HO GP15-1 Locomotive with DCC & Sound, Rock Island Rail #1106

HO GP15-1 Locomotive with DCC & Sound, Rock Island Rail #1106 Overview

An old, once-familiar paint scheme is back today in the form of a Class 3 railroad based out of Sumner, Mississippi. Started in 2017, a group purchased the rights to use the original colors and logos, operating as the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Railroad LLC (reporting marks RILX). They recently purchased an ex-CNW GP15-1 and painted it up in the bright blue and white scheme with the large Rock Island “R” on the sides. This offering is officially approved by Rock Island Rail.

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The EMD GP15-1 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive 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 switcher or light road switcher. A total of 310 units were built for American railroads. A number of GP15-1s remain in service today for yard work and light road duty.

EMD built 28 examples of a variant, the GP15T, 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.