According to @QCompounding, Wabtec (WAB) and Caterpillar’s Progress Rail (CAT) are the two primary locomotive OEMs powering rail networks, signaling a duopoly dynamic investors should track, source: @QCompounding on X. Wabtec manufactures Tier 4 Evolution Series freight locomotives and runs large modernization programs for Class I railroads, while its FLXdrive battery-electric pilot with BNSF reduced fuel use by about 11% in testing, source: Wabtec 2023 Form 10-K; Wabtec press release on FLXdrive pilot results with BNSF. Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, produces EMD locomotives and rail services within Caterpillar’s Energy & Transportation segment, with Union Pacific including Progress Rail units in its battery-electric locomotive pilot, source: Caterpillar Inc. 2023 Form 10-K; Union Pacific announcement on battery-electric locomotive purchases. For trading, demand for new builds and modernizations is tied to rail traffic, fleet age, fuel-efficiency needs, and emissions regulations such as U.S. EPA Tier 4, which supports aftermarket and upgrade revenue through the cycle, source: Wabtec 2023 Form 10-K; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Locomotives: Exhaust Emission Standards. Outside North America, competitive pressure from large state-backed OEMs such as CRRC can influence pricing and margins on export orders, a factor to watch in valuation multiples for WAB and CAT, source: CRRC Annual Report; Wabtec 2023 Form 10-K risk factors. Crypto angle for cross-asset traders: while rail equipment cycles have limited direct linkage to digital assets, Bitcoin’s correlation with equities rose meaningfully post-2020, so broader risk sentiment around industrial cycles can spill into BTC, source: International Monetary Fund research on crypto–equity correlations.