NS Mainline S of Lake Michigan: What's with all the various locomotive road names?

Terry Danks posted:

I know from nothing about how railroads operate but I've seen locomotives from NS (of course), CP, CN, UP and BNSF at the head of trains on the NS Dearborn Division.

Even NS and CP locomotives pulling on the same train?

It is referred to as "Power pooling", where various units from many different railroads operate in consist.

How do Canadian engineers, driving a CP engine end up in an MU train with a NS engine near Chicago?

How do you know that they are "Canadian Engineers"? 

In the United States engineers don't "drive" locomotives. The term to use is the word "run".

Just because a CP engine may be in the lead with NS (or other) locomotives behind it does not mean it is being run by a "Canadian" engineer. If it is a Norfolk Southern train, the locomotive is being run by a Norfolk Southern engineer who is qualified on the track involved. 

Locomotives are freely used between various railroads today. Saves time changing engines on high priority through freights.

The other day here ( I'm in S.C. ) I saw a train go through with just two UP engines on it no Norfolk Southern at all even though it's on a N/S track I figured it was just a loan from UP or engines N/S has bought as I see UP quite often mixed with N/S

They trade locomotives by the amount of horsepower used between the railroads.

With electronic tags and computer memory they can keep track of where a locomotive has operated.

The crews change and the locomotives stay on a train all across the USA and Canada.

Andrew

CP runs from Windsor, Canada over the Wabash which connects to the Chicago Line in Butler, IN

Some CP trains on the Wabash are 240/241, 242/243, 244, 650/651 and 147. Not all, but these are the ones I see most regularly in Detroit 

Lets see, I live off the CSX main and I have seen the following road name in their painted livery:

1) Burlington Norther Santa Fe

2) Burlington Northern

3) Montana Rail Link

4) Union Pacific

5) CSX

6) Canadian National

J Daddy posted:

Lets see, I live off the CSX main and I have seen the following road name in their painted livery:

1) Burlington Norther Santa Fe

2) Burlington Northern

3) Montana Rail Link

4) Union Pacific

5) CSX

6) Canadian National

Which CSX sub do live near? In Michigan CSX gets a great deal of UP power in on Q131/Q132 and occasionly Q150/Q151, both of which are intermodal trains coming and going from Livernois.

BNSF power shows up frequently on trains to and from Grand Rapids on the Plymouth Sub, most often Q335 and Q322. 

I live off of the run from Wayne/Plymouth to Flint/ Saginaw Mich. Here is a cool shot I found with some native power running through Milford Mi.

JDaddy, I am 99% sure those are CEFX leaser AC4400CWs you see, not Montana Rail Link units. There were 59 made, with half originally going to BNSF built to BNSF spec and the other half to CP built to CP specs. The BNSF ones now roam the US and occasionally show up on CSX trains, especially those which are trains that connect to BNSF. MRL units as far as I know do not typically leave their property. The top pic is a CP-spec unit, and the bottom is a BNSF-spec one

What I wonder is about the liability a locamotive owner takes on when their equipment is running on another corporations track.  If a CSX train on CSX track derails and it was headed by BNSF power, does BNSF not get dragged into a lawsuit potentially for just having their equipment in power? 

Ben

Thanks for the clarification! I thought I was losing it.

Here in the Pacific NW I've seen NS, CSX, CN, CP and KCS engines MUed with BNSF or UP engines.  

Larry

Is there is a reason the railroads lease/rent locomotives from a third party provider, instead of having expensive property which could be laid up during a traffic lull?

Haven't seen one for a while, but the CEFX leasers were often seen on the Canadian side of the border too. CEFX is Capital Finance, aka CitiBank. 

Trains Magazine ran an in-depth article all about motive power exchanges and such things last year. It can be very complicated to say the least!