For heaven's sake, it's a metaphor, not a literal pronouncement.
mvlandsw I realize that the crew has to do any number of things before the train does anything. Saying that the train or engine is preparing makes be think that the equipment is doing something on its own to get ready for whatever is about to occur.
I realize that the crew has to do any number of things before the train does anything. Saying that the train or engine is preparing makes be think that the equipment is doing something on its own to get ready for whatever is about to occur.
Maybe it will in 2040.
Jeff
Convicted One I guess that all depends upon what your definition of "is" is?
I guess that all depends upon what your definition of "is" is?
mvlandswSaying that the train or engine is preparing makes be think that the equipment is doing something on its own to get ready for whatever is about to occur.
Just as some people say "the 4:15 is running late"....
In the context you use it, I generally interpreted the locomotive and attendant crew as a single entity. And never gave it further thought.
Convicted OneOf course, I suppose that it's entirely possible that the conductor could be walking the train looking for air leaks, or set handbrakes, as well.
There is a delay between when the train get the authority to move (signal indication or Track Warrant Authority). First the engineer must place the Automatic Brake Valve in release and give the train line the opportunity to actually release the brakes and in today's world see the proper air pressure get reported from the End of Train Device. Attempting to pull the train before a proper number of brakes have released can cause a derailment (Harpers Ferry, WV on the CSX Shenandoah Sub in February this year). Once the Engineer is satisfied that the brakes are released he can then start to notch out the throttle. This all takes time and is not instantaneous.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Of course, I suppose that it's entirely possible that the conductor could be walking the train looking for air leaks, or set handbrakes, as well.
I think that it's mostly a flowery descriptor to account for the time that elapses between the time that the photographer shows up, and the engineer hits the throttle.
It's really just another way of saying that an engine "is about to enter a tunnel." Or that a train "approaches a station."
In journalism, like in most writing, it's considered bad form to keep repeating the same phrase(s). So writers get creative in the way they express common ideas. You cannot keep writing captions that say a train approaches something.
Also, in railfan-oriented books and magazines there is a long tradition of personifying (referring to as if human) railroad equipment, particularly locomotives. So you have engines preparing, resting, posing, struggling, surrendering, announcing their arrival, being weary, being triumphant, etc. Even refusing to abdicate.
Machines don't prepare. It's just a style of writing.
As Overmod suggests - this is documentation, usually by the photographer. And, as noted, it helps set the scene.
"Prepares to" is simply part of the context. With regard to a station, it may differentiate between a train that is stopped, arriving, about to depart (these may be indicated by hustle and bustle on the platform) or is actually departing (which may explain why it's half way across a road, f'rinstance).
All too often, you'll see an image in a magazine, or on-line, scanned from a slide, which the author/photog notes that only the date was written on the slide frame. That often leaves us to wonder what the slide actually depicts. Oftimes a little research reveals that it's train 123 on the XYZ railroad, which normally made a station stop in Podunk at 10:12 AM.
"Prepare to" won't show up in rules and timetables. It's really no different than when you are leaving home - you make sure you have your keys, wallet, whatever. You prepare to leave...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
If a ship can prepare to "get under way", I think a train can prepare to cross a road or leave a station.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
I think in most cases the 'notes' are merely prepared by the photographer as a guide to identify the image, and have little if anything to do with the railroad or its employees (who might, in fact, if asked might not even favor being photographed).
In some cases, the photographer has a special 'understanding' with the railroad -- Ed May with New York Central, or O. Winston Link with N&W -- and there may be communication with engine or train crews to recognize their presence (or warn them that there may be a bright coordinated flash at a particular place or time, etc.)
There are, of course, different kinds of requested photography, including those newsreel shoots recently uploaded to YouTube, where an engine crew might be instructed to operate as requested, or a railroad might furnish equipment (usually for publicity or marketing of some kind).
But most of the time, I think the captions are just 'color' to add to potential captioning, or to fix key details to help what may become unpleasantly defective later memory. I am sometimes surprised to come across pictures taken in 'familiar' locations I cannot now identify without notes or research...
Oh, wait ... you mean literally 'prepare'. I think you're looking at a figure of speech or colloquialism, like the expression 'fixin' to quit' -- "preparing to leave" just means it will be proceeding shortly, and essentially normally, without any more than the 'usual' things done at such a stop.
Many photo captions state that here is train or engine xxxx preparing to leave the station, cross a road, enter a tunnel, etc,etc. Exactly what does a train or engine do to prepare for one of these events?
I've seen many rule books, special instructions, bulletins, etc. instructing railroad employees what to do under certain circumstances, but never anything addressed to the railroad equipment.
Mark Vinski
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