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The purpose of a slug is to increase tractive effort at low speed. At speeds over about 25 mph a slug becomes dead weight because the "mother" locomotive powering it needs all available prime mover output(traction current) to keep accelerating. At that point the slug is not a fuel efficient proposition. This is why slugs are used in switching(particularly heavy duty switching such as pushing cuts of cars up the incline in a humpyard) and in some heavy drag freight applications. A good explanation of slugs and how they work may be found in the Kalmbach book "the contemporary diesel spotters guide". <br /> Intestingly your idea of intermodal or other freight cars equipped with traction motors(in this case powered by a flatcar mounted powerplant such as a diesel generator set or a gas turbine) has been proposed from time to time. This is called an "integral train system" and was actually promoted in Trains magazine over 35 years ago by John G. Kneiling. In the nineties both CSX and CP began constuction of prototype "Iron Highway" self propelled piggyback trains but neither system was ever fully completed. The idea of a unit train without a locomotive may yet be developed. The German railways are operating a lightweight system for container service called a "Cargosprinter" and both British and Australian interests are adapting the same equipment. Maybe Amtrak could use this type of system to move express intermodal traffic on the Northeast Corridor.
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