Technology
A locomotive that has been fitted with Locotrol DP equipment may be set up as either a Lead or Remote 'active' unit; the Lead unit being the controlling locomotive. Only one distributed power-equipped locomotive in any Lead or Remote consist (group) is active. Other locomotives MU-coupled to this 'active' unit operate conventionally as multiple units.
There are two basic modes for over-the-road distributed power operation. Locomotive control can be synchronous (MU), whereby control commands made by the engineer in the Lead unit are transmitted instantly via radio telemetry to—and are followed immediately by—all Remote units in the train, or independent whereby the engineer may set up and independently operate the Remote locomotives as a 'front' and a 'back' group (or with Locotrol III and subsequent versions; as 'Lead', 'Remote-forward', Remote-intermediate', 'Remote-rear', and 'Remote-trail' groups—this latter at the rear of the train). The front group always includes the Lead locomotive, and all Remote locomotives in the front group follow the commands made by the engineer using the Lead locomotive controls. Which Remote locomotives are in the front or back groups are selectable by the engineer in real time. One DP train cannot affect another DP train or another individual DP-equipped locomotive not in a train; and an individual DP-equipped locomotive not in a train cannot affect any DP train or other individual DP locomotive regardless of proximity.
Distributed power was originally able to be provided at only one intermediate location within a train. These forerunner systems (Locotrol 102-105 and Locotrol II) required a radio-relay car to be attached via standard multiple-unit jumper cabling to the remote locomotive(s) to provide the radio-control commands and facilitate feedback signals. Later, Locotrol II evolved into the 'Universal' system in which the radio-control equipment was installed on the locomotives themselves, rendering the relay car (variously referred-to as an 'RCU' for remote control unit or 'LRC' for locomotive remote control) redundant.
Locotrol III was the next development—being compatible with both the Knorr-Bremse / New York Air Brake CCB and Wabtec's EPIC electronic locomotive brake equipment, and permitting multiple Remote unit locations as described above. The latest incarnation of this equipment is Locotrol Electronic Brake (LEB), which integrates the GE Locotrol technology with K-B/NYAB's CCBII brake .
Read more about this topic: Distributed Power
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