Illinois Central’s Dash 9s: Biggest Larpers of All Time.

Following Canadian National’s acquisition of the Illinois Central Railroad in 1999, the IC had established a labor agreement requiring a good majority of locomotives in their fleet to be equipped with cab air conditioning. Canadian National, which notoriously avoided ordering air conditioning on their line-haul freight power at the time, ran into an operational roadblock when ordering a new batch of GE C44-9Ws. To comply with the contract without retrofitting their existing power, CN ordered a specific sub-series of Dash 9s numbered 2697–2726, equipped with factory A/C. These units were delivered in standard CN red, white, and black paint, but carried subtle Illinois Central sublettering beneath the cab to satisfy the contract terms for operation on IC territory. A clever corporate workaround born from acquisition negotiations, creating an almost unnoticeable yet distinctive one of a kind group of locomotives that surely earned their place among railfans. All credits and thanks are at the end of the video. Thanks for watching. Made by the MK5000C team.