GP7u with a Slug and a caboose in 2007!!!!!

[Engine201]

Awesome video!

[Landaux]

I so love the sound of GP7s! URR URR! Todays motors are boring.

[texasrupert]

there some thing you don't see every day and a nice catch.

[JetMechMA]

Is the slug powered? I see a fuel tank but no exhaust stack. What's a slug for?

[benschlechter]

It was a sad day in railroad history for the caboose to be taken off the trains.

[charlieb640]

@benschlechter It was a sad day for railfans and historians. It was a good day for the health of railroading and railroaders.

[7nordic]

Where the heck was this taped... Thats a Santa fe caboose on the end and ATSF come BNSF got rid of cabooses in the 80's

[Mongoose6912]

fuckin foamers how about i show up at the mcdonalds where you work and videotape you????

[charlieb640]

@Mongoose6912 Personally I enjoy knowing the job I have is of interest to others. Railroads made this country great. I'm proud of the fact that I and those who work for me do so in an industry that is colorful, full of history, and so important.

As a lifelong railroader I am more than willing to give a friendly wave or answer a question. I just ask these hobbyist to not tresspass and to respect those of us who work in this industry.

[xxxseXierIkAF4Grlxxx]

@charlieb640  I wish foamers would Respect the Trespassing rule.

[charlieb640]

@xxxseXierIkAF4Grlxxx 95% of them do. There are always a few in anything that spoils it for the rest.

[Boss302fan]

@Mongoose6912 Wow. Sounds like a paranoid trainman to me.

[robertgift]

Does a slug have only tractions motors and weight?

Gets its power from electrical cable from the locomotive?

[gotmilkman32]

This is a great video. I was browsing Youtube and came across this one. My boys just happened to be with me at the time. They kept asking what the little one is. I told them it's a slug and explained what it was in terms they could understand. My grandparents owned the lumberyard here and the tracks ran right by it. I spent many days there just watching trains go by and have only seen just a couple of them in my 39 years. We like all the vids with 3838 in them and hope to see more of them.

[miklyd]

i wonder why a slug?

[RailfanTube]

Norfolk Southern still used an old Norfolk and Western caboose in my hometown up until a few years ago.

[atani10]

Lol I see a train right now

[Railfan19960]

hey Treyvs so what is the differince of a GP7u and a GP9u?

[verastaki]

Wow that train just appears out of nowhere at 0:26. A ghost train.

[Manongjojo]

That looks like a track repair crew

[MrDickensonS]

Is that the same GP7u-slug set that had a close call with a Union Pacific freight?

[RailsandRoads]

@MrDickensonS yeah

[DetroitLove4U]

Hey Trevyvs you make some really nice videos makes me want to get into doing this too!!! I conjecture that a slug is what the person below me thought in the same? I've often wondered myself what those were for, however, I've never seen one in person.

[CountVonBoco]

No. A Slug is a unit that acts as another engine, but does not have another prime mover. It draws power from the Mother unit, In this case, the GP7U, for added adhesion, and traction effort. Most slugs look as you see them, cut down to size, and have gravel, or concrete blocks where the engine was for weight.

[BIGT6851]

i think.

[BIGT6851]

a slug is pretty much a regular engine but with out a cab.

[Boss302fan]

Not really. No. It doesn't have a diesel unit or a generator. It doesn't have all the equipment associated with auxillary racks.

It basically is a bunch of weight sitting on top of traction motors. The traction motors receive electricity from a "regular engine".

[farrahmills]

this unit was scrapped and the slug was dumped in a lake somewhere

[acelafan123]

why?

[Boss302fan]

He's either full of it or trying to be funny. No railroad is going to dump 50 or so tons of scrap metal into a lake. LOL

[acelafan123]

no i mean scrap it. it looks in good condition

[Boss302fan]

Yeah.  I think he was just messing around. The whole "dumped in a lake" thing made it sound like he made it up

[junitosplay]

alguien puede decirme donde es ese lugar

[twiggs24]

how does a slug work. i have never herd of one

[nascarcasey5914]

It's basically a traction engine. It's very similar to a B-Unit. They just cut away excess body and you have slug unit.

[BudmanPackfan]

slugs have just the traction motors on the drive axles, the engine has been removed. It is dependant on a "master" unit to provide the electricity for the traction motors to move. The reason for this is to provide additional pulling effort without spinning the wheels. More power isn't needed, more traction is needed. Slugs are typically filled with concrete to provide the weight needed to increase traction. used in slow speed operations typically.

[GrnArrow092]

Slugs can also be built with or without a cab. Some slugs are fitted with an extra fuel tank to increase fuel economy so they can keep running and not have to fuel up as much. I have heard that engineers like to operate slugs because without an engine, they provide a more smooth and quiet ride. Railroads like the idea of converting old and obsolete locomotives because it's more economical and better than buying new locomotives.

[Adam008910]

very nice! but i do hear a train in the background near the end of the video 5:10 5:17, 5:23 5:26

[jimmydcap]

Where was this filmed..

[Zebrails]

I believe the GP-7's had only two seats. Plus, with a few more personnel in the switching, it makes for a quicker job.

Kamloops, BC used to have a GP-9m up until March 2008. Sad to see it gone. It was replaced with three SD40-2's. But, there are at least three WV cabooses... all for the extra seats and a bit of crossing safety.

