Tired of issues with Penn Central's reliability, DetroitEdison purchased a fleet of U30Cs in 1972 to augmentthe SD40s on its roster to provide dedicated powerfor their unit coal trains. Additional U30C's arrivedin 1975. The locomotives ran on dedicated trains onseveral routes but are best known for runs betweenWest Virginia and Michigan over Penn Central andlater Conrail. Here they took advantage of a uniquefeature of the DE fleet - the ability to control midtrain helpers with radio. While common today, thisdistributed power was much more novel in the 1970s.It was not uncommon to see 3 or more units upfront, mid-train or on the rear working in tandem tomove well over 100 cars of coal in special gondolas.The blue and silver power was a regular sight onPennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan rails from the1970s to the early 2000s. This consist representsthe trains towards the end or the U-boats' reign withmore modern rotary dump cars in the train. Ourset provides a single locomotive and eight cars,but additional power and rolling stock are availableseparately if you're ready to try the full experience -easy enough with smooth LEGACY control and lashups!