Guaranteed Pre-Order Deadline is TBA
After closing, you may still place a pre-order and we will attempt to acquire one for you.
Estimated Delivery Date Is: January 2027
Product Information:
Athearn Genesis HO GEN MP15AC Locomotive w/DCC & Sound, WSOR 'Primer' #1501
Wisconsin Souther’s 1975-built MP15AC’s came from the Soo Line who got them as a result of the 1985 acquisition of the bankrupt Milwaukee Road. While on the Soo they received hurried and varied patched paint jobs that were often referred to as “bandits” due to the prominent use of black paint mixed with whatever was left of Milwaukee’s original orange paint. W&S initially followed suit and just patched the units with their basic markings. One of them, #1501, was painted in a primer “mustard” color in preparation for new paint and we have many requests to make it along with a bandit style one.
ATHEARN EMD MP15AC DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE PROTOTYPE AND BACKGROUND INFO:
The EMD MP15 is a light road switcher that was built between 1974 and 1980. It came in two designs, the MP15DC and the MP15AC. It was billed as replacement for the EMD SW1500
The MP15DC’s standard Blomberg B trucks were capable of transition and road speeds up to 60 mph (97 km/h), allowing use on road freights. Soon there was a demand for a model with an advanced AC drive system. The MP15AC replaced the MP15DC’s DC generator with an alternator producing AC power which is converted to DC for the traction motors with a silicon rectifier. The MP15AC is 1.5 ft (457 mm) longer than an MP15DC, the extra space being needed for the rectifier equipment. The alternator-rectifier combination is more reliable than a generator, and this equipment became the standard for new diesel-electric locomotive designs.
The MP15AC is easily distinguished from the DC models. Instead of the front-mounted radiator intake and belt-driven fan used on all previous EMD switchers, these have intakes on the lower forward nose sides and electric fans. Side intakes allowed the unit to take in cooler air, and the electric fans improved a serious reliability issue found in its earlier DC sisters.
In the early 1970s railroads were starting to convert to AC power, the six largest buyers, Milwaukee (64), Southern Pacific (58), Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (45), Nacionales de México (25), Long Island (23), and Louisville & Nashville (10), were all buyingAC road locomotives. 36 more units were sold to 8 other customers.
