CNW was power hungry in 1973, not having bought a new locomotive since 1969. They leased 30 N&W Alco C628s and 6 C630s in the winter of 1973. Here No. 972 has a nice mix of SD45s and Alcos, along with a GP7 as it prepares to depart Altoona for Superior, WI with a 188 car train. The first 88 cars are empty 40 ft. grain boxes. The Alcos became a common sight around northwestern Wisconsin and CNW ended up purchasing the 30 C628s. The C630s were returned to N&W as CNW was able to start buying SD40-2s.
