The Mississippi River crested at an all-time high the previous evening and the water is still incredibly high in all low-laying areas of the Quad Cities. Rather than shut down operations, the CP is doing what it can to operate. In this case, the B71 crew just received this cut of cars from the BD70 crew who shoved the cars through the high water.
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.
