Question on Lionel Legacy Erie GP7 (# 28596)

I can't say for positive on the Erie, but my legacy UP GP7 has bi-color leds in the marker lights. I would think your Erie would also.

My fairly old Legacy SD-80 has the bi-color lights, I'm surprised that one doesn't.  My new U28C also has them.

 

FWIW, I had to reset my SD-80 to get the marker lights working properly, you might try that.

I saw a lot of Erie GP-7's running commuter service on the Paskack Valley line as the tracks were across the street from the house I grew up in.  The lead markers were never green, only white.  I never saw one working push/pull or just as a pusher so I can't say if those ever showed red.  When the single engine was pulling a train only the front facing lights and headlight were illuminated.  Also, none of them had multi chime horns.  They had a single large road switcher horn on each side of the hood or two units roof mounted, one on the long hood and one on the short hood, both just off the cab.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

 

Chuck,

 

The horn is definitely one chime (almost sounds like a boat). One horn unit facing each direction on top. 

 

Overall a great looker.

 

Did Erie have the long hood end designated as the front?

 

Ron

Chuck, I'm guessing that many of the Lionel locomotives with the red/green markers are not that way in the prototype.  I think it was just something that the engineers at Lionel dreamed up.

Long hood forward.  The two horns should not be on the cab at all.

 

Here is a link to a pair of EL GP's back to back showing the usual location of the horn.  I'm trying to find an earlier photo of one that had the horns on the roof of the hood but NOT the cab roof.

 

http://www.railpictures.net/vi...id=31133&nseq=15

 

John, you're probably right about the lights.  I tried looking this up and it looks like each railroad handled the marker lights differently.  Some used bi-color, some tri-color, some no color.

 

Can't find the photo I saw earlier but here is an EL GP9 with the horns located on the top of the hood, note, neither is over the cab:

 

http://www.trainweb.org/jlsrr/...ures/Gp9erie-web.jpg

After a little research (thats part of my job) It appears only the first run of Legacy GP7 diesels had bi-color marker lights (Pennsylvania, Union Pacific). The later runs (Western Pacific, Erie, Central of Georgia, Polar railroad) has 'dummied down' lighting, red only marker lights in the rear running operation.

I have both the UP and NYC versions and both have bi-color marker lights.

Anyone know where I can find a Lionel Santa Fe Zebra Strip GP 7?

I got the engine back from Lionel today. They replaced the lead truck. The was also a note that the new Legacy GP's do not have bi-coloe marker lights...red only. I guess it's good to know everything is functioning as it should. Chuck, One horn is on the short hood facing the rear and the other is between the exhaust stacks facing forward. Ron

Inside the cab of real GP7's, there were two class light switches - one for front, the other for rear.  The bug eye at each light had a latch and was hinged to swing outward.  There was a slot for two roundels in each bug eye - one green, the other red - and the outer lens would show the color of the roundel inserted in the holder behind it, or white, if no roundel was used.

 

Either end was capable of displaying white, green, red, or dark, as required by applicable rules. The only time red ones would have been displayed as markers on a real GP7, was if the engine was running light on a main track, or was a rear-end helper behind the last car of the train.  Only the rear unit of an engine consist would have displayed red markers to the rear.  No units of the head-end consist would have displayed red markers.

 

In spite of this, the "marker lights" on 3-rail hood unit diesel locomotives typically are designed to show green in the direction of movement and red in the other, on each unit.  This is apparently a popular feature with most 3-rail model railroaders.