The ex-Frisco units sometime also had the old Alco road trucks on them too for another variation! Up here in Seattle, they are common on the garbage trains every day, which are double stacks.
I have to sort through my pictures, but I seen some white faced BNSF GP39-E's that were GP30's pulling well cars a few miles from the King Street station in the summer of 2004. I could not believe I was seeing GP30's! -Robert
Are those photon or plasma torpedo tubes, Rob??? I look forward to seeing this... I'm a big fan of B&O GP9TT units, and yours will truly be unique! Adam
I added windshield wipers from BLMA. It fits well. Only had to shorten the middle connecting rod in the middle winshield. Added some detail. Lost some detail. Lost the number board. It got suck into the black hole of small parts. and never to be seen again. Only need to add the snow plow.
John, I was amazing to see a CSX GP30 this morning pulling a local. I did not catch the first loco, but the 2nd definitely was of GP30 heritage. Both were CSX road switchers pulling a mixed local that was about 80% CSX tagged cars. Very interesting! Rob
Rob, I think they are slugs also. They are easy to tell. They dont have grills, fans, or panel doors. They are alll blank out. I hope we are wrong. If they still exist, then here comes another conversion.
I think that's the RdMate (RoadMate) pairing... A GP38 cow/GP30 calf combo. I saw a couple of sets of those operating up at CSX's Russell, KY yard in switching and local freight operations. Adam
A slug isn't the same as a calf... a calf is a switcher B-unit with a prime mover. The CSX GP30s are all slugs now. I'm not sure if all the mates are GP38s... I seem to recall GP40s.
So the difference is a Calf has a prime mover, and a Slug is just dead weight? Like filled with cement or something? -Robert
Exactly! A calf is cabless, a slug is engineless. Usually cabless, too, but not in the case of CSX GP30 slugs... or http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=134901 this.
Ok, I was under the idea that a Calf has the motor, and electric drive...and the slug just had the electric drive and used the electric juice from the parent unit?
CSX uses both ex-GP30's and GP35's for roadslugs, paired with GP38's or GP40's usually. I've heard CSX engineers and conductors say they like it when the slug (with cab still) is leading because the vibration is much lower. Bryan and I were out railfanning at lunch yesterday here in Virginia and saw what appeared to be a GP35 roadslug in Conrail paint. I didn't know they had any of these and I will now have to do some research. B trucks but with all the grills and fans plated over. This was on the CSX ex-RF&P. Unfortunately, I didn't get the roadnumber. It was an interesting lashup, CSX SD70M/SD45 or SD40-2/BNSF GP 40?/ and the slug. randy
The road mates are all parented with specially equipped GP40-2's.... CSX did have some yard slugs that I had seen with GP38's many years ago. Harold
Robert, what is the status of this project. What caught my eyes wasn't the torpedo tubes. It was that funny looking snow plow.
I have the tubes, but just need to do the mod. Been busy working on my modules and catching up on trades lately, as well as doing 60's at work. -Robert
