Athearn Genesis HO MP15AC Locomotives (April 2025 Run)
PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION
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 buying AC road locomotives. 36 more units were sold to 8 other customers.
MP15AC LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:
Full cab interior
Wire grab irons
Coupler cut levers
See-through cab windows
Flexible rubber trainline hose
Flexible rubber MU hoses
Lift rings
Windshield wipers
Blomberg-B trucks
Sander lines
Directional constant lighting
Walkway Tread
Operating ditch lights (if equipped)
Operating ground lights
Fine-scale Celcon handrails for scale appearance
Headlight brightness remains constant
Separately applied photo-etched metal and injection molded detail parts
Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, breather pipes
DCC-ready features Quick Plug™ plug-and-play technology with 21-pin NEM connector
Athearn Genesis HO MP15AC Locomotives (April 2025 Run)
PROTOTYPE SPECIFIC INFORMATION
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 buying AC road locomotives. 36 more units were sold to 8 other customers.
MP15AC LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:
Full cab interior
Wire grab irons
Coupler cut levers
See-through cab windows
Flexible rubber trainline hose
Flexible rubber MU hoses
Lift rings
Windshield wipers
Blomberg-B trucks
Sander lines
Directional constant lighting
Walkway Tread
Operating ditch lights (if equipped)
Operating ground lights
Fine-scale Celcon handrails for scale appearance
Headlight brightness remains constant
Separately applied photo-etched metal and injection molded detail parts
Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, breather pipes
DCC-ready features Quick Plug™ plug-and-play technology with 21-pin NEM connector
