

* * *

External links

EMD "GP9" Locomotives: Data Sheet, Specs, Roster
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