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The system and method for controlling a consist of at least first and second locomotives having discrete operating modes. The method comprises receiving a control command and determining a power operating mode of the first locomotive and a power operating mode of the second locomotive as a function

The system and method for controlling a consist of at least first and second locomotives having discrete operating modes. The method comprises receiving a control command and determining a power operating mode of the first locomotive and a power operating mode of the second locomotive as a function of the control command and an optimization parameter. The power operating mode of the second locomotive is different as compared to the power operating mode of the first locomotive in at least one mode of operation of the method. The method further comprises controlling the first locomotive responsive to the power operating mode of the first locomotive and controlling the second locomotive responsive to the power operating mode of second locomotive.

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What is claimed is: 1. A system for controlling a consist of at least first and second locomotives each having discrete operating modes, said first and second locomotives being configured for receiving control signals via a communication link, said system comprising: a locomotive control for indica

What is claimed is: 1. A system for controlling a consist of at least first and second locomotives each having discrete operating modes, said first and second locomotives being configured for receiving control signals via a communication link, said system comprising: a locomotive control for indicating a desired operating mode; a controller electrically coupled to the first locomotive and responsive to the desired operating mode as indicated by the locomotive control for determining a mode of operation of the first locomotive according to a first power operating mode and for determining a mode of operation of the second locomotive according to a second power operating mode, wherein, in at least one mode of operation of the system, the first power operating mode is different as compared to the second power operating mode; wherein said controller is coupled to the communication link for providing information corresponding to the first power operating mode to the first locomotive and for providing information corresponding to the second operating mode to the second locomotive; and wherein the controller determines that the power operating modes of the first and second locomotives are selected as a function of a sensed fuel consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives. 2. The system of claim 1 wherein a first fuel sensor senses a fuel level of the first locomotive and a second fuel sensor senses a fuel level of the second locomotive, and wherein the controller is in electrical communication with the first and second fuel sensors via the communication link to determine the fuel consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives. 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the first locomotive is a lead locomotive operating at the first power operating mode, and wherein the second locomotive is a trail locomotive operating at the second power operating mode. 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the consist includes a plurality of trail locomotives each operating at the same second power operating mode. 5. The system of claim 1 wherein a plurality of sensors each sense an operating parameter of each locomotive in the consist and generate an output signal representative of the sensed operating parameter, said sensed operating parameters including a fuel level, a fuel flow rate, a power usage amount, a traction effort amount, and a wheel slip amount, and wherein the controller is in electrical communication with each of the plurality of sensors via the communication link to estimate the fuel consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives. 6. The system of claim 1 wherein a first fuel sensor senses a fuel level of the first locomotive and a second fuel sensor senses a fuel level of the second locomotive, and wherein the controller is in electrical communication with the first and second fuel sensors via the communication link to determine the fuel consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives, and wherein the controller modifies the power operating mode of first and/or second locomotives in response to changes in the fuel consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives. 7. The system of claim 1 wherein the power operating mode of the first and second locomotives is selected as a function of the fuel consumption rate and a power consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives. 8. The system of claim 1 wherein a first power sensor senses electrical power usage of the first locomotive and a second power sensor senses electrical power usage of the second locomotive, and wherein the controller is in electrical communication with the first and second power sensors via the communication link to determine the power consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives. 9. The system of claim 8 wherein the power consumption rate is determined by sensing the electrical power usage in horsepower per hour for each of the first and second locomotives over a period of time. 10. The system of claim 8 wherein power consumption rate is determined by sensing electrical power usage in kilowatt-hours for each of the first and second locomotives over a period of time. 11. The system of claim 1 wherein the desired operating mode is received from the first locomotive. 12. The system of claim 1 wherein the desired operating mode is received via wireless communication from remote location. 13. The system of claim 1 wherein the communication link providing control signals to the first and second locomotives is comprised of a wireless communication facility. 