Nostalgia & History > Flare Friday: Classic GP45?

Like many other railfans, the first time I laid eyes on an SD45 I became fascinated with the flared radiators on the long hood. It wasn’t long before I began to wonder what a “GP45” might look like. In 1978 -the year I hired out with the Santa Fe- EMD showed us all what they would look like. And I even got to ride in a few of them! Thanks, gang! I appreciate it… :^)

1. AT&SF 3802 at Corwith in Chicago, IL on April 27, 1978.
Original Kodachrome trader slide by Joe McMillan, formerly from the Art Gibson collection.
Now in the James T. Wilson collection.

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

---

C'mon Lance, don't bait us losers afflicted with terminal cases of "correctivitis" this way!  Drop the other shoe.  "Of course, EMD didn't call it a "GP45," and they didn't try to shoehorn a 20-cylinder 645 into a lowly geep.  It's really a..."

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> C'mon Lance, don't bait us losers afflicted with
> terminal cases of "correctivitis" this way!  Drop
> the other shoe.  "Of course, EMD didn't call it a
> "GP45," and they didn't try to shoehorn a
> 20-cylinder 645 into a lowly geep.  It's really
> a..."

C'mon Evan, for a moment Lance was taking me into a fantasy world that included GP45s and then you had to smash it, lol... ;^)

What else might I have seen there??

JG

jgilmore Wrote:

> What else might I have seen there??

DD15-1's?  GP90MAC-H's?  ALC-42's that run reliably?

Coulda, shoulda, woulda... (heh heh heh)

I'm staying out of this one!! 🤪 
Bryan

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DD15-1's?  GP90MAC-H's?  ALC-42's that run
> reliably?

Nice, I actually thought about GP70s, 80s and 90s! 

JG

jgilmore wrote:


> Nice, I actually thought about GP70s, 80s and 90s! 

What, no SD30’s?

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What, no SD30’s?

Wasn't trippin' out that bad, but that would be something to see!!

JG

Evan_Werkema Wrote: > ... What, no SD30’s?

Now THAT would have been quite a sight!
BTW: How much horse did EMD manage to coax out of their GP45... er..... I mean 40X units??? Almost as much as a big bro 645??

;^)

Or is that the 4200hp GP45X?

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jgilmore wrote:
>
>
> > Nice, I actually thought about GP70s, 80s and
> 90s! 
>
> What, no SD30’s?


IIRC there was an article in RMC on how to build a SD30. 

Evan_Werkema Wrote: > … terminal cases of "correctivitis" …

Hmm… conjunctive correctivitis… is that some affliction you contract if you watch too many reruns of ‘Shallow Hal’?? 🤣

Posted from iPhone

There was a design for an SD30, just nobody bought the thing. Yah, a GP70 (or 90) would have been a trip,
imagine how slippery that might have been? The thought of cramming a 710 into a Geep brings thoughts of
bumps and flares and radiator extensions, ah progress!

Out 

callum_out Wrote:

> The thought of cramming a 710 into a Geep brings
> thoughts of bumps and flares and radiator extensions

Must...suppress...must...refrain...must...oh, heck.  Every GP59 and GP60 had a 710 inside, and those didn't have many more bumps, bulges, flares, extensions, protrusions, projections, or protuberances than a GP50.

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> callum_out Wrote:
>
> > The thought of cramming a 710 into a Geep
> brings
> > thoughts of bumps and flares and radiator
> extensions
>
> Must...suppress...must...refrain...must...oh,
> heck.  Every GP59 and GP60 had a 710 inside, and
> those didn't have many more bumps, bulges, flares,
> extensions, protrusions, projections, or
> protuberances than a GP50.

Exactly! The external dimensions of a 12-710 and 16-710 aren't that different from a 12-645 or 16-645. The 710 would be a few inches taller, that's all.