High hood blue FEC locos

 

As far as I know, FEC never had high-short-hood GP40's.

MTH did a GP38.

And they are very hard to find.

Some of FEC's most current paint schemes:

 

Brand new ES44C4

 

Newly painted SD40

 

Not yet painted SD40

 

Red, White and Blue SD70M-2

 

Blue and Gold SD70M-2

 

Blue GP40

 

Pink GP40

 

Blue GP38

Your recollection may have been of FEC GP7's and GP9's that had high short hoods.

I checked FEC photo roster at rrpicturearchieves.net and saw nothing but pictures of low short hooded GP38's and GP-40's. 

 

Larry

You must be right, GP7's and 9's is what I am recalling, they seemed to jump into the GP38's and up without much to do with GP30's, but I think I have a picture of a GP30 in blue at the Bowden yard from around 1970. 

 

FEC had GP7's and GP9's, both of which were originally in the red & yellow with silver stripes and black lettering, then they were painted in the blue with yellow stripes an lettering, and finally, the more familiar blue with red/white stripes and white lettering. The FEC jumped from the GP9's to the GP38's and GP40's at about the time they were changing to the red/white sill stripes, as I remember some transitional paint jobs that had the blue with yellow lettering, but with the red/white sill stripes instead of the yellow stripes. This may have been due to newer visibility regulations. The BL2's came in the red & yellow scheme, and later received blue/yellow paint, but didn't last long enough for the blue & white with red/white stripes. They had some EMD switchers too, which may have seen all three schemes (I'm not sure), but in the end were replaced by the GP9's as the GP38's and GP40's were added to road service. In the 1990's the FEC bought or leased some used SD 40-2's from the UP, still in that road's yellow/gray scheme, but with the "Union Pacific" painted out and replaced with Florida East Coast in blue letters. Then, in 2000 came the first repaint in the red & yellow heritage scheme. Some of the new SD70 types were received in a blue/yellow scheme used by the Alaska Railroad. up until this past year, all FEC diesels were built by EMD, and all but the GP7's and GP9's had low front hoods. Within the past year, FEC received several new locos built by GE in the red/yellow scheme, and these are also low hoods.

 

Bill in FtL

Here's my MTH GP40.  It's a non-powered unit.  I bought it since the local Puget Sound and Pacific acquired 2 FEC GP40's here a few years ago.   The "FEC" on the long hoods has since been painted over and "PSAP"  has been painted in white letters below the original FEC unit numbers on the cab sides on both of units. 

 

Larry

Except for the GP 7/9 no other high hoods on the FEC.   The "GP-38" MTH released that is shown in this thread is in the 1:1: world a GP-40 (road number series 400 and the particular special paint scheme was a GP-40 only).   All GP-38 are road number in the 500 series.  If prototype accuracy is of importance to you.  In the end it is all good, whatever you prefer.

 

Also,  the new heritage scheme (Red / yellow) is being used moving forward since the SD-40 #714 was re-painted and now the new ES44 units also are showing up with it.