B&O No.6405

B&O No.6405

B&O No. 6405

Name: B&O No. 6405

Other Numbers: B&O No.915, Chessie/B&O No. 5605

Railroad of Record: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

Type of Locomotive: GM-EMD model GP-7, 1500 hp road switcher

Builder Number: 17504

Manufactured by: General Motors, Electro-Motive Division (GM-EMD)

Date Built: 1953

Date Rebuilt: 1953

Status: Operational

Locomotive Weight: 124 tons

Prime Mover: EMD V-16, Model 567B (two-cycle), 1500 hp

Starting Tractive Effort: 61,250 lbs.

In 1949, the General Motors, Electro-Motive Division (GM-EMD) introduced the GP-7 road switcher. The GP was a general purpose locomotive meaning it could be used for switching, freight or passenger service. The GP-7 was equipped with end platforms for switching, a light axle loading and short wheelbase for travel on light bridges.

The B&O purchased its first set of 13 GP-7s for service on the Indianapolis Division in 1953 and numbered them No. 910-922. On October 15, 1953, the No. 915 was involved in a fatal accident in Casner, Illinois. The locomotive was traveling eastbound and failed to stop for a red fusee. The engineer was killed immediately when the No. 915 slammed into the back of a standing freight train. After the accident, the No. 915 was sent to the Electro-Motive Division to be rebuilt. It came out of the factory as a new locomotive. It weighed a ton less and the headlight was moved to a lower position.

In 1957, the No. 915 was renumbered as the No. 6405 as the B&O reassigned all diesel locomotives with four digit road numbers. In 1965, the No. 6405 was involved in yet another accident, when a tractor trailer hit the locomotive in Roby, Illinois. The No. 6405 was renumbered as the No. 5605 in 1974.

In 1984, the No. 5605 was retired from service and sent to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. The No. 5605 has been restored as the No. 6405 since its arrival at the museum. It was recently restored in 2003.