A westbound Chicago & North Western coal train changes crews at Butler, Wisconsin, late in the afternoon of April 20, 1985. This is the first time I saw locomotives from all three of southeastern Wisconsin’s major railroads powering a train. All three are EMD SD40-2s, with C&NW No. 6859 leading Soo Line No. 6602 and Milwaukee Road No. 28.
The EMD SD (special duty) series are a strong and reliable kind of locomotive which still serve America's rails today. They have proved themselves reliable by clocking in several million miles of freight service over several decades.
