Union Pacific GP20s
By Don Strack (May 1998)
(This article is an updated and expanded version of text used in the book The GP20 and SD24, EMD's Turbocharged Duo (Withers Publishing Co., 1998, ISBN 1-881411-19-2)
When Union Pacific received its 30 GP20s in July and August 1960, the road had already proven the locomotive's design. During March 1959, UP had accepted delivery of an A-B-A set of prototype GP20s, as a continuation of the GP9 turbocharger program (begun by UP in 1956 on GP9s 261, 281, and 185B). UP sent three units, Phase-III GP9s 301, 305, and 308B, to EMD to be rebuilt to 2000 horsepower using EMD's then-new turbocharger. After being rebuilt, the locomotives were for all practical purposes pre-production GP20s, having been completed six months before the GP20 design was placed in production. Two months later, in May 1959, UP sent six more units, in two A-B-A sets (UP 300, 300B, 301B, 311, 313, and 320) to EMD to be rebuilt with the new turbocharger. However, these later six units did not receive the GP20-style of fuel tanks, air reservoirs, and walkway side frame modifications.
These nine examples of pre-production GP20s proved that the EMD version of a turbo supercharger, applied to EMD's own 16 cylinder 567 engine was more economical for the railroad than was UP's own efforts of applying either of two earlier designs, as UP had done in its own shops with 22 other GP9s, 12 units with an AiResearch design and 10 units with an Elliott design. Even after purchasing 30 of EMD's GP20s in 1960, numbered as UP 700-729, UP initiated a program to equip still more of its 300 series GP9s with EMD's turbocharger, completing a total of 63 units by 1965, including 30 GP9A units and 33 GP9B units, all in the 300-349B number series.
For a railroad so intent on upgrading its GP9s to 2000 horsepower machines, it seems strange that the UP only purchased 30 factory GP20s. The decision was likely based entirely on economics. The nation was in an economic down turn during 1959 to 1962, and traffic on the nation's railroads was in a slump. Only 260 GP20s were built between November 1959 and April 1962, with UP's 30 units being just over ten percent of that fleet. UP had dieselized somewhat later than most railroads, and instead of having sizable fleets of worn out FTs and ALCos to replace, UP's large fleet of 1954-built and 1957-built GP9s was still quite young. By the time additional mid-range horsepower locomotives were needed, EMD's new GP30 was available, which UP bought in large numbers--111 units with cabs and 40 units without. During the early 1960s, to fill the needs of a lower horsepower unit, UP simply turned to its GP9 turbocharging program.
When first delivered, Union Pacific's 30 GP20s carried the number series of UP 700-729. This number series had earlier been assigned to UP's 30-unit fleet of GP7s, delivered in February through October 1953. However, the GP7s had been renumbered to their later number series, UP 100-129, in October and November 1953 while working on the railroad's Utah and California divisions. The GP20s themselves were renumbered from 700-729 in December 1962 and January 1963 in anticipation of the delivery of 35 additional GP30s in February and March 1963, numbered as UP 700-734. These later 35 GP30s, along with UP GP30 number 735 (delivered in June 1963) and 40 GP30Bs numbered as UP 700B-739B, joined an already existing fleet of 76 GP30s, numbered as UP 800-875, delivered in July to September 1962.
UP's 30 GP20s began to leave the roster in 1977, when they were just 17 years old. By this time, the units had been in side-by-side service with the road's turbocharged GP9s as secondary road power, as branchline power, and as heavy switchers. In a pattern that has been repeated by UP many times, as new road power was being delivered (in this case new SD40-2s and C30-7s by the hundreds), the railroad bumped existing road power downward, forcing older units into retirement. Along with the GP20s, UP also retired 95 other units in 1977, including U50s, U50Cs, GP7s, GP9s and GP9Bs, SD24s and SD24Bs, and NW2, SW7, and SW9 switchers.
