EMD MP15DC

EMD MP15DC
Mosaic 212, an EMD MP15DC --Brewster, Florida.
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
Build date	1974 – 1980
Total production	351
AAR wheel arr.	B-B
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Trucks	9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
Wheel diameter	40 in (1.0 m)
Length	47 ft 8 in (14.53 m)
Width	10 ft ¾ in (3.067 m)
Height	15 ft 0 in (4.57 m)
Locomotive weight	248,000 lb (112,000 kg)
Fuel capacity	1100–1400 USgal (4,200–5,300 l; 920–1,200 imp gal)
Prime mover	EMD 12-645E
Engine type	V12
Aspiration	Roots type supercharger
Generator	D32
Traction motors	4 × D77/78 DC
Power output	1,500 hp (1,100 kW)

The EMD MP15DC was a 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) switcher-type diesel locomotive model produced by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1974 and 1980. 351 examples were built. It replaced the SW1500 in EMD's catalog, and is superficially very similar to the predecessor model, using effectively the same engine (a V12 EMD 645-series powerplant) in a similar design of hood and bodywork.

Like the Mexico-only SW1504, the MP15DC used Blomberg trucks exclusively, replacing the Flexicoil trucks or AAR switcher trucks used on the SW1500. In EMD's eyes (among others) this made the new locomotive a road switcher rather than a pure switcher, since it was capable of transition and road speeds up to 60 mph (100 km/h) or so; the designation thus meant Multi-Purpose locomotive, 1500 hp, DC generator. Originally the locomotive was simply designated the MP15; the arrival of the alternator/rectifier MP15AC in 1975 changed the name.

Original Buyers

Owner	= Quantity
American Cyanamid Company	2
Aluminum Corporation of America (Alcoa)	1
Alton and Southern Railroad	1
Altos Hornos de Mexico	5
Arizona Public Service	1
Bauxite and Northern Railway	2
Belt Railway of Chicago	4
Birmingham Southern Railroad	2
BC Hydro (Canada)	3
Cambria and Indiana Railway	2
Chicago and North Western Railway	15
Cities Service Company	1
W.R. Grace and Company	4
Graysonia, Nashville and Ashdown Railroad	1
Genesee and Wyoming Railroad	2
Gulf Oil	1
Georgetown Railroad	2
Houston Belt and Terminal Railroad	5
Industrial Minera de Mexico	2
Kansas City Southern	4
Kelly's Creek and Northwestern Railroad	2
Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion Railroad	4
Louisville and Nashville Railroad	10
Manufacturers Railway	3
Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago	1
Missouri Pacific Railroad	62
North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad	4
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad	25
Point Comfort and Northern Railroad	4
Quebec Iron and Titanium (Canada)	2
Reading Railroad	10
Rockdale, Sandow and Southern Railroad	3
St. Louis - San Francisco Railway	5
St. Mary's Railroad	2
Southern Railway	88
Southern Pacific Railroad	12
Estech Inc. (Swift Chemical Co.)	1
Tennessee Eastman (Eastman Kodak)	1
Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks	7
Texas City Terminal Railroad	3
Texas and Northern Railway	2
Union Railroad	24
US Steel	15

Current owners

The Union Pacific Railroad is perhaps the largest current user of the MP15DC, having 102 of the type in service (Strack, 2004). None were originally owned by the UP; instead, they were acquired by merger or takeover, or bought on the second-hand locomotive market. The vast majority (62) came from the Missouri Pacific Railroad, while locomotives were also acquired from the Chicago and North Western Railway (14) and Southern Pacific Railroad (9). A further 15 were acquired from the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, being surplus to their requirements, while a further two have been leased from Helm.

The Alaska Railroad has four MP15DCs used as yard switching engines, numbered 1551-1554. Two were obtained from the Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion Railroad; the other two were obtained from the Kelley's Creek and Northwestern Railroad.

Caltrain has two MP15DCs used for yard switching and work train service, numbered 503 and 504.

Specifications

Overall length:	47 ft 8 in	14.83 m
Between bolster centers:	24 ft 2 in	7.37 m
Truck wheelbase:	9 ft 0 in	2.74 m
Width over grabirons:	10 ft 0.75 in	3.07 m
Height above rails:	15 ft 0 in	4.57 m
Wheel diameter:	40 in	1.02 m
Fuel capacity:	1,100-1,400 US gal	4,200-5,300 L
Engine:	12-645E, V12 Roots-blown diesel
Power:	1,500 hp	1,100 kW
Main generator:	D32 generator
Traction motors:	4 × D77/78 DC
Standard gearing:	62:15
Weight:	248,000 lb	112,000 kg

(GATX, 2005)

See also

List of GM-EMD locomotives

References

• Combs, John. (2006) Alaska Railroad Locomotive Roster. Retrieved on May 14, 2006
• GATX Rail Locomotive Group. MP15DC specification page. Retrieved on April 5, 2005.
• Hayden, Bob (Ed.) (1980). Model Railroader Cyclopedia-Volume 2: Diesel Locomotives. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-89024-547-9.
• Strack, Don. (2004) Union Pacific Railroad Locomotive Model Quantities – All-Time (1934-2002). Retrieved on April 6, 2005.