model:

builder:

built:

builder number:

cost when new:

prime mover:

horsepower:

operating weight:

length:

max. speed:

GP20

GM Electro-Motive Division

December 1959

25623

$212,793.00

567D2 - 16 cylinder

2000

256,890 lbs.

56 ft. 2 in.

65 MPH

While it was one of the smaller of the major US railroads, the Western Pacific was often an industry leader in adopting new technologies and new ideas.  One of the most notable is represented by this locomotive: Western Pacific 2001.

In the late 1950's, diesel locomotive builders were beginning to toy with new ways to increase the power of the engines.  Several had turned to turbocharging, but the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD), the industry leader, resisted due to fears about poor reliability.  Finally, in 1959, it introduced two new models sporting the company's first turbocharged engines: the six axle SD24 and the four axle GP20.  Western Pacific was the first railroad to purchase the GP20 and the 2001 was the very first GP20 built.

The 2001 and her nine sisters served the WP for over 20 years, lasting until just after the December 1982 merger with the Union Pacific.  They worked nearly every task the railroad had, from priority mainline service to lowly local trains. 

Due to its historical significance, the 2001 is considered one of the "crown jewels" of the FRRS collection.  A full restoration of the locomotive, including repainting into its original "Zephyr" paint scheme, was completed in 1999 in time for a much heralded debut at the California State Railroad Museum RailFair in Sacramento that year.