For the record: the GS-4 (and GS-5) class had nothing whatsoever to do with War Babies. That expression refers to the GS-6 engines, which were slightly smaller and had smaller drivers than the -5 and  -6. Actually the GS-6 were more based on the GS-2 and -3, with some GS-4 elements mixed in.

GS-4/5s were painted black in later years, but GS-6 were delivered in black and never got Daylight colours.

More information can be found in Dr. Robert Church's book "4-8-4  Daylight The Complete Story of the Southern Pacific GS Class 4400 Series Locomotives"

D.

Quote from: Woody Elmore on June 09, 2008, 07:47:34 AM
Rob -" War Babies "refers to the fact that the SP ordered locomotives but because the war was raging the government didn't want the SP to build a locomotive just for passenger service. They wanted smaller, more utilitarian locomotives so the GS-4 was a bit smaller than predecessors. Since they were built in 1943, they are referred to as "War Babies."

Might I add that my dad was in the US Navy during WWII and he always raved about the hospitality of New Zealanders (not that Australians weren't).