IC&E 6451, City of LeClair, kicks up some snow as it passes the defect detector 2 miles east of Kasson, MN. The defect detector was installed summer of 2009 during the track upgrade program, which, among other
benefits, raised the train speed limit to 45mph loaded, 49mph for empties. Defect detectors check passing trains for flat or dragging wheels, overheating axles and brakes, and dragging equipment, then transmits the
relevant information to the train crew for action, if required.
Built as British Columbia Railways #753, this unit was one of the last SD40-2's built, September of 1980, by GMD in London, Ontario Canada. Most of the SD40-2's were built in LaGrange, Illinois making this unit one of the rarer examples of arguably the most successful locomotives built, numbering more than 4000.
