| Burlington Northern Railroad GP9 1958 at Springfield, Missouri on August 22, 1996, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler. This was the Vapor standby heater enclosure applied to most CB&Q GP7's and GP9's, in this case, ex-CB&Q GP9 273. Inside was a diesel fueled water heater. The exhaust stack, removed by this date, was positioned against the car body to the roof line. Also removed was an electrical receptacle (where the circle is to the right of the lower latch). The idea was to be able to shut down the diesel prime mover in cold weather and use the heater to heat and circulate the cooling water to prevent freezing. Two problems surfaced from this idea; starting the prime mover was difficult with cold batteries, and the locomotive needed to be spotted near an electrical outlet. |