jhz563,
Enjoy the remainder of your Thanksgiving weekend.
Last week, my subject for Switcher Saturday was a model of Conrail MP15DC road switcher #9624 (Atlas O 1813-1) made in 2008. This week, my subject is a model of a similar locomotive, New York Central SW1500 diesel switcher #9654 (MTH Railking 30-2217-0 with 5-volt PS2) delivered in March 2001 at MSRP $149.95. I’ve been running this model for more than 20 years with a BCR. The Conrail model is a Masterline product and is better detailed than the New York Central engine, which is by Railking.
EMD listed the MP15DC locomotive as a road switcher and the SW1500 as a switcher, although both types are powered by a V12-645 diesel engine with 1,500 horsepower. A major difference is that the SW1500 rides on Flexicoil lightweight trucks with a wheelbase of 8 feet and the MP15DC rides on Blomberg trucks with a wheelbase of 9 feet (see closeup photos of trucks). The Blomberg 4-axle trucks are suitable for high-speed operation and were used on F3 diesel locomotives. The truck wheelbase on the MTH SW1500 scales to 8-feet 3-inches and to 9-feet on the Atlas O MP15DC.
In the videos, NYC SW1500 is running at 25 scale miles-per-hour on my 10’-by-5’ layout.
MELGAR
