GP11
Encyclopedia
The EMD GP11 is a four-axle diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...

 rebuilt by the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

’s Paducah
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...

 shops. It is very similar in appearance to the GP8
GP8
A GP8 is a four-axle diesel locomotive rebuilt by the Illinois Central's Paducah shops using a General Motors Electro-Motive Division GP7, GMD GP7 or GP9 as a start. It is similar to the GP10 and GP11....

 and GP10
GP10
The EMD GP10 is a diesel-electric locomotive that is the result of rebuilding a GP7, GP9 or GP18.The Illinois Central Railroad had three separate rebuild programs to upgrade their old EMD GPs and GPs that they had purchased from equipment dealers such as Precision National Corporation in Mount...

.

The Illinois Central Railroad began their GP11 rebuilding program in 1978. All units were rebuilt from recycled EMD GP7
EMD GP7
The EMD GP7 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between October, 1949 and May, 1954. Power was provided by an EMD 567B 16-cylinder engine which generated . The GP7 was offered both with and without control cabs, and...

, GP9
EMD GP9
An EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in the United States, and General Motors Diesel in Canada between January, 1954, and August, 1963. US production ended in December, 1959, while an additional thirteen units were built in Canada, including...

 or GP18
EMD GP18
An EMD GP18 is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between December 1959 and November 1963. Power was provided by an EMD 567D1 16-cylinder engine which generated...

 parts. Spotting features are an angled cab, exterior paper air filter, new air intake for the traction motor
Traction motor
Traction motor refers to an electric motor providing the primary rotational torque of a machine, usually for conversion into linear motion ....

s and four exhaust stacks. Internally they had Dash 2
EMD Dash 2
On January 1, 1972, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division introduced its new Dash 2 line of diesel-electric locomotives. All designations of these new models were those of the former models with "-2" added...

 solid state electrical equipment.

Original Buyers

A total of 53 of these remanufactured locomotives were built from April of 1978 to 1981. The first prototype unit of this model was IC #8701 and the rest of the series were numbered between 8701 and 8753. IC units 8701 through 8726 were built in 1979 while units 8727 through 8750 were built in 1980; the remaining three from 8751 to 8753 were built in early 1981.

Core units for the rebuilds came from IC GP9 and GP18, MBTA GP9, RDG GP7 and UP GP7, GP9 and GP9B.

In the Spring of 1979 the Clinchfield Railroad sent six GP7s to Paducah to be rebuilt to GP11s. These units were called GP16s by Clinchfield.
Railroad Quantity Road numbers Notes
Illinois Central
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

 
26
8701-8726
Built 1979
Illinois Central
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

 
24
8727-8750
Built 1980
Illinois Central
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

 
3
8751-8753
Built 1981
Total 53

Disposition

The majority of Illinois Central's GP11 roster was retired prior to the Canadian National's purchase of the railroad, though many of these engines can still be seen in service on other short-line railroads and/or preserved in various locations.
  • Illinois Central's #8701, the first production GP11 rebuild from the Paducah shops in 1979, is now preserved & sitting on static display outside the original passenger station in downtown Carbondale, Illinois
    Carbondale, Illinois
    Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest...

    .

  • Illinois Central's #8733, a former GP9
    EMD GP9
    An EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in the United States, and General Motors Diesel in Canada between January, 1954, and August, 1963. US production ended in December, 1959, while an additional thirteen units were built in Canada, including...

     rebuilt in 1980, was donated to the Monticello Railway Museum
    Monticello Railway Museum
    The Monticello Railway Museum is a non-profit railroad museum located in Monticello, Illinois...

     in Monticello, Illinois
    Monticello, Illinois
    Monticello is a city in Piatt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,138 at the 2000 census, and 5,374 at a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Piatt County.-Geography:Monticello is located at ....

     by the Canadian National in 2001 where it has since been restored and remains in operational condition.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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