I'm trying to decide on a second locomotive to buy for my layout and for club use. 1970s-1980s Conrail. Right now I have an SW1500. I'm looking at either a GP15-1 or a GP38-2. It will be pulling a small local freight job of eight cars (boxcars, hoppers, tankers) and a caboose on the club layout. Home layout has one industry to switch. For the layout I was thinking a GP15 would make more sense. Roughly the same length as the SW1500 so I don't have to lengthen any spurs for clearance. The GP38-2 would probably look a bit better on the club layout since it would have a lot more room to run and have the dynamic brake. GP15-1 pros: compact length, unique locomotive. Cons: somewhat duplicative of the SW1500. GP38-2 pros: ubiquitous, multipurpose, added visual variety with the dynamic brake bulge. Cons: longer, so switching will require a little more length to each track for easy magnetic uncoupling. Thoughts?
The gp15 is pretty interesting if you ask me. I'd go for that one myself. Seems they make some nice models in Conrail as well.
I figure that the GP38-2 would be the locomotive of choice since it would complement the SW1500 on your layout and be suitable for road service on the club layout.
I've got a Penn Central U23B I was thinking of selling. Maybe I should hang onto it. The GP38-2 looks good though.
Don't forget, GP7's, GP9's, GP18's, GP20's, GP30's and GP35's were still running around on most class 1's in the early 80's. Same goes for ALCO power, RS36's, C424's, etc. In my mind, GP38-2's and GP15's would be nearly new if not brand new in your timeframe, the GP38-2's may have been more commonly used on road power due to more power and more reliability due to age. The lowly local gets stuck with whatever is available.
I am puzzled by one aspect of thx712517's original query, "I'm trying to decide on a second locomotive... It will be pulling a small local freight job of eight cars (boxcars, hoppers, tankers) and a caboose..." Perhaps I am just obsessed with my own idea about switching operations and traffic. I just don't see a local freight job as having ANY fixed consist of a specific number of cars. I picture it as always varying from day to day depending on the needs of shippers and consignees. (The exception would be something like a mine that is the only customer of a local job, and that regularly loads so many cars a day.) There might be MAXIMUM length based on loco tonnage rating, bridge rating, length of yard tracks, sidings or length of tracks on a switching spur, etc. Just the way I approach local ops...
My little layout at home right now is an Inglenook Siding style, which uses spurs of varying length and a set number of cars to switch around. Not the most realistic depiction of operations of course, but it keeps me entertained as the Big Layout is developed. Since I have those cars, that's what I would use for running on our club layout at a show when rail fanning. I hope that makes a little more sense.
You could pattern your railroad after the "Angelina & Natches River Railroad in Texas. They have a SW-1500 two EMD GP-38's and a Alco S-4 for power and a former SP bay window caboose. Models of all of the equipment are available
