Chicago & Northwestern Bicentennial EMD GP18 #1776

[Great-Northern-Willmar Div]

CNW's EMD GP18 fleet were built near the end of production of the GP18 and the beginning of production of the GP20. They featured the sill and fuel tank of the GP20, the body and radiator grilles of a a GP18, but had four 36" radiator fans. The GP18's were built using parts from traded in EMD F7's, which accounts for the 36" radiator fans.





The sill of the model is a Proto 2000 GP20. The GP20 did not have the tool box ahead of the battery boxes. The GP18 still retained the tool box. On my model I cut the tool boxes from a P2K GP9 sill. I removed the step box from the GP20 sill and fit the GP9 tool boxes on the GP20 sill.












The model roughed together.











The long hood is a GP9 Phase II with 36" radiator fans. I removed the GP9 grilles and installed Plano GP7/9/18/20 radiator shutters and GP18 grilles.

[Great-Northern-Willmar Div]

Finished.

[Spikre]

Jim,
that side sill showed up as early as 1957 on N&W Passenger GP9s.
GP18s were built from 12/59 until 11/63,replaced by the "Phantom
GP",the GP28.GP28 had the shortest production run of any regular
production GP unit,3/64 to 11/65, 26 units built.
GP20 was built from 11/59 until 4/62,not counting the so called
"Omaha" GP20s converted by U.P. and EMD.
will check Your build when the pics are loaded.
Edit - another fine loco build Jim !!
Spikre

[slowfreight]

Even before the paint job that thing was pretty dang cool. If you know your GP9's, it makes you take a second and then third look. But the paint came out nicely too.

[kcjones]

Jim.
All hail the red, white, and blue. Real sweet man. Real sweet!!!
JL

[thebessemerkid]

Nice! Wish I would have spent more time shooting bicentennial units, but cars and girls.. where oh where were my priorities?

[Gary P]

Nice Jim, very nice!

[kcjones]

Hey Kid, I feel your pain. I lived in New Orleans in the early 70's and I got sick everytime my friends showed me pics of what was in New Orleans back then. Especially all the Alcos that SP dumped on the east end. And a very colorful Amtrak. "What's an Amtrak? Wait! There goes a girl!!!"
Lord, where did I go wrong?
JL