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Union Pacific's MP15N rebuild program

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Union Pacific's MP15N rebuild program
Posted by Leo_Ames on Saturday, October 4, 2014 10:23 PM

What sort of upgrades is UP doing with their MP15 fleet?

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  • From: NW Wisconsin
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Posted by beaulieu on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 6:59 AM

The upgrades are various items but the most important are a AR10 Traction Alternator(replacing the AR6) and a ZTR Nexsys III microprocessor control system like the SD40N rebuilds.

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Posted by Leo_Ames on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 10:41 PM

Are most of these now off the roster already? 38 units were rebuilt and reclassified as MP15N's between June 2013 and the end of the program in June 2015.

I figured they were about as safe as any 645 engined switcher now is on Class 1's thanks to that investment. The Diesel Shop roster though, while imperfect, suggests a dreary picture for even rebuilt and modernized EMD switchers on Union Pacific. 

https://www.thedieselshop.us/UP.HTML

While I was aware that the normal course of modern Class 1 evolution, auction sales, and intentionally crippled units in exchange for grants had trimmed portions of the SW1500/MP15 fleet, I didn't realize it had progressed so far.

Are almost all of the rebuilt MP15N's actually off the roster, or is there a mistake with the roster?

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Posted by NorthWest on Wednesday, August 1, 2018 12:01 AM

Many of them seem to have been stored in 2016 and then sold off. I found an auction listing for 1455, sold for $185,000.

Seems odd.

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