14. The system of claim 1 wherein the communication link providing control signals to the first and second locomotives is comprised of a wired communication facility. 15. A system for controlling a consist of at least first and second locomotives each having discrete operating modes, said first and second locomotives being configured for receiving control signals via a communication link, said system comprising: a locomotive control for indicating a desired operating mode; a controller electrically coupled to the first locomotive and responsive to the desired operating mode as indicated by the locomotive control for determining a mode of operation of the first locomotive according to a first power operating mode and for determining a mode of operation of the second locomotive according to a second power operating mode, wherein, in at least one mode of operation of the system, the first power operating mode is different as compared to the second power operating mode; wherein said controller is coupled to the communication link for providing information corresponding to the first power operating mode to the first locomotive and for providing information corresponding to the second operating mode to the second locomotive; and wherein the controller determines that the power operating modes of the first and second locomotives are selected as a function of a sensed power consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives. 16. The system of claim 15 wherein a first power sensor senses electrical power usage of the first locomotive and a second power sensor senses electrical power usage of the second locomotive, and wherein the controller is in electrical communication with the first and second power sensors via the communication link to determine the power consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives, and wherein the controller modifies the power operating mode of first and/or second locomotives in response to changes in the power consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives. 17. The system of claim 16 wherein the first and second sensors sense the electrical power usage in horsepower per hour for each of the first and second locomotives over a period of time. 18. The system of claim 16 wherein the first and second sensors sense electrical power usage in kilowatt-hours for each of the first and second locomotives over a period of time. 19. The system of claim 15 wherein the first locomotive is a lead locomotive operating at the first power operating mode, and wherein the second locomotive is a trail locomotive operating at the second power operating mode. 20. The system of claim 19 wherein the consist includes a plurality of trail locomotives each operating at the same second power operating mode. 21. The system of claim 15 wherein the power operating modes of the first and second locomotives are selected as a function of the power consumption rate and a fuel consumption rate of at least one of the first and second locomotives. 22. The system of claim 15 wherein the desired operating mode is received from the first locomotive. 23. The system of claim 15 wherein the desired operating mode is received via wireless communication from remote location. 24. The system of claim 15 wherein the communication link providing control signals to the first and second locomotives is comprised of a wireless communication facility. 25. The system of claim 15 wherein the communication link providing control signals to the first and second locomotives is comprised of a wired communication facility. 26. A system for controlling a consist of at least first and second locomotives each having discrete operating modes, said first and second locomotives being configured for receiving control signals via a communication link, said system comprising: a locomotive control for indicating a desired operating mode; a controller electrically coupled to the first locomotive and responsive to the desired operating mode as indicated by the locomotive control for determining a mode of operation of the first locomotive according to a first power operating mode and for determining a mode of operation of the second locomotive according to a second power operating mode, wherein, in at least one mode of operation of the system, the first power operating mode is different as compared to the second power operating mode; wherein said controller is coupled to the communication link for providing information corresponding to the first power operating mode to the first locomotive and for providing information corresponding to the second operating mode to the second locomotive; and wherein the controller determines that the power operating modes of the first and second locomotives are selected as a function of a known performance profile of each of the first and second locomotives in the consist, said performance profile defining one or more of the following for each of the first and second locomotives over a previous period of time: a fuel level characteristic; a fuel flow rate; or a power usage rate. 27. The system of claim 26 wherein the performance profile indicates a fuel consumption rate and a power consumption rate for each of the first and second locomotives aver the period of time, and wherein the controller selects the power operating mode of the first and second locomotives as a function of the fuel consumption rate and the power consumption rate for each of the first and second locomotives to optimize the operation of the consist and each of the locomotives within the consist. 28. The system of claim 26 wherein the desired operating mode is received from first locomotive. 29. The system of claim 26 wherein the desired operating mode is received via wireless communication from a remote location. 30. The system of claim 26 wherein the communication link providing control signals to the first and second locomotives is comprised of a wireless communication facility. 31. The system of claim 26 wherein the communication link providing control signals to the first and second locomotives is comprised of a wired communication facility.