Back in the 1970s, and into the 1980s, railroads often hauled their high-priority intermodal trains, mainly piggyback and also a few containers, as fairly short trains with a generous supply of power. This 21-car (or so) Union Pacific train has 9000-horsepower assigned to it in the form of a trio of SD40-2s (UP 3569, 3377 and 3643). And, crossing the plains of Nebraska, that is a lot of power. But it is also a lot of power for a train of this size once it begins crossing mountain ranges as well. And one can tell this was a while ago, as there are no wide-nosed "saftey cabs," one to three miles of well cars loaded with double-stacked containers, or flashing rear-end devices (FREDs) – instead, an actual caboose is on the rear, with real human crew members within! (In other words, well-paying jobs with great retirement benefits.) Many of us miss this kind of railroading. (Keith, Nebraska – August 19, 1980)
