Legacy Northern Pacific GP9 Engine - Comments Please

Product number?

I have the L&N Legacy GP9. Beautiful detail, incredible sound and lighting and excellent speed control. On the negative side, electro couplers are very stiff vs. MTH and frustrating to work with. Also have the dreaded "three blinks" issue with the fan motor so no smoke right now. Even when it worked the smoke output was marginal due to the poor funnel/stack design. If you really like to run smoke, you can gently pop open the top access panel slowly twist off the funnel (pretty easy) and add smoke straight in to the wick. Had I figured that out earlier mine probably would not be dead now.

Overall, I really like the engine and don't regret getting it.

Legacy Geeps are good runners. I have a GP7 from the first legacy run it has excellent slow speed for switching operations.

I'm not sure if you've seen this, it also has tips regarding filling the smoke unit.

I have one like the one in the video, it's one of my favorite Geeps!

I have had no issues and the one I have runs fine. Normal noisy fan motor for smoke but nothing that is abnormal.

I have one and it runs perfect, slow speed is incredible, I don't do smoke so no issue there. 

Rick O,

   Thanks much for the Lionel instructional video on the NP GP9, I did not know there was one available to watch. Just what I wanted to see!

Scott, Guns, Zephyr1, Jeff & wb47, thanks much for all your help, I appreciate it very much.

Looks like a Legacy Engine I need to purchase.  I like her a bunch.

PCRR/Dave

Gentlemen,

    Now just where can I get the best deal on this Legacy NP GP9 Engine?

PCRR/Dave

Gentlemen,

    Thanks much for all your help on the new Legacy GP9.  After watching the instructional Lionel Video Rich O posted for me to see, I definitely decided to go ahead and purchase the Legacy GP9, from Barry's Train Shop in E-Town Pa.  When she arrives I will probably be up at the Log Cabin in Potter/Tioga, however I will post some pictures when I came back to Churchill, after the Fly Fishing season has faded away.  

Again I appreciate the members educated input for my decision making.

PCRR/Dave

Nice - one of my favorite road names! 

J,

   Kind of one of my favorites also, and I love the old Pittsburgh Steelers colors on her.

PCRR/Dave

Interesting to compare that with the similar LionChief+ version. Always liked this paint scheme as well. I've got the Lionel Alco RS-11 version, which is very nice as well (have two of them hooked up back-to-back - the sounds of two of those Alco motors rumbling is something!). I was thinking of getting the LionChief GP version - not sure it's worth it to jump up another $150 for the Legacy version for what I want to use it for, but I'm not sure. Incidentally, there don't seem to be a whole lot of options as far as scale cabooses for NP engines. Atlas O has done nice green and tuscan versions, and Lionel some older woodsided cabooses, but I don't know of much else.

Breezinup,

    I understand where you are coming from, I own the original Lionel Northern Pacific

Work Train with Fireman's Car and Fish Tank Car.   I also have the original Black and Gold work Caboose, that was the option on the original Lionel work train set.  The Black & Gold with red trimming NP work Caboose, matches the original Lionel NP Engine perfectly.  I might just make the original NP GP7 Engine into a non-powered unit, to run behind my new Legacy GP9, making a double header GP9/GP7, we will see how they look together, definitely with the original Black & Gold work Caboose.  However I also own the original two tone Green NP Passenger set, which will need an engine.  You might still be able to find one of the original Lionel Black & Gold NP Work Cabooses on line for your train set, however I have seen very few of them.  I will let you know how the Legacy sounds and runs, you might just want to make it part of a triple header, set up.  

PCRR/Dave

I probably wouldn't MU these engines even if I had the Legacy GP, because unfortunately Legacy and TMCC engines don't run together well in MU setups. Not sure if by "work caboose" you're referring to the bay window cabooses. I know that after the Postwar period, during MPC days, Lionel made a green and yellow NP bay window, which was the prototypical color. But (according to Greenberg's) collectors wanted Lionel to make a caboose that matched the black and gold GP engines Lionel was producing then, so Lionel proceeded to also produce a black and gold bay window caboose, which of course is a fantasy scheme.

These MPC engines (like the Postwar version) also used a non-prototypical gold paint rather than the correct NP yellow. Using your original Geep as a non-powered unit to run behind your Legacy unit, as you mentioned, may not look very good, given that one has yellow paint and the other has gold paint. I was never sure why Lionel used gold paint on these older engines instead of the correct yellow - just one of those Lionel peculiarities that was begun in the Postwar era, I guess. I'm glad these newer engines use the collect yellow color.

I was fortunate to pick up both the Atlas cabooses several years ago, but already have those assigned. For the LionChief+ Geep I may use a Lionel woodsided caboose I have, or else get an older MPC green bay window to run behind it. Incidentally, here are pictures of the various cabooses mentioned.

Breez,

   The Black & Gold 9268 is the caboose I own that matches the UP GP7 Lionel Engine.

Although mine is just slightly different, in the stack and exacting paint trim.  I would not mind having the Tuscan colored one pictured just above it, the one that came with my original NP train set is Tuscan colored, with no idents on it.  The Green one is definitely cool also.

PCRR/Dave