Is it me or are locomotives the least interesting?

[jimnorton]

I have always found the train, freight equipment and operations far more interesting than locomotives.   Especially today, you see one Norfolk Southern locomotive you have just about seen them all.

 

 

I am amused at those who think the show is over once the locomotives of a moving train pass.  Where do others rank locomotives?  

[Semper Vaporo]

 

It sort of depends...

 

A train of all coal cars, oil tanks, or other identical cars of any sort, from a distance where I can see a couple of dozen cars at a time to tell that it is a LONG train, or, if I am up close to where I can see details of individual cars, that is when what follows the head end power is interesting to me.  But for most railcam views, once the engines have passed, then a long monotonous train of identical cars is of no interest.

 

Work trains or trains with unusual cargo, exposed on flats or specialty cars, are always interesting to watch.

 

But then, Dismals… err, I mean, Diseasals… ummm… I guess you’d know them as “Diesels” have little of interest to me at all.  Nothing really interesting is on the outside… just blank panels with half hidden wheels underneath. What’s visually interesting to watch there?  Sometimes they are interesting if I know what is on the inside or know some unusual factoid about a type/style of an engine.

 

I will say that seeing the engineer and conductor sitting in the cab of most Diesels is impressive, the way they are situated.  I think it has to do with the wide side windows on some locomotives… in an automobile the driver is half hidden by the door post at the back of the side window, but in a locomotive the people in it are centered in the side window and it makes them appear to be alert and “at work”.

 

Now… Put a steam locomotive on the front, especially a Mikado or Berkshire (of North American design and outline)… well… who cares what is behind it?  As long as what it is towing is heavy it can be one car or a million random wagons… chuffing and chugging and steaming is what counts, then again, I am really only interested in the head end power.

 

I do appreciate a short “mixed freight” train with lots of random styles of cars, like would be seen in the 1940’s.  I saw the U.P. 844 tow such a train on a return trip from a Chicago event and it was a really nice pretty sight that I wish I could see more often.

 

 

 

[Mookie]

jimnorton

I have always found the train, freight equipment and operations far more interesting than locomotives.   Especially today, you see one Norfolk Southern locomotive you have just about seen them all.

 

 

I am amused at those who think the show is over once the locomotives of a moving train pass.  Where do others rank locomotives?  

 

  It's you.

[edblysard]

I don’t know, once you’ve seen one gray covered hopper, a coal car or a gondola, you’ve pretty much seen them all

Yup Jim, she’s right, its you.

[Murphy Siding]

It's you.


I see a LOT of unit grain, ethanol, and rock unit trains.  The unit trains usually have 3 locomotives.  This time of year I see some foreign power.  The locals and mixed trains tend to have some variety in the power department..  We even see some Pink Warbonnets, Greinstein Greens, and  Cascade Green units come through.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[richhotrain]

It's you !

http://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-1890565-stock-footage-freight-train-with-cargo-containers-passing-by.html

Rich

[BaltACD]

It's you!  There isn't enough graffiti on engines to gain your interest.

[MP173]

I am a big fan of watching the cars roll by.  The locomotives, other than heritage units and older stuff are pretty much the same to me.

However, give me a general manifest train with mixed carloads and I am interested.  I look at blocks of similar cars, wondering what is in the cars (see my thread on wine), where the cars are destined, and the revenue, etc.

Even with intermodal trains, the number of containers on the train is of interest, including the makeup of those container...domestic, international, trailers such as UPS, FedEx, etc.  I find that NS runs considerably more trailers than  CSX and seems to have an upper hand on the UPS business.

What is amazing is the number of JB Hunt containers.  There are trains which will have between 50 and 100 JBP containers, often in solid blocks.  The economics of that are of interest to me.

 

Ed

[M636C]

Shouldn't this thread be on the "Locomotives" forum? M636C

[Wizlish]

M636C

Shouldn't this thread be on the "Locomotives" forum? M636C

Given his 'take' on locomotives, wouldn't that be about the same as putting posts about freight trains in the 'Passenger' forum?

[K4sPRR]

The show is far from over once the locomotives pass, interesting equipment or unusual items in tow may show up somewhere in the consist.  This is when those who loose interest and sit back after the locomotives pass by find themselves in a hurry to get their camera's, generally miss the shot, then complain.  I agree, there is more than just locomotives, but for the locomotive being the least interesting thing, think not.   

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

It's all a matter of personal preference.  My preference is to what's up front with its multitude of permutations but I don't ignore the rest of the train either.

[Paul of Covington]

   Diesels will never come close to matching the sight and sound of steam, but I like 'em ,too.    But I still want to see the whole train since I'm a compulsive car counter.

[tree68]

These days, with run-through power, borrowing, paying back, etc, it's hard to say what you'll see at the head end of any given train.

Since steam tended to be specialized to a certain extent to the territory it was being used in, I'm sure that train watchers of the day got tired of {insert type of steam locomotive here} and yearned to see something different.

Back here in the modern era, it can be interesting to spot something that is totally out of place, like seeing Soo and WC locomotives in the wilds of northern New York.

The rest of the train can be interesting, unless it's a string of identical anything (previous comments excepted).  If you're watching the "salad shooter" go by, about the only interesting thing is the "art."  Otherwise it's just a white wall.  Same for oil, ethanol, and especially trash trains.  

