Sent you a pm. Just an idea if interested
My vote would be for an Athearn RTR GP40-2 or GP38-2. If you want a switcher, then I would recommend an Athearn SW1500 or SW1000.
A SW1500 would be a good choice since they are a all around locomotive.A MP15DC would be another choice.
One thing we do need to keep in mind is short lines buy their locomotive(s) based on their needs and a lot of the first generation diesels is slowly being put out to pasture due to their advanced age and the availability of newer second generation 4 axle locomotives.
MR could return the “A Railroad You Can Model” articles.
My life long study and love of short lines was started by such a article on the Aberdeen & Rockfish back in '61 or '62.
Now that it’s mentioned and I think about it, I now remember reading MP15’s were roadswitchers in EMD’s eyes. The Flexi-Coil trucks on some SW1500’s were rated for 60mph running. I bought an Athearn R-T-R SW1500 model a while ago now with Flexi trucks painted in Rock Island blue and white. At the time I really wanted a new locomotive and with the bright, pretty, sky blue I knew my wife get sucked in and forget to yell at me. Plus, it was blue. The plan worked. Later on I made an actual plan to turn it into shortline purchase, but that plan did not work. Still sits in it’s blue box, in pretty blue and white, possibly with a decoder in it. I nabbed the original decoder out of it for a different project but not sure if I put it back, replaced it with another decoder or what.
The same reason goes as to why I bought the Walthers Trainline GP9r, as crude as it is. It was cheap, I wanted something cheap for a short line project, and now I couldn’t even tell you what railroad the factory painted it in. Because it is in the box. Right now my plan is to get some of my HO stuff I don’t use and put it together as a train set for a little cousin, possibly for christmas but not likely to get track for this project before then.
It is what it is but,still a workable locomotive…I had one and repainted and relettered it,added a Horst Paducah air filter,frog eye headlights and repowered it with a BB GP7 drive.
It look at home with my BB GP7s.