Ace posted:The EMD BL1 - BL2 was an attempt to combine the aesthetics of a streamlined nose with a hood carbody that allowed better rearward visibility. But the GP models won out because of their greater functionality for typical road service and easier equipment access.
The GP7 "won out" because the BL2 was so VERY difficult for the Locomotive Devision, of EMD, to assemble. The Superintendent of the "Big Bay" complained profusely to Manufacturing Engineering as well as Design Engineering, about what a problem the BL2 was to build. Due to that modified pre-stressed carbody design, once the underframe was turned right-side-up, then the unit could no longer be "moved down the line" until it was completed.
Thus, Mr. Dick Dillworth was "called back from retirement", in order to "fix the problem". Mr. Dillworth thus designed the GP7, and the rest is history.
