Just the other day, I was driving home from work (South Central Iowa) and I saw a train approaching which always makes me happy. I can only remember seeing UP on the particular line, but on this day, I saw a Train with both a BNSF and UP Locos. The BNSF was the lead Loco.
I was wondering if somebody out there could explain to me what the deal is with that. Why would two big competitors like that both be using the same lines?
It could be a few reasons…and dhusman is the resident expert, but I’ll give it a whirl.
It’s run through power. Lets say you had a train load of containers in Jacksonville, FL all going to LA. It is sometimes just easier to leave the whole thing lashed up and put new crews on. So they pool the power. It is not uncommon to see CSX, NS, UP or even occasionally a CN unit here in SoCal on BSNF.
In some cases UP engines may spend a greater time on BNSF rails due to power pools or loans, so BNSF pays back the horsepower hours to UP by letting them use their locos for a bit to make up the hours they used on the UP locos.
Or it could be a lease or loaned unit. Sometimes RRs get in a power pinch and borrow from their brothers…knowing that it’ll get paid back in kind.
Hope that helps.
Yup. Something like that happened to me before. I’ve seen a Norfolk Southern C44-9W in a UP lashup here in Sacramento, CA. Pretty strange to see that in person over here.
i saw a U.P. autorack train with an NS SD70M as the 2nd unit…the yellow and black lash up looked neat! also im pretty dang sure i saw the NS ES44DC here to #7502
[:D][:D][:D]
100 % sure: This was a C40-9W. The Norfolk Southern Dash 9´s are all downrated to 4.000 hp.
“Unique” engines - Okay about 900 locomotives isn´t real unique!!
And I have a video with a Conrail GE Dash8 in an ATSF lashup at Cajon Pass!
I sure wi***hat could happen here on the Blair line,boy I would go crazy to see a BNSF locomotive on the point.
BNSFrailfan.
About 2 weekas ago, at Oak Island yard, Newark NJ, I saw:
CSX, NS and Conrail (what you’d find in this territory)
BNSF and UP as well
Also noticed a few I didn’t recognize… can’t remember which now- though.
Seems the pooling and lending can send lots of power around.
Those BNSF are quite an eyeful! What color!
I’ve seen Utah Railway Geeps at the Shell refinery in Hartford, IL before. It isn’t uncommon to see UP, BNSF, and NS pool power around here on the KCS, but that’s because all of those are connecting lines in either Jacksonville, IL or Alton.
I was up by selkirk yard with my dad and we saw 4 brand new UP engines with the flags painted on them.
Unusualcompared to the sea of blue/grey/yellow
I’ve seen a UP Dash-8 leading a BNSF Dash-9 way up here in Michigan on the CSX/CP tracks.
Saw a BNSF Pumpkin Dash-9 leading a CSX train near Baltimore Harbor.
UP has an SD-70 running with NS power in Virginia. I have seen it 4 times in the last month, either parked at a really small intermodal yard in Alexandria or hidden in the yard in Anacostia (DC). It has the same grime patterns so I am pretty sure it is the same unit, though it keeps hiding its road number from me as I pass it.
Hard to believe i saw a train on CSX the first unit a UP 70M NS 40-9W BNSF Dash 9 and last CSX AC4400CW.
That would be an ES40DC (NS is too cheap for AC traction units), I have yet to see one.
Yeah, NS doesn’t have any 4400 HP engines for some reason, NS is dominated by GE’s, usual power around here is a solid set of C40-9W’s (which by the way have hit the 1,000+ mark) and maybe an ex CR C40-8W thrown in (NS calls these units D8-40CW’s and D9-40CW’s).
CPR has trackage rights through this area and CN and UP power comes through on runthrough trains every day, I’m usualy out the days nothing good comes through [:P], in the past few months I’ve seen SSW, CEFX, SP, and UP on the UP runthrough, GCFX on the CN runthrough, and a CSX unit on an NS freight (which runs to Conrail Shared Assets yard). NS has been leasing some WC SD45’s (and I got lucky enough to see one) but besides that NS hasn’t been leasing much (the CEFX and GCFX were units UP and CN were leasing and got pooled with NS).