EMD GP15-1
Encyclopedia
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June, 1976 and March, 1982. Intended to provide an alternative to the rebuilding programs that many railroads were applying to their early road switchers, it is generally employed as a yard
Classification yard
A classification yard or marshalling yard is a railroad yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railroad cars on to one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill...
switcher
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
or light road switcher
Road switcher
A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive used for delivering or picking up cars outside of a railroad yard. Since the road switcher must work some distance away from a yard, it needs to be able to operate at road speeds, it must also have high-visibility while it is switching, and it must...
. This locomotive is powered by a 12-cylinder
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
EMD 645E engine, which generates 1,500 horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
(1,119 kW).
The GP15-1 uses a 50' 9" (15.47 m) frame, has a wheelbase of 29' 9" (9.07 m) and has a length over couplers of 54' 11" (16.74 m). A total of 310 units were built for American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
railroads. A number of GP15-1s remain in service today for yard work and light road duty.
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific RailroadMissouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
purchased more units than the other three buyers combined. For spotting purposes, the MP models have a number of visually distinguishing features, though not all were applied consistently to the MP units:
- The MP units have a grab iron ladder mounted on both sides of the long hood end;
- MP's initial order of GP15-1s rode on Blomberg M trucks rather than the more common Blomberg BBlomberg BThe Blomberg B was a "B" diesel locomotive truck. These trucks were the standard EMD four wheel truck from the FT up until the GP60. EMD introduced the truck in 1936. Unofficially it is named after Martin Blomberg, who joined the company the year before...
(all subsequent units were delivered with Blomberg B trucks) — and, while the standard Blomberg B truck carries two brake shoes per wheel, many MP units were equipped with only a single brake shoe per wheel; - #1555–#1574 were outfitted with the standard 81" nose, while the remaining units (all built in December, 1976 or later) came with an 88" nose; and
- The radiator section is similar to those found on the EMD SD40T-2EMD SD40T-2An EMD SD40T-2 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. Power is provided by a 16-cylinder EMD 645E3 diesel engine capable of producing . The Southern Pacific's locomotive features a fuel tank and is long. The Rio Grande's locomotive features a smaller fuel...
and EMD SD45T-2EMD SD45T-2The EMD SD45T-2 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive conceived in early 1972 by EMD at the request of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Like the similar SD40T-2, this locomotive model is nicknamed a "tunnel motor". 247 of this model were built from February 1972 to June 1975. Out of the total, 84 units were...
"tunnel motors," leading some observers to incorrectly identify the units as such or as GP15TsEMD GP15TAn EMD GP15T is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between October 1982 and April 1983. It was a very close cousin to the GP15-1, but used a turbocharger in order to generate more power from a smaller engine...
, and giving them the nickname "baby tunnel motors".
Complete list
| Railroad | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago and North Western Railway Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s... |
25 | Most in service with Union Pacific Railroad Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman.... |
| Conrail | 100 | Some in service with CSX Transportation CSX Transportation CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles... Most retired by Norfolk Southern Railway Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada... |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific... |
160 | Most in service with Union Pacific Railroad |
| St. Louis-San Francisco Railway St. Louis-San Francisco Railway The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway , also known as the Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to 1980.-History:... |
25 | #100-124 Most are in service with BNSF Railway BNSF Railway The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary... . Some traded to GMTX for GP38-2's |
See also
- G16 and G16CEMD G16The EMD G16 is a diesel locomotive built by General Motors in the USA and under licence by Clyde Engineering in Australia and MACOSA in Spain. It has been used in Australia, Brazil, Egyptian Railways, Hong Kong, Israel Railways, Spain, Yugoslav Railways and on the successor Croatian Railways,...
and Victorian Railways X class (diesel)Victorian Railways X class (diesel)The Victorian Railways X class mainline diesel electric locomotives were built by Clyde Engineering from 1966, with a further two orders being placed in 1970 and 1975...
built in AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
External links
- Sarberenyi, Robert. EMD GP15-1, GP15AC, and GP15T Original Owners
Further reading
- Sperandeo, Andy. "The EMD GP15-1: EMD's down-sized road switcher." Model Railroader, January 1990, 110–115.