Railworks America

Hi Michael, hope you are well. I was wondering if you might consider adding a chopped-nose version of your GP-7/9 models. Practically every shortline railroad has these or has had these. Thanks for sharing your great models.

Harry Adkins

Great idea. The CN has a lot of chopped and rebuilt GP9s, especially working in yards, often with a calf unit.

Yes! Maybe even a Topeka cab version too......

I second the request for a chopped nose GP7/9!!

And me three.

Holy moly! So that poor old Geep gets its nose punched in and you folks all gather around and cheer?

Seriously though, I am tempted to do it, but no promises! Come to think of it, I already have the exterior cab parts mostly complete thanks to my years-old (and true vaporware!) MILW SD10, most of which I could probably re-use for a chop-nose GP7/9.

One thing I can guarantee won't happen is a rebuild of the cabview. It'll have to stay that same old, somewhat crudely modeled, 1st gen cab with the drum-style control stand. (I hate building cabviews!)

Cheers
Michael

Michael, that would be great.

GreatNortherner wrote:...I already have the exterior cab parts mostly complete thanks to my years-old (and true vaporware!) MILW SD10, most of which I could probably re-use for a chop-nose GP7/9.

Whoa... hold the phone... you had a MILW SD10 in the works??? How much begging would I need to do to see that unit come to fruition? Don't worry... I'm not holding my breath.

In all seriousness Michael, a chop nose geep would be a welcome addition to many routes. Class one's, regionals, shortlines, and private operators (grain elevators) all had chop nose geeps. If I could ask one thing, please do not use the squared off number board housing from the SD10. That is something unique to the MILW, as most rebuilds had a numberboard housing that follows the round contour of the cab roof. And thank you for considering this request!

cnwfan wrote:Whoa... hold the phone... you had a MILW SD10 in the works??? How much begging would I need to do to see that unit come to fruition? Don't worry... I'm not holding my breath.

No begging needed -- really the only reason why the SD10 went nowhere is my unwillingness to model cabviews. (Did I mention that I hate modeling them?) The exterior changes are all fairly easy to do, so I can quite confidently say that IF the chop-nose Geep becomes a thing, I'll also complete the SD10 because they can both use the same cabview parts (really, did I mention that I hate building cabviews? )

Cheers
Michael

That SD10 is looking good! Honestly, I wouldn't worry about the cab interior for either the chopped geeps or the SD10. While I can't speak for anyone else, I would be thrilled to have both of these models available in the sim. Thank you again for considering this Michael.

I usually drive 1st gen diesels and steam from the helicopter 1/2 position (depending on direction) or front coupler position rarely from within the cab due to the poor visibility. 2nd Gen and wide cabs - different.

mindenjohn wrote:I usually drive 1st gen diesels and steam from the helicopter 1/2 position (depending on direction) or front coupler position rarely from within the cab due to the poor visibility. 2nd Gen and wide cabs - different.

Just be glad it's not a real one. I actually preferred running long hood first on the GP9 because I could sit back and use the mirror which gave more visibility than looking ahead around the short high hood. I was sad to see our 2 geeps retired from a historical stance, but man those gensets have so much visibility. Makes yard work a breeze.

Also a shorthood geep would be a dream in game.

Britlits has a payware one, but it is seriously outdated.

To be fair, Dick was THE pioneer in modeling things for RailSim and Railworks. It took many years for us other modelers to even dream of catching up to the sheer volume of his creations and if you look at scenario uploads and repaints from a few years ago, many of us benefited greatly from the Britkits RW offerings.


Michael