HO G2 SD80MAC with DCC & Sound, CSX/YN2 #4591 Overview
Just as a batch of SD80MAC's were sent to NS after the CR split, CSX acquired a batch as well. After a short period of running around patched, they were all repainted into CSX's "YN3" scheme. Only one, CSX 801 (which was renumbered to 4591), received the "YN2" scheme. It eventually got the YN3 treatment.
With the increase in available adhesion and tractive effort due to AC-traction technology, an unofficial horsepower race between the two dominant locomotive builders was on.
The SD80MAC was the first EMD locomotive to utilize a V20 engine since the SD45 series. For Conrail, the SD80MACs were the first AC-traction diesel locomotives on the roster. These locomotives became Conrail's choice for handling long and heavy coal trains on their Pittsburgh and Boston Lines, also over their Allegheny Mountain routes in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and New York.
After the split-up of Conrail in 1999, the SD80MACs went to CSX Transportation, and Norfolk Southern. Eventually NS traded with CSX to acquire the remaining SD80MACs becoming the sole operator of these models to date.