Railroading as it Once Was: This Long Hood Forward Unit Had me Getting Quite Excited

Some folks don’t like a long hood lead unit but I was all over this one at Binghamton, New York, in 1975.

It’s a former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western unit built as a long hood front engine, which were common back in the ‘50s, so it was “properly” orientated on this train.

These GP7s were everywhere on the east end of the Erie Lackawanna system but conspicuously absent in Ohio.

I never saw one in my home state until Conrail took over and scattered the EL power to the four winds, so this beauty was a real treat for me.

Nice paint, clean and on the point of a westbound freighter on its former Lackawanna rails.

My buddy from over east thought I was nuts getting all excited about this “common” unit.

I mean, I had Alco RS3s out the wazoo in Ohio so why would I want to see this common geep? One man’s junk is another man’s treasure was all I could say.

Article and Photograph by Roger Durfee

Tags: Delaware Lackawanna & Western Railroad, Erie Lackawanna, GP7 locomotives, Roger Durfee photographs