Railroad Forums 

  • Engine/Cab car

  • General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.
General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.

Moderators: mtuandrew, gprimr1

 #1240768  by lpetrich
 
Cab cars are for push-pull operation, with the locomotive(s) at one end and the cab car at the other. In pull mode, the operator sits in the outermost locomotive, while in push mode, the operator sits in the cab car. Push-pull operation is common in commuter and regional trains, because it means that the train does not have to reverse direction at each end. All its operator has to do is change ends, going from one end to the other, as with double-ended trains and railcars.
 #1240814  by Milwaukee_F40C
 
The cab car can control the locomotives as long as they are wired together and the cab car's controls are activated to 'lead'. Some unusual cab car and locomotive combinations have been set up in the past. Caltrain put a locomotive in the middle of a train with cab cars at each end for filming their lines. I have seen one of Amtrak's nonpowered control units at the lead of a powered locomotive, which was pulling the City of New Orleans. Not sure why they did that.
 #1241213  by jogden
 
[quote="Milwaukee_F40C"]Some unusual cab car and locomotive combinations have been set up in the past. Caltrain put a locomotive in the middle of a train with cab cars at each end for filming their lines. I have seen one of Amtrak's nonpowered control units at the lead of a powered locomotive, which was pulling the City of New Orleans. Not sure why they did that.[/quote]

I couldn't really tell you why Amtrak put a NPCU ahead of a locomotive, but I know when we do strange things like that on Alaska Railroad, is usually has to do with some switching or a runaround move down the line.

In September 2013, we had a charter leave Anchorage with a SD70MAC on the point, followed by a backwards facing GP40-2, followed by a forwards facing NPCU. )Note than on Alaska Railroad the NPCU's are former Amtrak F40PH's, but serve as HEP generators, and not baggage cars.) The reasoning behind this arrangement was that the train would head south to Indian. At Indian, the MAC and the Geep would be cut off, run through the siding, and coupled to the rear of the train to pull it back to Anchorage. Having the NPCU on there meant the lights and heat would stay on during this move, and having the Geep on there allowed the crew to run from a forward facing locomotive in the return trip. It sure looked goofy leaving town though!

I am not sure why the train was not operated with a locomotive on one end and the NPCU on the other for that trip, but the only thing I can think of is that some of the coaches on the train did not have the required MU wiring to make that happen.
 #1254998  by 4400Washboard
 
To save money, RRs put locomotives on one end and cabs on the other. Instead of sending locos on turntables and to operate the RR safely, they attach cab cars to the locmotive-less side. When the locomotive is leading (Pull), the crew is in the loco. When the cab is leading (Push), the crew is in the cab.
 #1255150  by ExCon90
 
Soon after the EL introduced push-pull operation there was a grade-crossing accident involving a train in push mode which resulted in a court case, and as I recall the trial was pretty well along before it became apparent that the judge thought the engineer was on the locomotive the whole time and couldn't understand how the engineer could have seen the crossing from there.