Santa Fe GP7 No. 2651, above, was equipped with steam generators unlike its sister, No. 2656, which had dynamic brakes and was scrapped in 1966.
Trains collection
Q I have a black-and-white photo of Santa Fe GP7 No. 2656. The engine has what looks like a 48-inch fan on the top and 13 to 14 small sets of louvers on the side of the high short hood. The locomotive was wrecked and scraped in 1966, and I have never been able to find more photos or data on this engine. — Dick Christian, Tampa, Fla.
A Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe No. 2656 was part of the 2650-class of locomotives, which included GP7s numbered 2650 to 2893. Nos. 2655 and 2656 were the first two delivered, in September 1950. According to Iron Horses of the Santa Fe Trail by E.D. Worley, No. 2656 was equipped with dynamic brakes when EMD delivered it to the railroad.
Of the 13 GP7s built for the Santa Fe during 1950, only four were equipped with dynamic brakes. Units 2650 to 2654 were equipped with steam generators, but did not have dynamic brakes, in part because the air brake reservoirs occupied the area on top of the hood where the cooling fan would have been. — Brad Black, vice president, Virginkar & Associates Inc., Muskego, Wis.
