Login
or
Register
Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
Push Pull Commuter trains
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
I'm in agreement with brother Hemphill's writings on cab cars. There's nothing inherintly dangerous about them. More modifications perhaps, but not an elimination of their use. <br />We've gone almost fifty years of use with them, and this happened to be a combination of all worst-case scenerios. <br />I remember an accident on The Milwaukee Road where a group of track cars was struck by a Chicago bound (2 cars) train with a cab car in the lead. No serious injuries. The fireman, upon seeing the impending accident, thru open his door and leaped into the lap of a passenger sitting in the "theater seats," (transverse seats at the end of the second floor) causing a bloody nose and some embarrassment. I've hit autos while working cab cars. The difference between hitting something with an engine vs a cab car is that the engine has a nose which could reduce the injuries to enginemen. <br />The Jersey Central at one time had double ended Baldwin built engines for suburban service. The problem with using them in a heavy suburban service is that they defeat the economies of push pull. The power would have to be uncoupled, a switch engine attached to the equipment, and a number of moves made to change directions. While it maybe easy to do at an outlying station with a run-around tack, it would still be time consuming. If a train arrived several minutes late, on a quick turn, the procedure would further delay the service. <br />The F40s used as cab cars on Amtrak's Michigan service only add protection by providing a nose. The Amfleet cab cars used previously didn't have much of that going for them. There's no prime mover in these engines so there's not much additional weight. <br /> <br />Mitch
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Join our Community!
Our community is
FREE
to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Login »
Register »
Search the Community
Newsletter Sign-Up
By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our
privacy policy
More great sites from Kalmbach Media
Terms Of Use
|
Privacy Policy
|
Copyright Policy