Herald Plates on GP9 Locomotives

[NW Mailing List]

I would like some information on the Herald Plates that were apparently placed on the nose of some early GP9 locomotives.  These are heavy steel, circular plates, about two feet in diameter and painted black.  They have the N&W gothic logo, in gold, applied to one side.  There are four short metal plates welded to the back which were apparently used to weld the plate to the engine.  There is a picture of N&W #620, a red bird, showing one of these plates, on the website of the NC Transportation Museum at Spencer, NC.

I would like to know which engines had these plates, when and why they were removed.  Were they factory installed by EMD or were they added by the Roanoke Shops?  Also, were they placed on both ends of the GP9 or just the long hood?

I've looked at the 2011 N&W color calendar for April and wonder about the yellow marks on the hood of #813.  The text says they are the remnants of a hamburger herald which has rubbed off.  I wonder if they could be the place where one of these round herald plates has been cut off. 

Tom Myers