PTRA 9624 - MK1500D
Rebuilt by MK/MPI in the late 90's, the Houston Port Terminal Railroad Authority once had a fleet of 32 MK1500D locomotives (24 owned by PTRA, 8 owned by HB&T/BNSF). However, by 2023 they were being phased out in favor of leased GP38-2's from GATX/GMTX.
Now in 2025 all the MK1500D's have been sold off, though several still reside as plant switchers for some of the many customers along and around the Houston Ship Channel. For example, Frontier Logistics in Pasadena acquired eight of the locomotives from the PTRA. Here is one of them, PTRA 9624, which was painted in a heritage paint scheme in 2012 as a nod to former PTRA liveries.
PTRA 9624 was built for the Southern Pacific as GP9 SP 5691 in April 1956. It would be renumbered to SP 3524 in 1965, and was rebuilt into GP9E SP 3377 as part of the R8 rebuild program in 1973. Eventually, SP sold the locomotive to Motive Power/Morrison-Knudsen for rebuild, emerging as PTRA 9624 in November 1996.
PTRA MK1500D #9624
Pasadena, TX
April 13th, 2025
PTRA 9624 - MK1500D
Rebuilt by MK/MPI in the late 90's, the Houston Port Terminal Railroad Authority once had a fleet of 32 MK1500D locomotives (24 owned by PTRA, 8 owned by HB&T/BNSF). However, by 2023 they were being phased out in favor of leased GP38-2's from GATX/GMTX.
Now in 2025 all the MK1500D's have been sold off, though several still reside as plant switchers for some of the many customers along and around the Houston Ship Channel. For example, Frontier Logistics in Pasadena acquired eight of the locomotives from the PTRA. Here is one of them, PTRA 9624, which was painted in a heritage paint scheme in 2012 as a nod to former PTRA liveries.
PTRA 9624 was built for the Southern Pacific as GP9 SP 5691 in April 1956. It would be renumbered to SP 3524 in 1965, and was rebuilt into GP9E SP 3377 as part of the R8 rebuild program in 1973. Eventually, SP sold the locomotive to Motive Power/Morrison-Knudsen for rebuild, emerging as PTRA 9624 in November 1996.
PTRA MK1500D #9624
Pasadena, TX
April 13th, 2025