John151 wrote:eolesen - Thanks for the info and the link to the video. Very cool.
Any idea why two locomotives? Seems like extreme overkill.
I thought I already told y'all --- the Harvard Sub has ATS, and needs a locomotive that has ATS equipment on it. UP 1972 was chosen because it was a pre-merger CNW unit that happened to have ATS.
SD70ACe 8855 stayed with the cars for its entire trip out of Council Bluffs -- the trip in Chicago was just one of several done after leaving CB.
Had the special been run on the Geneva Sub, Belvedere, or New Line (Milwaukee) Sub, they would have gone with just 8855.
The norm is one unit *unless* there's a need to do a backup move, and then they'll put a unit at both ends to avoid a shove.
Now.... If you think a SD40-N & a SD70Ace was overpowered, you should have been on the OLS special back in May 2011 --- it had C45AC-CTE UP 7400 (Komen Unit) on one end, four cars, and C45AC-CTE UP 2010 (BSA Unit) at the other.
And then there was a special I was on in August 2010 --- SD70ACe's UP 1995 (CNW heritage) in front of the cars, and C45AC-CTE UP 2010 (BSA) at the rear, plus four cars. For its run on the Harvard and the Kenosha Subs, they had a pair of road C41-8W's out of Proviso (UP 9442 on the point, UP 9452 at the rear) bookending the train (again for ATS).
With four engines, I don't think we dropped below 70 between Barrington and Harvard....
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