Athearn sold a GP-9, but I think it may be actually a GP7. Not sure what the difference is. In either case it should be a good start. Brand new years ago they were about 30 bucks.

My GP-9? (I call it a GP9RM now)  was a stock Athearn but I added Tsunami sound decoder, chopped the nose, detailed, etc. because of sentimental reasons. It was my first loco purchase when I switched back to HO 15 years ago. Being so old with many miles it runs super smooth and sounds great!

Steve

Proto 2000/LifeLike offered a GP7 that would be a better starting point than the old Athearn. Atlas has offered a couple of runs of the GP7 as well. A little web or swap meet  shopping could turn up one in your price range.

Well, Steve, you have accually brought-up a question I have been contemplating for a while, but forgot when I came to these forums.

What is the external differance between a GP-7 and a GP-9 (if theyre are any)?  (If the anser is, No differance, then I could get a Model Power RTR GP-9 from the hobbyshop, and tear it down to the frame and rebuild it into a GP-7u)

For a 15 tear-old locomotive, your GP 9RM sounds like it's more reliable than most new offerings out in the market today ( Do you have a photo?)

The most obvious difference from GP7 to GP9 is the pattern of louvers on the battery boxes under the cab, and on the doors of the long hood.

On both models, number boards, steam generating equipment, dynamic brakes, air tanks, horns and other accessories can move around so you're best off starting with a photo of the engine you want to model and comparing it to what's available on the market.

My personal inclination would be to start with one of the Kato-built yellow box Atlas GP7 units because the drive is far better than the competition. But you are also dealing with a cast metal chassis and they can be hard to modify.

It appears from a cursory search that GP7u's are typically low-hood.  I would consider starting with a Walthers Trainline GP-9m, which is already a low-hood model, combined with photos of your chosen prototype, and maybe some Cannon & Co. parts.  Some roadnames are on sale now at Walthers:  931-129 (DRGW) is $29.98.

Remember to access the Walthers website through this site, by clicking on "Sponsoring Advertisers" at the top of this page.  You'll find Walthers on row six, the bottom (right above Jeff's photo).  This way, MRH gets its just credit for the referral.   You might also look at Dallas Model Works next to Walthers.  Craig has good prices also.

This is a DC model,  I have a couple of them that are destined for kit-bashing, but they both run very well.

Here's one example and here are a bunch of others. If you want to do one of the ATSF-built units you'll need to come up with the angular Cleburne cab from the old RPP or Athearn.

Note that the Cox, Athearn and Walthers GP9 and GP9m have a wider   than scale hood to accommodate bulkier mechanisms. This isn't too obvious unless you have scale 7s and 9s running around but it does throw off the angles of the ends.

The GP7, in general -- there are exceptions -- has three sets of battery box louvers under the cab, a group on the long hood immediately behind the cab, and two tall sets under the radiators.

It all depends how accurate you want to be and what locomotive you are modeling.

Thanks for explaining the differance. While I'm on my road to becoming a rivet-counter (most of us will be there some day) I guess I can live with the differances, at least for a while ( I'll overlook the differances for the first model or two, untill I get the hang of it) 

For building the locomotives, I was going to follow what I saw in the Model Railroader magazine (modifying a Cannon & Co. cab to fit the bill) and then add the various details that were standard for the rebuild ( I plan to have models representing all of the re-build phases where the re-built locomotives went back in for more re-building)

 I'm definately going to order some of the Walthers GP-9s, since they are the cheepest I could find (when I get the money, I'll throw in some Bachmenn units without the dynamic brakes for variety) I can't wait to get started on this project.

It's certainly more productive to jump in and get your feet wet than it is to sit around and talk about what's wrong with everything.

Don't forget to post pictures of the project so we can see how things are coming along.

I'm not sure it will fit the wide hood on the Walthers Trainline Gp.  I don't think it would be all that difficult to narrow the hoods on the Walthers model, however, especially if you are planning to use Canon doors you might as well go "whole hog" and make it accurate.

The Cannon and co. parts, I beleave will be good. If there is some sort of problem (like mentioned with wider-than-scale hoods) I'm willing to correct them.

Who knows? this may be the canidate for a chassis-up scratchbuild that I have been wanting to do (no sence in wasting over $40.00 on a locomotive, when the project will throw out the shell, and only use a mechanism) It's a thought.

 I have been looking foward to getting some Cannon and Co. parts for a while, and I plan on getting some details for an Athern F-45 I have. Mabe I can add on the rest of the materials required for a scratchbuild.

Eather way, I'll post photos, and update you on my work. ( I may turn it into a how-to article for my personal website. If so, I'll post the link)