Con-Cor - 0001-002320 - Locomotive, Diesel, EMD MP15 - Conrail - 9630

Model Information: Released in 2005. Only one run. Features:
- All-metal chassis, split-frame.
- Closed-sided can, 3-poles, straight-wound, motor with dual flywheels.
- All wheels provide pickup (no traction tires) and are geared.
- Directional lighting with white-LED - through 2 PC boards mounted on either end of the chassis.
- Body-mounted Micro-Trains couplers.
- Wheels are blackened and low-profile.

DCC Information: No provision for DCC, and no drop-in decoder exists for this model.

Prototype History: The EMD MP15DC is a 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) switcher-type diesel locomotive model produced by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between March 1974 and January 1983. 351 examples were built.
A MP15AC variant, with an AC drive, was also offered. Between August 1975 and August 1984 246 MP15ACs were built, including 25 for export to Mexico, and four built in Canada. The MP15DC replaced the SW1500 in EMD's catalog, and is superficially very similar to the predecessor model, using the same engine (a V12 EMD 645-series powerplant) in a similar design of hood and bodywork. The primary difference is the MP15's standard Blomberg B trucks.
The third version, EMD MP15T, was essentially a variant of the MP15AC in that it featured a turbocharged prime mover, which was meant to be more fuel efficient (it was also slightly longer than the MP15AC) using only an eight-cylinder version of EMD's 645E prime mover (the other two models featured 12-cylinder 645s). Only 43 were built, all but one being manufactured for the Seaboard System.

From Wikipedia (MP15DC) and (MP15AC)
Read more on American-Rails.com

Full EMD MP15 data sheet on The Diesel Shop.

Road Name History: The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail (reporting mark CR), was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. Conrail is a portmanteau of "consolidated" and "rail" from the name of the company.

The U.S. federal government created Conrail to take over the potentially profitable lines of multiple bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and Erie Lackawanna Railway. With the benefit of industry-wide regulatory requirements being reduced (via the 4R Act and the Staggers Act), Conrail began to turn a profit in the 1980s and was turned over to private investors in 1987. The two remaining Class I railroads in the East, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), agreed in 1997 to split the system approximately equally, returning rail freight competition to the Northeast by essentially undoing the 1968 merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad that created Penn Central. Following Surface Transportation Board approval, CSX and NS took control in August 1998, and on June 1, 1999, began operating their portions of Conrail.

Brand/Importer Information: Con-Cor has been in business since 1962. Many things have changed over time as originally they were a complete manufacturing operation in the USA and at one time had upwards of 45 employees. They not only designed the models,but they also built their own molds, did injection molding, painting, printing and packaging on their models.

Currently, most of their manufacturing has been moved overseas and now they import 90% of their products as totally finished goods, or in finished components. They only do some incidental manufacturing today within the USA.

Important Note: The Con-Cor product numbering can be very confusing. Please see here in the article how to properly enter Con-Cor stock numbers in the TroveStar database.