September Picture Worth A Thousand Words

"Gee wizz, not another geep!"

This photo is a typical shot obtainable in Waterville, Maine, with minimal luck. In this case it was a Labor Day Sunday, and lately, not much happens on any Sunday on Pan Am's District 1. As I went over older photos for various reasons, I noted that geeps such as these - GP7's & 9's with intact high short hoods - are getting tougher to find. Most railfans know this. While true nationally, it is not true in Waterville. The smaller photo below shows another pair hiding a bit deeper in the yard. That's at least 4 in one spot. That's hard to find anywhere in the entire nation! Even shortlines have tended to replace these units or buy rebuilds with low hoods.

For the number cruncher those are numbers 51, 71, 15 & 45. I'm not going to go into the predecessors except to say this small and shrinking class of units came from the old Boston and Maine RR and the Maine Central RR. Guilford/Pan Am seems to be keeping a few around Waterville to service the branches to Madison and Hinckley. The track on these branches is still light rail on the order of 80-85 lbs. and not in good repair either. These geeps apparently negotiate these rough lines at very slow speed (1-10mph) without making things much worse or falling through the track like a larger and heavier unit might. It also helps to have repair shops in Waterville. Original MEC GP38 #252 apparently mixes in acceptably with these guys, at least on the SAPPI local to Hinckley and is often found in Waterville. I don't know if the GP35's can replace these units one day. They are getting pretty old themselves and they are heavier and rougher on the track. The next few years should be interesting in Waterville (as long as the mills are open anyway) to see what happens after the geeps are finally retired. Fixing the tired track could open a few options, but why would anyone build new track to a troubled industry?

Back to how I ended up on this in the first place: The older the photo I was looking at, the more likely I was to spot a geep, or it's 6 axle counterpart, the SD9. The old Burlington lines where I grew up - CB&Q, C&S and FW&D - were loaded with SD9's switching light branch lines or local industries. They could also be found in road freights. Reviewing locations farther away, featuring the UP mains, AT&SF, D&RGW, CRI&P or MP, and the old photos include plenty of the good old geeps. In fact, I remember many a time I'd pull into some town, locate the depot and then feel let down that there was "only another geep" in attendance. Open any book featuring anything prior to the "megamergers" in the diesel age, and you find geeps everywhere! Newer photos since the late 1970's feature rebuilt units with lowered short hoods and even those were sold off to scrappers and shortlines in the 1980's. Built in the late 1940's and 1950's, they were old units then! That makes those guys in Waterville downright ancient!

Catch them while you can, even if they bore you to tears! You won't be sorry.

BC