The first seven GP20s to be retired (UP 470, 471, 478, 479, 482, 488, and 497), were stricken from the roster in October and November 1977, and were immediately sold to Precision National at Mount Vernon, Illinois During 1978 and 1979, four more were retired and also sold to Precision. Of these 11 units, Precision rebuilt 10 into what it called a GP21, a unit with updated electrical controls and a 2000 horsepower, EMD 645, blower-equipped diesel engine. This rebuild effort was completed by ICG at its Paducah, Kentucky, shop. Six GP21s went to South East Coal at Ravenna, Kentucky, for its June 1979 start-up of operations. Numbered as SECX 2001-2006, the units were ex-UP 470, 488, 479, 471, 497, and 472, and operated over CSX tracks, with CSX crews, moving unit coal trains (in three train sets) from coal mines in Hazard County, Kentucky, to Southeast's coal preparation plant at Calla, Kentucky. South East Coal was forced into bankruptcy in October 1990 by the loss of a suit filed in 1984 by Kentucky Utilities for the overpricing of a 12-year coal hauling contract, and its five remaining GP21s to National Railway Equipment on 30 March 1991. The sixth GP21, SECX 2003, had been wrecked and stripped of usable parts, with the frame remaining stored at Polly, Kentucky. National Railway Equipment purchased South East Coal's five GP21s, three GP38-2s, and single GP38. The five GP21s were leased to the new regional Arizona & California Railroad for its start-up of operations on 9 May 1991.
Two other GP21s went to Illinois Terminal 2008 and 2009 in June1980, later becoming N&W, then NS 2008 and 2009. The last two GP21s went into Precision's lease fleet: the former UP 499 became Agrico 2010, and the former UP 473 became Precision National Leasing (PNL) 2007.
UP 483 was wrecked while still in service on UP. The unit was stripped of usable parts by UP and sold for scrap in April 1979 to Bargains Galore, a metal salvage dealer located in Portland, Oregon. Rather than being scrapped in Tacoma, Washington, like so many other UP units purchased by Bargains galore, UP 483 found its way to Diesel Electric Service in St. Paul, Minn., then to the Nebraska Western Technical College in Sidney, Nebraska, where it served as a training aid for the school's diesel mechanic program. The unit was later sold to Weber Industries in Council Bluffs, Iowa, as their 438 (not 483), then again to Wilson Railway, a dealer in Des Moines, Iowa, in February 1989. Wilson sold the unit to San Diego & Imperial Valley as their 1438, and in the last known sale of this much traveled unit, it was again sold to Missouri & Arkansas Northern, regaining its original number 483 in the process. One other former UP GP20 was rebuilt and remains in service today. UP 498 was sold to Morrison Knudsen in October 1979, rebuilt much like the Precision GP21s, and sold to Kyle Railways as their 103. The unit operated on Kyle's San Diego & Arizona Eastern, then on their San Joaquin Valley, also as number 103.
The remaining 18 UP GP20s were all scrapped. The first to go was UP 485, which was scrapped by UP at its Omaha, Nebraska, shops in October 1978. The others left the roster between September 1978 and February 1984, being purchased for their scrap value by many of the known names, including Naporano, Peaker, Bargains Galore, Southwest Railroad Car Parts, and Erman. The last GP20 to operate on UP was UP 487, retired in February 1984, and sold for scrap to Erman in August 1985.
The December 1982 merger of Union Pacific, Western Pacific, and Missouri Pacific brought the remaining nine of WP's original 10 GP20s to UP's roster. Of the nine units, however, only one actually operated on UP tracks. WP 2001, 2002, and 2004-2010 (WP 2003 was wrecked while still in service on WP) were moved to Salt Lake City in February 1983, just two months after the merger. The nine units remained stored in Salt Lake until June 1986, when the traction motors were removed from eight of the units, which were then moved for continued storage 35 miles north to Ogden, Utah. There the units sat, along with seven WP GP7s and a couple UP Centennials, until 1988, when they were finally sold to Precision National.
