Typical configuration of freight trains on the CP main west of Calgary has two 4400hp GE locomotives on the point and a third as a DP unit somewhere further back. Many of these units are "off colour": of about a dozen locomotives I saw on trains on a recent trip to Banff, at least two were yellow (Union Pacific), one orange (BNSF) and one blue (a leasing company: CFLC?). The leading uint of the train, however, was in each case red: home team.
I wondered if perhaps there was some CP-specific equipment or cab furnishing that only the CP units had that forced their exclusive use on point. I spoke to a CP person (conductor on a westbound that was being held at the Banff passenger station while several eastbound went through), however, who said this wasn't it: the reason for red on the point was that the trailing locomotives spent more time idling (or at reduced power). They are leased, and a modern locomotive's onboard computer can record just how much time the locomotive is operating in each notch, and CP pays their owners for "power by the hour": the rent varies with how many kilowatt-hours the unit puts out while in CP service. With the result that it is cheaper for CP if the foreign units are the ones that can take a rest.
I wondered if perhaps there was some CP-specific equipment or cab furnishing that only the CP units had that forced their exclusive use on point. I spoke to a CP person (conductor on a westbound that was being held at the Banff passenger station while several eastbound went through), however, who said this wasn't it: the reason for red on the point was that the trailing locomotives spent more time idling (or at reduced power). They are leased, and a modern locomotive's onboard computer can record just how much time the locomotive is operating in each notch, and CP pays their owners for "power by the hour": the rent varies with how many kilowatt-hours the unit puts out while in CP service. With the result that it is cheaper for CP if the foreign units are the ones that can take a rest.