The other day, I was watching an episode of "Extreme Trains" online. The host, the over-dramatising Matt Bown, was riding a unit coal drag from a mine in Greene County, PA, to a power plant in Washingtonville, PA. This route requires passage over the Allegheny mountains and around the horseshoe curve. When the train was being loaded, there were 4 units on the point and no helpers. After the train stopped in Johnstown to add helpers for the steep grades, there were 2 units on the point and four helpers at the rear. Later on, when going around the horseshoe curve, the train had four on the point, and I couldn't see the rear. My inference is that he rode several trains, changing trains so that his cameramen could get all of their shots without slowing operations, but that still leaves a few questions:
1: Is it standard practice to have more power in back than up front, even if it requires reconfiguring the power? It seems like it would help reduce pulled knuckles, adding more "push" than "pull", although it would logically require keeping the slack bunched up, which may also be damaging.
2: The aforementioned train may have had two normal units and four helpers. Have you ever seen a standard, 100-120 car, loaded coal drag with nothing but two on the point?
1: Is it standard practice to have more power in back than up front, even if it requires reconfiguring the power? It seems like it would help reduce pulled knuckles, adding more "push" than "pull", although it would logically require keeping the slack bunched up, which may also be damaging.
2: The aforementioned train may have had two normal units and four helpers. Have you ever seen a standard, 100-120 car, loaded coal drag with nothing but two on the point?