Prior to its sister units being moved to Ogden, in September 1984, WP 2009 was taken into Salt Lake shops and found to be repairable. The unit was reconditioned and sent to UP's North Platte shops to receive a coat of UP yellow and gray. The unit emerged as UP 488 (2nd) and was sent for service to its former territory in northern California. Within a few short weeks, its turbocharger failed, and the unit was sidelined awaiting repairs. In March 1985, the eight remaining WP GP20s were all formally retired, seven of them not having turned a wheel in UP service. WP 2008 had been retired in July 1983, and scrapped by Durbano in Ogden in November 1985. WP 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010 were sold to Precision National in March 1988, and remained on Precision's property as late as June 1994. WP 2002 was sold to Relco in March 1988. Relco put the unit back into operating condition and leased it (as RE 2001) to Exxon Chemical in Opal, Wyoming. WP 2001, the first GP20 built, was donated by UP after its March 1985 retirement to the Feather River Rail Society for its museum in Portola, California, in June 1985. By 1995, it had been cosmetically restored.
UP GP20s, sorted by road number
| Road Number | Date Retired | Date Sold | Sold To | Notes |
| 470 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2001, to NRE, to A&C 2001 |
| 471 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2004, to NRE, to A&C 2004 |
| 472 | Aug-78 | Nov-78 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2006, to NRE, to A&C 2003 |
| 473 | Apr-78 | 23-Jan-79 | Precision | GP21, PNL 2007 |
| 474 | 23-Nov-82 | 5-Feb-88 | SWRRP | scrapped |
| 475 | 6-Mar-80 | Nov-80 | BG | scrapped by Simon, Mar 1983 |
| 476 | 6-Mar-80 | Apr-83 | BG | scrapped Apr 1983 |
| 477 | May-79 | Jan-80 | Peaker | scrapped in 1990 |
| 478 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | |
| 479 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2003, wrecked |
| 480 | Sep-78 | 17-Oct-79 | Precision | GP21, IT 2009, to NW 2009 |
| 481 | Feb-83 | Nov-83 | Erman | |
| 482 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, IT 2008, to NW 2008 |
| 483 | Aug-78 | Apr-79 | BG | wrecked, rebuilt, ended up as M&NA 483 |
| 484 | 6-Mar-80 | 5-Jan-81 | Precision | |
| 485 | Apr-78 | Oct-78 | scrapped by UP at Omaha, Oct 1978 | |
| 486 | Mar-81 | 15-Jun-81 | Precision | |
| 487 | Feb-84 | 30-Aug-85 | Erman | scrapped |
| 488 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2002, to NRE, to A&C 2002 |
| 489 | Sep-78 | Feb-80 | Naporano | scrapped |
| 490 | 6-Mar-80 | May-80 | scrapped by UP at Omaha, May 1980 | |
| 491 | Jul-82 | Feb-83 | GNT | scrapped by Pielet, Aug 1988 |
| 492 | Oct-79 | 25-Sep-80 | Naporano | scrapped |
| 493 | Dec-79 | Aug-84 | scrapped by UP at Pocatello, Aug 1984 | |
| 494 | 23-Nov-82 | Oct-83 | Erman | wrecked, scrapped |
| 495 | Nov-81 | Feb-80 | Naporano | scrapped |
| 496 | Oct-79 | Aug-80 | BG | scrapped by Simon |
| 497 | Oct-77 | Nov-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2005 |
| 498 | May-79 | 9-Oct-79 | MK | SD&AE 103, SJV 103 |
| 499 | Apr-78 | Jan-79 | Precision | GP21, Agrico 2010 |
UP GP20s, sorted by retirement date
| Road Number | Date Retired | Date Sold | Sold To | Notes |
| 470 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2001, to NRE, to A&C 2001 |
| 471 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2004, to NRE, to A&C 2004 |
| 478 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | |
| 479 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2003, wrecked |
