Oh, these were real winners. As I recall the aluminum wiring had a habit of catching fire. They were odd enough that someone should do a model in plastic but only it comes out in a "fantasy scheme" of red five stripe Pennsy and the enormously popular red and black Santa Fe.
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I Liked the looks of the U50 with its B+B - B+B Trucks and Squirrel Cage Blowers at each end and the Gap between Pilot and Cab . The U50C , with its altered looks and configuration looked Odd to Me
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What an amazing lashup!
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Posted by on June 28, 2025 | |
Agreed, and rather typical for UP's Eastern District main lines then – their "elephant-style lashup" not w/standing. Their forty U-50c's were also plagued w/both persistent low oil pressure problems in their 12-cylinder twin FDL prime-movers, and dynamic braking resistors' grid "burn-outs" account back-to-back adjoining housings near units' longitudinal center. Another persistent (and equally "uncurable") problem was their C-C trucks' frame fracturing account previous 8 to 12 years of heavy-duty service under UP's "Big Blow" 8,500hp GTEL's. One U-50c was re-wired @ N Salt Lake City w/copper cables, but a bid from M-K for doing the rest was well-above UP's estimate and the plan terminated (aluminum had been used for both initial cost-reduction and weight-saving measures). As a result, they were the shortest-used high-hp regular-service locos (after the ALCo C-855 pair/855B set) on the Overland Route, all being stored-in North Platte (18) or Council Bluffs (remaining 22) by the end of 1976 w/formal retirements on 08-Mar-1977 (#'s 5000-5016, #'s 5002 & 5005 having-been previously wrecked) and 13-Feb-1978 (remaining #'s 5017-5039). All but #5005 (scrapped-by UP @ Omaha) in that first group were sold-for-scrap to Erman Corp. of Turner, KS in May & Aug., 1977 w/remaining 23 to-same by the following June.
The #5010 (4th of 5 blt. In May, 1970, GE#37149) was among the first dozen lacking front doors in their "nose" – all were retrofitted w/such in Omaha during 1971. The aforementioned U-50(b) #'s 31-53 rode on twin span-bolster B-B truck assemblies from retired 4,500hp GTEL's (both "standard" single-cab #'s 51-60 from GE in 1952 and "Veranda" type #'s 61-75 of two years later – all were retired-in 1963-64), and were in-service 1963-65 through 1973-74 & 1977 (all lacked front "nose" doors account placement of twin m/u electrical cables' receptacles).
Trailing GP-9 #208 had a much-longer service life, being the third of forty built in Jan., 1954 (EMD #19094) and retired-in Sept., 1976. Sold-to PNC, it was leased-to ATK (as PNC #208) the following April and acquired/rebuilt by latter as ATK #763 that Aug.(1977). After serving in Los Angeles, it was sold-to Chrome Crankshaft (San Bernardino) in Nov., 1987.
The pair of CRI&P units out of Blue Island (IL) had mixed records, #217 was sixth of their "bakers dozen" U-25b's of Apr.-June, 1964 (GE #35116) and retired following demise of "The Rock" on 31-Mar-1980. GP-40 #4702 faired a bit better despite its lack of dynamic brakes and deferred maintenance. Third of the ten blt. In Mar., 1970 (EMD order #7263, b#36388), it (along w/the other 19 #4700-series GP-40's) was acquired-by UP on April Fool's Day of 1980, and stored (various to Council Bluffs, North Platte, N Salt Lake City, and Yermo). In June, 1983 it was repainted-to standard yellow and grey as UP #633, then relocated-to the T&P/MoPac's Lancaster Yard facility W-of Ft. Worth in May the following year, and re-lettered for the latter on 26-Jul-1985.
Most loco data from Diesels of the UP The Classic Era by D. Strack ©1999 Vol. 1 & ©2005 Vol. 2 Withers Pub.:
U-50c history on p.'s 39 (Rt. col.) & 40, U-50(b) on p.'s 56 (roster) - 58, GP-9 on p.84 (roster), GP-40 on p.'s 126 & 127 (roster) in Vol.1; GTEL info' on p.18 (upper-¼) in Motive Power Summary, U-50c data on p.137 (roster) in Vol.2.
RI U-25b info' from The Diesel Shop 'Webpage for CRI&P (ref.: https://www.thedieselshop.us/CRIP.HTML).
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