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Caption: Interesting GMD (London) GP7 has a long history. When the QNS&L was first starting up in 1954, they placed an initial order of 24 GP7 units numbered 100-123, delivery starting in 1953. Right after that, 54 GP9 locos 124-177. This suggests to me that this locomotive pictured was the very first unit for the Quebec North Shore and Labrador.
The railroad was hard on these units; the heavy haul of ore up and down from the mines to the St. Lawrence took its toll and 17 of the GP7s were sold to a fledgling leasing company called "Bellequip" in 1971. This outfit is relatively unknown as it folded in a little over a year, and the units on hand were purchased by Precision National, another leasing outfit. And that is what you see here.
So PNC leased many units to CP, including this #100. These engines went off lease in April of 1975 as CP had placed that huge order of 200+ SD40-2s that we used to see so many of. The influx of new power plus an economic downturn made the old PNCs expendable and they were stored in Alyth Yard in Calgary for a time. Later on, the PNC 100 was sold to Amtrak, where it became their #773. No idea where it is now, but I would assume it is long gone.
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The unit appears to now be owned by the Middletown & New Jersey Railroad as MNJ 773
Does anyone know the purpose of the fuel filler and sight gauge on the short hood?
That is a good question Eric. It would not be the easiest spot to get a hose up to for refilling either.
The fuel filler is a curiosity as most QNS&L Geeps had it on both sides. My guess would be an auxiliary fuel tank in the short hood for extra diesel capacity, since they did operate in a fairly remote area. In later years, some had it plated over, or a strip added in front of it (as shown) to prevent filling. CP acquired one unit for parts (165) and photos of it stripped down show a large tank inside the long hood with piping.
Most of the PNC Geeps that went off-lease from CP due to the mid-70′s large traffic downturn ended up on the C&NW after, who were scooping up Geeps left right and centre.