Southern Pacific No. 4451 (Diesel)

For the disambiguation, see Southern Pacific No. 4451 (disambiguation).

This is an article about an EMD SD9, for the steam era version, go to Southern Pacific No. 4451 (Steam).

Southern Pacific No. 4451
SP 4451 with the Peninsula Commute in Santa Clara, California.
Technical specifications
Manufacturer(s)	Electro-Motive Division
Type of locomotive	Diesel-electric
Family name	EMD SD9
Gauge	4 Foot 8+1⁄2 Inches (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Prime mover	EMD 567C
Cylinders	16
Steam generator(s)	Vapor-Clarkson Steam Boiler OK4625
Service information
Operator(s)	Southern Pacific
In service	1954-1998
Fleet numbers	4451
Preservation information
Preserved	It was preserved

Southern Pacific No. 4451 (also nicknamed "Puff") was among one of the 150 SD9s built by the Electro Motive Division (EMD) for the Southern Pacific Railroad, it was also one of the 515 EMD SD9s built by the Electro Motive Division (EMD).

History

Delivery and First number

When it was first delivered it was numbered as Southern Pacific No. 5353 post-delivery, it soon entered service in 1954.

Next numbering sequence

Southern Pacific No. 5353 was renumbered to #5339 in 1961, taking the number from an ALCO RSD-5. In 1965, 5353 was painted into the grey and scarlet "bloody nose" paint scheme, and numbered as #3800.

Final number

It was later rebuilt at the SP Sacramento General Shops as part of SP's General Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (GRIP), and received the number "4451" on February 14, 1974. SP 4450 & 4451 were the only two SD9s to retain their steam generators after being rebuilt. Being that they were now the only two passenger equipped SD9s, they were transferred to the San Francisco–San Jose, California, commute service until Caltrain equipment arrived in 1985.

After 1985, 4450 and 4451 (nicknamed "Huff" and "Puff") were used all around the SP system for officers' specials and other passenger operations. They were favorites of railfans and usually worked together. After the Union Pacific Railroad took over SP operations in the mid-1990s, 4450 and 4451 were assigned to local freight service in the San Francisco Bay Area until 1998, when 4450 was purchased by the Golden Gate Railroad Museum at Hunters Point in San Francisco and arrived there on April 28, 1998, until 4450 would be scrapped in 2013.

As for Southern Pacific No. 4451, it was retired in August 1995 and sold in January 1996 to Progress Rail, who subsequently sold the 4451 to Bruggere and Monson (BUGX) with the intention of eventually being transferred to the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. As of today, it currently stored and is in derelict condition in Schellville, California.

Trivia

• Southern Pacific's SD9 No. 4451 shares the same number with Southern Pacific's GS-4 No. 4451.

Gallery

• Gallery