Anybody know if CSX is still using the GP15T (1500-1524)? I live along the ex Rock Island main through Illinois and they were a common sight here from the time they were built in the early 80s but I haven't seen one in a few years. Just wondering if they're still around somewhere or if they've been sold or scrapped? I did some searching but haven't found any recent info.
Most of the GP15T's were retired 3-4 years ago. Several (perhaps all) of the retirements have since been sold. The exception is 1515 which remains on the roster. All the ex Conrail GP15-1's are gone as well except a lone unit, the 1550.
This pair isn't necessarily active since there's no recent pictures online that I could find. So they may be sitting in a storage line, but they could just be stationed at locations where they're typically operating out of sight of railfan cameras.
While there's been attrition, the various MP15 variants on the roster are faring better with the majority still rostered (accounting for about 75% of the remaining Class 1 EMD goats). CSX presumably has standardized on the switcher style for the more specialized jobs that call for a lightweight and low horsepower locomotive while assigning GP38-2's and -3's to those that benefit from the road switcher layout of the GP15.
That has left the GP15's, which fetch good money on the secondary marketplace, free to be sold.
Thanks! I did see after I posted this that 1507 was sent to the B&O museum in 2019 so at least one of them was saved.
The CSX GP15Ts were the oddball out of all of the 15s produced. They literally were the only ones with dynamic brakes installed.
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