| 482 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, IT 2008, to NW 2008 |
| 488 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2002, to NRE, to A&C 2002 |
| 497 | Oct-77 | Nov-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2005 |
| 485 | Apr-78 | Oct-78 | scrapped by UP at Omaha, Oct 1978 | |
| 499 | Apr-78 | Jan-79 | Precision | GP21, Agrico 2010 |
| 473 | Apr-78 | 23-Jan-79 | Precision | GP21, PNL 2007 |
| 472 | Aug-78 | Nov-78 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2006, to NRE, to A&C 2003 |
| 483 | Aug-78 | Apr-79 | BG | wrecked, rebuilt, ended up as M&NA 483 |
| 480 | Sep-78 | 17-Oct-79 | Precision | GP21, IT 2009, to NW 2009 |
| 489 | Sep-78 | Feb-80 | Naporano | scrapped |
| 498 | May-79 | 9-Oct-79 | MK | SD&AE 103, SJV 103 |
| 477 | May-79 | Jan-80 | Peaker | scrapped in 1990 |
| 496 | Oct-79 | Aug-80 | BG | scrapped by Simon |
| 492 | Oct-79 | 25-Sep-80 | Naporano | scrapped |
| 493 | Dec-79 | Aug-84 | scrapped by UP at Pocatello, Aug 1984 | |
| 490 | 6-Mar-80 | May-80 | scrapped by UP at Omaha, May 1980 | |
| 475 | 6-Mar-80 | Nov-80 | BG | scrapped by Simon, Mar 1983 |
| 484 | 6-Mar-80 | 5-Jan-81 | Precision | |
| 476 | 6-Mar-80 | Apr-83 | BG | scrapped Apr 1983 |
| 486 | Mar-81 | 15-Jun-81 | Precision | |
| 495 | Nov-81 | Feb-80 | Naporano | scrapped |
| 491 | Jul-82 | Feb-83 | GNT | scrapped by Pielet, Aug 1988 |
| 494 | 23-Nov-82 | Oct-83 | Erman | wrecked, scrapped |
| 474 | 23-Nov-82 | 5-Feb-88 | SWRRP | scrapped |
| 481 | Feb-83 | Nov-83 | Erman | |
| 487 | Feb-84 | 30-Aug-85 | Erman | scrapped |
UP GP20s, sorted by sale date
| Road Number | Date Retired | Date Sold | Sold To | Notes |
| 470 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2001, to NRE, to A&C 2001 |
| 471 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2004, to NRE, to A&C 2004 |
| 478 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | |
| 479 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2003, wrecked |
| 482 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, IT 2008, to NW 2008 |
| 488 | Oct-77 | Oct-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2002, to NRE, to A&C 2002 |
| 497 | Oct-77 | Nov-77 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2005 |
| 485 | Apr-78 | Oct-78 | scrapped by UP at Omaha, Oct 1978 | |
| 472 | Aug-78 | Nov-78 | Precision | GP21, SECX 2006, to NRE, to A&C 2003 |
| 499 | Apr-78 | Jan-79 | Precision | GP21, Agrico 2010 |
| 473 | Apr-78 | 23-Jan-79 | Precision | GP21, PNL 2007 |
| 483 | Aug-78 | Apr-79 | BG | wrecked, rebuilt, ended up as M&NA 483 |
| 498 | May-79 | 9-Oct-79 | MK | SD&AE 103, SJV 103 |
| 480 | Sep-78 | 17-Oct-79 | Precision | GP21, IT 2009, to NW 2009 |
| 477 | May-79 | Jan-80 | Peaker | scrapped in 1990 |
| 489 | Sep-78 | Feb-80 | Naporano | scrapped |
| 495 | Nov-81 | Feb-80 | Naporano | scrapped |
| 490 | 6-Mar-80 | May-80 | scrapped by UP at Omaha, May 1980 | |
| 496 | Oct-79 | Aug-80 | BG | scrapped by Simon |
| 492 | Oct-79 | 25-Sep-80 | Naporano | scrapped |
| 475 | 6-Mar-80 | Nov-80 | BG | scrapped by Simon, Mar 1983 |
| 484 | 6-Mar-80 | 5-Jan-81 | Precision | |
| 486 | Mar-81 | 15-Jun-81 | Precision | |
| 491 | Jul-82 | Feb-83 | GNT | scrapped by Pielet, Aug 1988 |
| 476 | 6-Mar-80 | Apr-83 | BG | scrapped Apr 1983 |
| 494 | 23-Nov-82 | Oct-83 | Erman | wrecked, scrapped |
| 481 | Feb-83 | Nov-83 | Erman | |
| 493 | Dec-79 | Aug-84 | scrapped by UP at Pocatello, Aug 1984 | |
| 487 | Feb-84 | 30-Aug-85 | Erman | scrapped |
| 474 | 23-Nov-82 | 5-Feb-88 | SWRRP | scrapped |
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