Distributed Power on UP in Minnesota

[Anonymous]

Hi there,
Last weekend, while driving from Worthington, MN to the Twin Cities along the UP, we met a manifest train with an SD90 on the point, two ex SP GE's on the head end as well, and a UP GE (AC 4400?) pushing on the rear.

I didn't realize that UP used DPU power on anything other than coal and REALLY didn't expect to see it on the prairie of central Minnesota. The train was South of Mankato at Lake Crystal, MN.

Is this common on UP? I've seen DPU in the Powder River Basin and on the Trains webcam on coal. I've also seen them run through to Kenosha, WI to the power plant, but that's it.

[Anonymous]

Hi there,
Last weekend, while driving from Worthington, MN to the Twin Cities along the UP, we met a manifest train with an SD90 on the point, two ex SP GE's on the head end as well, and a UP GE (AC 4400?) pushing on the rear.

I didn't realize that UP used DPU power on anything other than coal and REALLY didn't expect to see it on the prairie of central Minnesota. The train was South of Mankato at Lake Crystal, MN.

Is this common on UP? I've seen DPU in the Powder River Basin and on the Trains webcam on coal. I've also seen them run through to Kenosha, WI to the power plant, but that's it.

[David3]

Maybe the train was just too heavy, boy I'd hate to see it going up a hill. They'll probably need two DPU's!

[David3]

Maybe the train was just too heavy, boy I'd hate to see it going up a hill. They'll probably need two DPU's!

[kenneo]

More and more often. Now, almost every train over the Blues and Cascades in Oregon and the Sierras have them. More and more, they will start showing up on "flat land" trains. Please see the thread on Adhesion, the messages that talk about wheel slip and the problems caused by that. Here, you have power pushing on the rear instead of having all of it on the point. Also makes the train easier to handle since the engineer can run the DP'ed units separate from the road power and other DP'ed units, can apply the brakes from any or all of the locomotive sets independently or all together in unison. UP has a practice between Nampa, ID, and Hinkle, OR, of 2 on the point and 2 on the marker, and if more power is needed and extra DP equipped units are available, 2 or 3 in the swing.

[kenneo]

More and more often. Now, almost every train over the Blues and Cascades in Oregon and the Sierras have them. More and more, they will start showing up on "flat land" trains. Please see the thread on Adhesion, the messages that talk about wheel slip and the problems caused by that. Here, you have power pushing on the rear instead of having all of it on the point. Also makes the train easier to handle since the engineer can run the DP'ed units separate from the road power and other DP'ed units, can apply the brakes from any or all of the locomotive sets independently or all together in unison. UP has a practice between Nampa, ID, and Hinkle, OR, of 2 on the point and 2 on the marker, and if more power is needed and extra DP equipped units are available, 2 or 3 in the swing.