I live just a couple of blocks from the former IC, now CN’s Iowa division main line in Rockford, Il. I have noticed that CN power is almost a rarity here. It seems about only about 1 in 4 units is a CN loco. Lots of BNSF and UP and CSX now and then. Is The CN having a major shortage of power at this time? Also, what happened to IC’s standard cab SD70’s and SD40A’s, I haven’t seem them in this area in quite awhile.
Can only speculate but used to live near Woodcrest shops in Homewood. A lot of the newer IC engines went to Canada and were replaced with old CN junkers. May have happened again.
The IC SD70 units are running through on trains in Michigan, often with CN and BC Rail units.
There is an IC SD40-2 and an IC GP38-2 that are often used for the local trains on the CN/GTW tracks in Michigan.
All the IC SD70’s are spending a lot of time in Canada.
Everyone is power short these days.
With all the run-through operations - changing power just creates further terminal congestion. Change Crews and go!
As stated above, everyone is power short, and that won’t change soon.
Run-through power’s added efficiency helps alleviate this some, but lots of places are simply grabbing the nearest available power for outbound trains, regardless of ownership (why two of the NS heritage units spent four months without leaving BNSF trackage), and are still short. That is why the IC SD70s have been spread across the system, they are assigned to the next train that needs power, regardless of destination.
Doesn’t work so well when it gets to CN in Canada because our agreement requires a fridge and microwave. The crew can refuse a unit if it doesn’t have either.
Which is one of the reasons Canadian engines end up in the lower 48 on run throughs - so they can run through going back to origin.
A buddy of mine had a train with two NS engines come to the border for his trip from Ranier to Winnipeg. They told him at call time there was no CN engine available for them and to prepare for a trip with no microwave and that they’d probably need ice due to the lack of a fridge.
CN shouldn’t even be letting that train out of Chicago or wherever like that with a train destined to Canada as they know it violates our Canadian agreement. I feel bad for the CN crews and crews of other roads in the U.S. as they can be given any piece of junk and have no way to refuse.
How can the U.S. roads not have fridges in all their units? Why has no other union followed in CN’s footsteps and had their carriers get microwaves in their cabs?
Very simple - they haven’t been negotiated by US Unions. Besides, there are exhaust manifolds readily available as a heat source for cooking.
Conversely, from my carriers perspective, how can CN not have Dynamic Brakes on their engines.
The better question is why doesn’t CN fix the DB.
Is it possible that CN Canada is getting the best units and CN USA is getting the left overs ? Have seen this before on other transportation companies.
You can’t fix what doesn’t exist - for decades, CN did not order Dynamic Brakes on their locomotives.
Many CN GP9’s had dynamic brakes as well as some of their first SD40s. However dynamic brakes were removed in most cases as they were deemed unnecessary given CN’s gentle grades. Why pay for something that isn’t needed?
The point is well-made. The use of dynamic brakes to control speed in relatively level areas did not come about until somewhere in the late 60’s to early 70’s and was not a universal practice. Consider that Illinois Central locomotives did not have dynamic brakes until their second order of GP40’s.
On our mainlines there is no standard system for what locomotives get assigned where, instead units are used on a whatever-happens-to-be-there basis. I doubt that the junk ones are deliberately being sent south of the border, that would require some thinking and effort on management’s part. The only factor govering the Canada/US assignments is air brake testing, Canada allows a longer period between mandatory tests that the States. They are striving to make every high-hp unit (defined as 3800 hp 6-axle or better) equal to one another. As a result most ex-BC Rail GE’s and IC SD70’s have microwaves, hot plates and fridges now, and are just as likely to lead trains in Canada as any other unit. The only situations where specific locomotives are needed on specific trains/routes involve excess tonnage or light track, such as:
Only 2 ES44AC’s being used on 152 car coal trains now from the Alberta Coal Branch to Vancouver/Prince Rupert (0.4 HPT)
Roma Jct AB to Hay River NWT getting only GP40’s (no dynamics up there 
) due to 6-axle units being prohibited and our other prohibition on using non-turbo GM’s outside yards (out west anyway) after burning carbon from a GP38 started a massive forest fire about 10 years ago.
Chetwynd-Dawson Creek BC gets only cowled C40-8M’s because the grades require 6-axle units and the MLW trucks on those units are short enough to handle the curvature on that line.
As for not having dynamics, that is not such a big issue anymore as most of the older units have disappeared; the GP40 fleet now stands at ~43, down from nearly 300, and the SD40/40-2 fleet is now barely 100, as opposed to nearly 400 20 years ago. The GP9’
Some didn’t even accept it until later. Missouri Pacific’s order for GP50’s leaps to mind as an example. They were a hold out right until the end.
Can a railroad (CN) for example recall units that they have leased to other railroads ( e.g. BNSF) to alliviate their own power shortage or are these lease locked in stone for the duration of the lease?
Most of the foreign units you see on a carrier today are not ‘leased’. They have come onto the carrier in run through service. Carriers do keep track of how many foreign units they have on line as well as how many of the companies units are off line. Saw a report recently, my carrier has nearly the same number of units off line as they have foreign units on line. Carriers settle their accounts between each other based upon ‘horsepower hours’ and pay up based on the net differences on a monthly or quarterly basis.
The private units (CITX, FURX etc.) are normally contracted leased engines; those leases have specific start dates and end dates.