John

[trevorandy]

are you talking about the cn station in kamloops?

i coulda sworn i saw them switching with that slug a month or two ago. ive noticed the sd 40s more though.

[Zebrails]

oh, sorry... the CP. I haven't been able to watch the CN switch cars. I have no way of getting out there. The CP GP9m was gone, and three SD40-2's in its place, two in 'multi-mark and one in the latest paint scheme.

[DX721]

that guys is just chillin on the slug isnt he

[isb235]

what do they do with the slugs??

[wildfire19861987]

i'm a little hazy on the full description . But A slug is a former diesel which has had everything but it's traction motors and electrics removed and extra weight added. a diesel produces more (electric) power than what is needed for itself at low speeds, so by connecting a slug to it the extra power can be transferred to it via the MU cable, giving more traction for switching.

[Trains232]

yep, go to barstow yard and you will see a lot!

[darkyoda]

In this case you may notice it still has a fuel tank also. In the case of "road slugs" or heavy duty switching units, they'll often retain the tank and use it as a tender for the mother locomotive. Extra fuel means that they can run longer.

[slybrdsngjr]

Slugs are usually used for the traction motors...

[9760bn]

and they fill them full of cement too

[WilbertVereAwdry]

I'm confused. I've seen the GP7s, but what r the GP7us and the slugs? The slug looks like a gondola. Is it like a B unit for the GP7u or what?

[cbehr91]

GP7us are just rebuilt GP7s with a chopped-nose. The slug has had everything stripped out except for the traction motor. Plus it adds more weight for better tractive effort.

[wildfire19861987]

always nice to see one still in use. Even if it's just as a shoving platform BNSF used an older santa fe CE-8 wide vision on a MOW train as a platform here last year (got lots of photos while it was sitting in town).

I've personally done some restoration work on a CE-8 our local museum has (which my mom got for the museum while she was the director back in 1991).

[thetrainman407]

AWESOME CATCH! rare unit and caboose!!

[flexspinner]

amazing weres that ?

[BNSF7776]

Was that the H&N swicher?

[Treyvs]

Yes

[TrainmasterCurt]

The cab top is'nt round?

[sd40u]

it's a GP7u with a "topeka cab", the Bangor & Aroostook bought a few from the santa fe in 1992, so I'm used to seeing those

[Boss302fan]

I bought 7 of these about 10 years ago. Great units. Nice electrical systems as they were upgraded. Paid almost nothing for them.

Definitely light units. A couple of the shortlines I sold them to put some cement ballast in every crevice they could find.

[euphoritch]

??...you have 7 trains ??

i play trs 2004 , i got f....n shiploads full of trains. lol

[Boss302fan]

7 trains? Huh?

I bought 7 GP7-U locomotives. Not 7 trains. Don't have them anymore. Sold them ages ago.

To be honest, I do not follow your email at all.

[euphoritch]

anyway you had 7 of them

i mean did you realy bought 7 of these units , and do you mean a train unit with that?

real life models or scaled?

me 2 did not know wajt you mean with that ,i found it pretty impressive if you have 7 of the things on video

what they call slugg or caboose whatever

nevermind , i was pretty damn stoned ( netherlands so its legal) sorry m8

[Boss302fan]

Understood. They were 7 actual "full size" GP7U locomotives bought from an out-of-service line in Kansas City.

[Treyvs]

No, its a GP7u

[TrainmasterCurt]

Really? Sure has a weird front? SRY's GP7u's look different

[yamaha789]

very good 10+

[BNSF9250]

why did you cut out the rest of it where it does the best honk the nations ever heard!

[Derailedtrain666]

Was this befor or after they almost hit?

[Treyvs]

Before

[77mr]

The cabose has pretty much been extinct from mainline operation we have reverted to the etd (end of train device). The cabose is used for switching operations used as platforms to do long shove moves. It's nice to have a sturdy platform rather than hanging for dear life it makes my job a little easier and a little safer.

[railbum]

good stuff

[jmehl77]

More history down the drain!

[Treyvs]

lol yep....I made her famous before she was scrapped

[iggyjill]

when did they scrap her i saw her working in the first week of December at Hutchinson but without the slug also does the slug get the power from just the front of the mother unit?

[Bellwestern80]

Was that a cut up diesel at 0:08!?!

[THandBfan]

Well sometimes they might use an old diesel locomotive as a slug or B-unit and slug's are a B-unit and that there is a slug.

[mafarnz]

Dude, NICE! That's something you don't see every day. (at least I don't)

[LenaVideos]

Were are they storing those dorn cabooses...Ive seen two but I want to see more.

[golfingrobert]

i kit bashed an atlas gp7 chop. i love those things

[nraman4ever]

This is the same switcher that almost collided with that UP loco aint it?

[Treyvs]

Yep

[chessie93]

GP7 With a Slug & A Caboose? You Are Doing Great Chuck.

[Tcostello105]

nice horn on the swicther in the background

[Treyvs]

lol that was me :)

[BRIANamtrak]

Hey that guy was in your way!

[WolfmanAndrew]

Kinda reminds me of Temple Texas with all the former Santa Fe classic units being set in the yard. What's up with the yard slug, I'm thinking there aren't many more of those slugs still lest in Santa Fe paint. Oh what the heck, I'd take either one of those units on a good or bad day!

[BoxcarFrank]

I like it! GO BNSF