Kitbashing a Washington & Idaho GP16
SPANGLE, WA; MAR. 2008
MATT FARNSWORTH: NEAR GARFIELD, WA; MAR. 2009
Washington & Idaho No. 316 started life as a Clinchfield GP7. Rebuilt at IC’s Paducah Shops, it served CRR for a time, then worked on short lines. The long hood was raised, it has a later style EMD cab, a new electrical cabinet inserted behind the cab, and new air- filters and intakes. It now has four exhaust stacks, not the usual two on a Geep.
MARSHALL, WA; MAR. 2010 PALOUSE, WA; SEPT. 2009
reworking the original cab, as with many similar rebuilds, Paducah ob- tained “second generation” EMD compo- nents to replace the originals. Behind the cab, the long hood was raised up about eight inches and a large “saddle- bag” air filter housing attached. The new nose was not as long as the original short hood, so the cab was shifted for- ward, and a fabricated electrical cabinet inserted between the long hood and the cab. The Paducah shops also applied a heavy anti-climber to the upper lip of the front pilot.
The locomotive left the shops in
Family Lines paint, numbered as CRR 4603.
Then, after serving Family Lines successor CSX for a few years as their No. 1703, it found new work on the shortline and leasing circuit. One of the lines it served for several years, the Minnesota Valley Railroad, re- numbered it to 316 and applied its current paint scheme. Later, Western Rail, Inc. (WRIX) acquired the unit, and subsequently leased it to the WIR upon its September, 2007 startup. The WIR has since purchased No. 316 out- right. For the record, the 316 carries a GP16 model designation on its FRA
50
inspection card in the cab. Once I saw this locomotive running
on the WI&M, I decided I had to have a model of it. I found a great starting point in an older Front Range Products GP9 from my collection that I seldom operated. (Front Range went out of business many years ago, although
some parts, including shells, frames, and some drive components are still available through A-Line/Proto Power West at:
http://ppw-aline.com). If I had- n’t already owned this engine, I proba- bly would have used a Proto 2000 phase II GP9 without dynamic brakes. The Bachmann GP9 may also make a
OCTOBER 2013
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