Manifest freights do offer some level of entertainment.  Reading the placards on the hazmat cars can be enlightening, to say the least.  And, as a railroader, I tend to do an unofficial "roll-by."  Occasionally something will be out of place, and it's time for a phone call.

[caldreamer]

What interestes me is the combination of the engines, that is how many on the head end and how many on rear running as DPU.  the types of cars are interesting as well.

[ndbprr]

If you get tired try picking out a car number and see how close you can get with the other cars. You will be surprised how often you will see the car number below or above the number you picked.

[Deggesty]

I find it interesting to see what power is on the point, especially what run-through power is there--This morning, I saw four NS units leading one BNSF unit on an oil train. And, I just saw four or so UP units on a train of covered hoppers--grain movement? 

[ACY Tom]

I used to think the locomotive was 90% of the interest.  But association with others who appreciate the rest of the train has caused me to rethink that.  It's a total experience.

Tom 

[switch7frg]

When ever I am at a crossing I always do a roll by. That is something picked up from days past as a driver. After the head end rumbles past, the trailing cars can be interesting in the fact maybe something is loose and dragging  or a flat spot on a wheel. In the past I have seen plastic sheeting flapping in the breeze.  Almost forgot the time I saw a blower fail , whata show. Night time is good time to see sparks coming up under a car. The engine must be a good one maybe or the head shed  would not have used it. It is pulling or pushing the cars till something goes bang.----

                                                        Respectfully, Cannonball

[CShaveRR]

I'm a student of freight car history, and I find a lot to see behind the locomotives.  Just a letters-and-numbers thing with me, I guess (Asperger's?).  I don't ignore the locomotives, because they're the big part of the total experience of railroading from  trackside.  J'ever notice that you can hear the EMDs coming in a mixed consist, but it's always the GEs you hear going away?

People have said that of the freight trains, the manifest trains, with their variety of freight cars, are the most interesting.  I'd tend to agree with that--I make most of my notes these days on box cars and plain old gray covered hoppers (Ed, how many different sizes of these cars do you see?  Are they all for plastics?).  

Unsolicited advice:

Intermodal trains:  try and pick out the DTTX cars that aren't yellow, or the stack cars that aren't lettered DTTX or BNSF.  Interesting variety there.  

Tank trains:  check out the placards.  Many of the so-called crude-oil trains are only carrying ethanol.

Coal trains:  look for the cars with two rotary couplers:  there should be no more than one per train, but it's neat to see how, and when, they're properly used in a train with distributed power.

Just a couple of ideas there.  I tend to look for commodity restrictions on tank cars, lessees on privately-owned cars, build dates on newer cars, former reporting marks and numbers on older cars (this can be a challenge!), or old cars in new uses.  

You really don't have to turn away after the power is past!

[GN_Fan]

So far, everyone has been commenting on the visual aspects of a freight passing. For me, it's a lot more than that as it includes audio too -- the singing rails, the thump-thump-thump of a flat wheel, and the strange groaning you get from the drawbars. There's the tactile sensation also such as the wind in your face from a hotshot at speed and the feeling in your feet as the ground shakes. It's all part of the experience for me - it's the whole ball of wax, not just what a camera can pick up-

[Randy Stahl]

You gotta open up the doors and covers to see the REALLY interesting stuff on the locomotives.

 

Randy

[jimnorton]

Obviously its not just me that enjoys the complexity of the roll by.  When you consider the many facets of railroading one can be pretty dimwitted to only be enamored with locomotives..... As illustrated in a couple of these rude replies.   

[zugmann]

People enjoy different aspects of the hobby.  To each his own.   Downright silly to criticize others' hobbies.

[Paul of Covington]

   I haven't done much train-watching lately, but something I used to do on a manifest train was watching each truck as it went by and noting the spring compression and the amount of deflection of the track to guess loads and empties.   Why?   I don't know.

[samfp1943]

My inteest sort of speaks to what Randy Stahl mentions.. I glance at the locomotive, and generally note if either GE or EM (CAT (?).. Then look at the trucks to see what type of power arrangement is there. More variety where the wheels meet the rails.

UPR power around here generally comes up the Ark City sub or OKT(nee:Rock Is.) sub to our west.

   Mostly around here, on locomotives, it is a variety of the varient BNSF paint schemes.  New units paint is bright and clean, as they age not so much, Pink Warbonets on the grain trains, and if on the Stacks or TOFCs either second or third out, and on the Grain trains, in any position.  Not a lot of CSX run thrus out here, but When NS appears, they are the lead and head-end power. 

[Murphy Siding]

zugmann

People enjoy different aspects of the hobby.  To each his own.   Downright silly to criticize others' hobbies.

 

  Oh ye of everchanging avatars....Why don't we see any original artwork?

[Angela Pusztai-Pasternak]

Please discuss this topic without insulting one another.

Thank you.

Ang

[jimnorton]

One reason I brought this up is that many times the producers of the many rail videos will show the passing of a unit train in its entirety while a mixed freight, with all its variety, isn't.   I always thought that odd.

 

Thankfully, Big E Productions has carved out a niche as they show the entire train with information regarding the various traffic routing and loads.   Thats always interesting to know where a load originated and terminates.  I guess thats one of the reasons that locomotives rank down a position or two.  (this in not a plug for Big E!)