Mixing Diesels in MU Consists

At one time Union Pacific had the DD40's set up with their horns trainlined through the MU connections. A custom feature, apparently. A co-worker once had to troubleshoot a situation where an entire consist died when the engineer blew the horn.

The service tracks at North Platte had a lot of oily sand around the place from spillage. It didn't help things when service track people pitched MU cables down there on the ground. They are supposed to hang them on racks. Even better if they remain attached to the loco at one end, the loose end plugged into a dummy receptacle, so it's always available if a consist is changed.

The Sharks would pull a commuter passenger train into Jersey City Exchange Place Terminal daily back in 1959, when my office was across the street.  Rest of the trains were the PRR MUs.

Rich is correct that MU capability for GE industrial locomotives was an option. This was a high cost change, and the reason is that the "standard" GE industrial has a 32 volt control system and based using Leece-Neville alternator and electricals. If you needed MU, you had to replace the entire system with a 74 volt control system that the "real" locomotives used.....

Don't ask me how I know this........