Feather River GP40s

Feather River GP40s

REFUGEES

WP GP40-2 3553 teams up with two additional GP40s to spirit an eastbound train just east of at Pulga, in the Feather River Canyon over the July 4th weekend of 1980. (Below) WP 3523 stored on the UP at Salt Lake City, February, 1983. (Both photos by Ken Rattenne)

In 1983 change was in the wind for Western Pacific's fleet. After merging with Union Pacific in December of 1982, there were few changes in motive power assignments. As the months rolled on though, the GP40s were slowly pulled from service and placed in deadlines in Stockton or Salt Lake City. Eventually most found their way to a single mammoth deadline in the Sierra foothill town of Oroville, and by summer's end Portola.

There were exceptions. The GP40-2s worked jobs on the old WP once held down by GP9s and GP20s. Others were sent east to help with branch line duties on parts of the UP proper.

Upon evaluating the condition of the GP40 fleet, UP mechanical personnel determined that the 15 GP40-2s and the 15 rebuilt GP40s were the most useful to the railroad for the foreseeable future. The balance of the unrebuilt Geeps were hustled off to Little Rock Ark. for storage on the Missouri Pacific.

It didn't take MOPAC long to begin pressing the units in the best shape into service on trains in Texas and Louisiana. A paper transfer was arranged for 21 WP GP40s on the MOPAC to be consigned to the MOPAC. To even things up a bit, MOPAC released several GP38-2 units for use on the Feather River Route. While Perlman Green GP40s pulled freights out of Houston, Jenks Blue GP38-2s began showing up in Portola, Oroville and Stockton.

For railfans along the "new" WP the world was a Topsy-Turvy place.

BACK WHERE THEY BELONG

Missouri Pacific sent a number of GP38-2s to work the old WP lines while it keeping the former WP GP40s based out of Houston. Above, MP 2021 and 2024 lead the Port Chicago Turn past Stockton Tower and onto the Santa Fe on 05/26/86. (Ken Rattenne Photo)

The ex-WP units were renumbered to MP 651-665 but only lasted a short time on the MOPAC when UP decided on another paper transfer of power back to Uncle Pete's fleet. This resulted on the units departing MOPAC rails for reassignment to the UP or former WP mainline terminals. Several GP40s were assigned to areas last worked as mainline power, now reduced to pulling assignments on locals and yard jobs.

The '40s also mixed it up with their smaller GP35 brothers and on the West Coast, and were even seen in the company of a pair of former Rock Island GP40s on a short tour in Northern California. The 651 class of GP40s could be found working UP's Reno Branch in Nevada, the desert yard at Yermo, the East L.A. and Stockton yards, and even WP's Tidewater Subdivision.

Those units that did make their way back to home rails seemed right at home, allowing railfans to imagine the Geeps to be still in the Perlman Green. But even this was not to last.