The GM-EMD GP and SD Engines ("Geeps")
(Page 1 of 4)
Gilbert made 13 GM-EMD (General Motors ElectroMotive Division) GP Engines, not counting the variations on some of the 13. Lionel made 41 more up to 2019, and continues to make them. Because there are so many, I have split them up over four web pages:

Gilbert Geeps   all are on this page
Lionel Geeps    #8350 through #8551 are also on this page
                         #8552 through #48007  are on page 2
                         #48009 through #48051 are on page 3
                         #48058 and above are on page 4

Sometimes called "line switchers," they were envisioned by GM as general purpose engines, hence the designation GP.  The 6-wheel trucks were developed for "special duty" (hence SD) on lighter rail lines and Lionel followed GM's nomenclature.  David Dewey tells me "There are differences in body panels, louver locations, dimensions, etc." But body molds are so expensive that Lionel used a GP-7 body for the SD9s.

Ken Garber tells me the numbers indicate power: GP-7s were nominally 700 horsepower and the GP-9s 900.

Unless otherwise specified, the large pictures on these pages are of engines in the collection of The Upstairs Train.

If you have a picture that you would like to share with the world of any of engines not shown here, or a better picture of one that is shown, email them to me: theupstairstrain@gmail.com
#370 AF GP-7 made in 1950-1953.
(Picture courtesy of Rick Dunn.)
This engine didn't have conventional couplers.
Instead, it had a bar in for link couplers to connect both front and back..
(Picture courtesy of Rick Dunn.)
A similar #371 was made with knuckle couplers in 1954.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
#372 Union Pacific GP-7 made in 1955-1957. Notice the words "Built by Gilbert" on the right end.
A somewhat more rare version, made only in 1955, reads "Made by American Flyer" instead.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
The extremely rare silver #375 was made in 1953.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
The #3745 Texas & Pacific GP-7 set was made with a sheet metal frame in 1954.
The set was made in 1955 with a diecast frame.  Neither engine was sold separately.
Unlike Gilbert's other engine sets, it is the higher-numbered #375 that is powered and the #374 unpowered.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
#377 Texas & Pacific GP-7 made in 1956-1957.
Unpowered #378 Texas & Pacific GP-7 made only in 1956.

The #377 and #378 were sold together as #3778; the #378 wasn't sold separately as the #377 was in 1957.
A #21234 Chesapeake & Ohio with long steps was made in 1959-1960.
It pulled the 1959 #20525 Defender freight set and the 1960 #20625 Defender freight set.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
It was made with shorter steps in 1961 and was sold in only one set, the #20740 Defender freight.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
A #21831 Texas & Pacific GP-7 set like the #3778 was made only in 1958.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
Some of the #21831 units said "Texas & Pacific GP-7" rather then "American Flyer Lines."
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

A #21908  Texas & Pacific GP-7 set like the #3778 was made only in 1957.
The engines are identical to the 3778; no difference whatever.
The number 21908 appeared only on the box.

The following engines were made by Lionel under the American Flyer name.
#8350 Boston & Maine (B&M) GP-7 made in 1983.
This engine pulled the HAR#2 B&M Freight Set.
#8458 Southern GP-9 made in 1984.
This engine pulled the HAR#3 Southern Railroad Freight Set.
#8459 Chessie GP-20 made in 1984.
Lionel's GP-20s all have lowered noses though some GN & WP GP-20s had the same high nose as the GP-7.
Apparently to minimize tooling costs, Lionel ignored the other differences between the two engines;
the Lionel GP-20s are essentially low-nosed GP-7s.
Its unpowered mate is the #48004, which bore the number 8460 on the engine itself.
#8551 Santa Fe GP-20 made in 1986
The #48003 is the unpowered dummy mate to the #8551 Santa Fe GP-20.  It, too, was made in 1986.
While the engine bears the number 8553, the catalog number, and the number on the box, is 48003.
Unlike other Geeps, these did not have lighted number boards, so they look the same from the front.
And from the back.

Show me the rest of the geeps.

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If you or your friends have some American Flyer trains and would like them to go to a nice home where they'll be loved and cared for, this is the place!  Email me: theupstairstrain@gmail.com.  See my Wish List for the items I need most.  Thank you very much.

On the other side of the coin, I post pictures from time to time on my For Sale page of surplus items I have for sale.
This gallery will continue to grow and become more comprehensive as I collect more cars and as visitors like you send me pictures of the cars I don't yet have.  If you have a car that you would like to share with the world, email me a picture:   theupstairstrain@gmail.com.  Click here for a list of the pictures I need to complete the Gallery.

The books I am using for reference are listed in the Bibliography page.  All the writing and all the pictures on this website are, however, my own, except where cited.  No copyrighted materials have been included and all pictures provided by others are used by permission.

Now show me:

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