BNSF AND UP WITH FOREIGN POWER

[Anonymous]

I WAS AT DEVORE YESTERDAY AND I STOPPED BY THE GRADE CROSSING BEFORE THE 15 FREEWAY AND SAW SOME GREAT STUFF. BUT WHAT CONFUSED ME WAS THAT ONE OF THE UP TRAINS HAD SOME CSX POWER HELPING THEM. THAT ISINT THE FIRST TIME EITHER, IVE SEEN BNSF WITH CN CANADIAN NATIONAL AND UP WITH NORFOLK SOUTHERN. WHY????? SOME COULD HAVE BEEN LEASED OR BOUGHT AND NOT PAINTED OR PATCHED YET BUT I DONT THINK SO?? CAN U EXPLAIN THIS TO ME PLEASE. DOES THIS GIVE ME AN EXSCUSE TO RUN FOREIGN POWER ON MY HO SET??? MAYBE, THANKS AGAIN, BEN

[Morpar]

I can't give exact reasons, but I see much of the same here in the middle of Indiana. I have the NS line right in front of my work and routinely see UP and BNSF power mixed in with the NS stuff. Today I shot pictures of a train with an NS C40-9W, a BNSF C44-9W, and an NREX SD40 as the power. I have also seen Wisconsin Central and CN units in the area. I don't truly understand all the reasons for these locos so far from home, but I can't say it is a bad thing as a railfan! Gives me an excuse to build whatever I want also!

[METRO]

Run the foreign power there bnsf! Railroads routinely lease power from eachother to overcome seasonal or regional shortages and surpluses. Remember: a locomotive in the yard stored is not making money, so it would be more profitable to lease them to other lines that need them. It's a great way for railroads to work together to keep costs down and make some extra money.

~METRO

[jsoderq]

There are some instances of outright lease but most of what you are seeing is runthrough power or payback hours from runthroughs. Railroads leave the locos on the train even when it runs offline and computers keep track of the hours and locos are exchanged to repay the time. There is no money exchanged.

[northern_blues]

With railroads, you can see visible evidence of leased power because the locos are right there in front of you.

CN Canadian National and CP Canadian Pacific have always been observed helping out in the U.S.

Take another example: Hydroelectric power. Canada and the U.S. routinely purchase electricity from each other hundreds of times a year. Heck, the northeastern power grid which serves southern Ontario, New York and I think, parts of Michigan is a joint Can-Am interest. You may not be able to see it but this kind of co-operation is vital for North American interests.

-Dave