| The IC/ICG/CN serves five big grain elevators along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. These locomotives had just delivered a grain train to one of those elevators, and were heading south to Mays Yard near New Orleans to tie up. The units were IC SD40A 6013, ICG (ex-GM&O) SD40 6067 and IC SD40A 6018, with ICG caboose 199311. At this time, this was a common set of power for grain trains, with a former GM&O SD40 bracketed by SD40A's.With a consist like this, all three units had dynamic brakes; and one of the SD40A's would always lead. The SD40A's had Automatic Train Stop (ATS) equipment, and could run all the way from New Orleans to Chicago. Only specially-equipped locomoitves could lead trains through the ATS territory between Champaign and Centralia; and if the lead unit on a train was not an ATS loco, one would have to be added. The ATS was deactivated in 1991, when the railroad was single-tracked and equipped with Centralized Traffic Control. |