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It is much more difficult to see with a long end leading. Usually, if you're switching with one of these, you would have help from other members of your crew. They would advise you of obstacles, etc. and tell you how close you are to the cars you're going to get. It's the same if you were shoving a cut of cars to a coupling. The standard is to advise the engineer in 50' car lengths. The radio conversation would go something like this. "ten cars to a coupling.....7 cars.....5 cars, ease 'em up.....2 cars.....1 car.....half a car". Just before the coupling is ".....that'll do." Some of the older locomotives' controls were set up for long end lead and others for short end lead depending on the preference of the railroad. The controls are arranged in the locomotive so that the engineer is on the right side. This has been traditional going all the way back to the first locomotives right up through the steam age until now. Trackside signals, signs, mileposts, order boards, etc. are also so constructed. Being on the right side enables the engineer to see these things more easily. Those roads who preferred long end lead believed that permitted bidirectional operations. Some roads opted for dual controls, i.e. on both sides. Nowadays, everyone designates short end lead. <br />There is a lot more that can be said about this. Switching carriers, as a rule, use smaller power, sometimes locomotives designated for switching. In these cases even the long end is shorter and there is no short end. The vernacular term for these locomotives on NS is "buttheads". Very few, if any switch locomotives are produced anymore. Everyone prefers the versitility of multiple service power.
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