Norfolk Southern's then-new General Electric ES44AC model locomotives are seen at Loudon, Tennessee, pulling a 14,000-ton coal train destined for Georgia Power. Units 8030 and 8039 are leading while No. 8041 is attached to the rear of the train in Distributed Power (DP) mode, receiving commands electronically from the engineer on the leading locomotive. The 2-1 DP locomotive configuration was the result of Norfolk Southern's decision to purchase locomotives with AC traction motors and the railroad's extensive testing of distributed power configurations on Georgia Power coal trains with its ES40DC model locomotives, which operated with 3 locomotives leading and 2 locomotives trailing in DP mode.
