I saw a pair of locomotives go up the hill where there's a wye to some industry tracks that are used to turn engines. Going up, a crusty looking Warbonnet led a BNSF pumpkin. Coming down, the pumpkin was leading.
I visualize the conductor throwing a switch about 6 times. Once the train is positioned to head back down the hill, how do they handle getting the crew to change ends? Does the conductor, I dunno, hold his foot on the brake while the engineer walks up to the front locomotive?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Were the two locomotives MU'd together or was one on each end of the train?
Railroad air brake and train handling rules will define procedures for "changing ends". This usually entails applying a full service brake application to the train/ locomogive consist, changing the brake stand on the soon-to-be-trailing unit so the brakes are setup to trail, changing the brake stand on the now leading unit to lead, and then testing the brakes (details omitted for brevity).
In some circumstances, hand brakes will need to be set and the effectiveness tested before changing ends. Usually this will be required if there will be times when nobody is in a locomotive cab to control train movement, i.e. en engineer walking on the ground from one end of the train to the other. Assumung the conductor has been trained on how to initiate an emergency application from the cab, the conductor could occupy one of the cabs while the engineer is walking to the other cab and eliminate the need for hand brakes, but when and how this is permissible will be defined by the specific RR rule books.
If the area at the top of the hill is level, it could be just one engine setting it's brake on while in neutral would be enough to keep things from moving while the engineer went from one engine to the other to start the trip down. I guess the conductor could wait until the engineer got in the cab of the other engine to then release the brake before joining him. Or if the switching left the conductor near the rear unit when they were done, he could put on the brake in that engine and wait for the engineer to join him.
Plus it's not a pedal like an auto's brake pedal, it's more like setting the parking brake on a car.
I grew up across the street from a stub-end branchline with a runaround track at the end. The crew usually had two switchers back-to-back, they would do their switching then leave the engines idling while they walked over to the nearby bowling alley for lunch. The engines didn't go anywhere.
Switching ends is a common ordinary occurence. Not a big deal.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Murphy Siding I dunno, hold his foot on the brake while the engineer walks up to the front locomotive?
Nah, he stands outside holding onto one of the grabirons.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
zugmann Murphy Siding I dunno, hold his foot on the brake while the engineer walks up to the front locomotive? Nah, he stands outside holding onto one of the grabirons.
We have to find a track with a hitching post and tie the locomotives to it. Iron horses indeed.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
SD70Dude zugmann Murphy Siding I dunno, hold his foot on the brake while the engineer walks up to the front locomotive? Nah, he stands outside holding onto one of the grabirons. We have to find a track with a hitching post and tie the locomotives to it. Iron horses indeed.
Is the Iron Horse tied to the hitching post with a knot or with the reins just looped over the hitching post like they do on TV Westerns? /sarcasm
The conductor could always chock the wheels with his radio.
Jeff
Is this called "The Omaha Fire Drill" on the UP?
Thanks adkrr64 and wjstix for the explanation. And thanks to the rest of youse for the uh, contributions?
The other guys already answered the question quite well so I figured I'd add to the fun.
There is the potential for the locomotive air brake application to leak off while the brake stands are cut out on all units in a consist, especially if you forgot to make an automatic brake application before cutting out the old lead unit. Setting a handbrake while changing ends is not mandatory for us (CN in Canada), but sometimes it is a good idea if you're on a hill and don't want to roll too far while doing the subsequent shop track brake test.
Murphy Siding:
Yes, adkrr6 posted an exceptional reply to your mystery siting, and discerned that there was a clarification needed, either two locomotives together OR apart from each other, as with power at each end of a cut of freight cars.
You may be interested to know that in the previous decade, K. P. Harrier and myself, and family members and friends, were privileged to ride a BNSF special from San Bernardino, California to Summit in Cajon Pass. At Summit, the train on Main 3 (the steep line) crossed over to Main 2 and stopped, the crew changing ends, and we thus returned to Berdoo. Interestingly, only ONE cab crew member walked to the other end of the passenger train, walking off and away from Main 1 in his walking! Once he was in the cab at the other end of the passenger special and got total control of the train, the other member walked totally off Main 1 to the other end and climbed aboard.
A few minutes later, we started rolling again, this time westward, crossed back over from Main 2 to Main 3 and went back to San Bernardino.
In all that, it was hoped we could be routed by Sullivan’s Curve and the famous rock formations there, but it was not to be. But it was a really cool trip nevertheless!
Somehow I’m sure that you see a connection in the above story to your thread question.
croteaudd Murphy Siding: Yes, adkrr6 posted an exceptional reply to your mystery siting, and discerned that there was a clarification needed, either two locomotives together OR apart from each other, as with power at each end of a cut of freight cars. You may be interested to know that in the previous decade, K. P. Harrier and myself, and family members and friends, were privileged to ride a BNSF special from San Bernardino, California to Summit in Cajon Pass. At Summit, the train on Main 3 (the steep line) crossed over to Main 2 and stopped, the crew changing ends, and we thus returned to Berdoo. Interestingly, only ONE cab crew member walked to the other end of the passenger train, walking off and away from Main 1 in his walking! Once he was in the cab at the other end of the passenger special and got total control of the train, the other member walked totally off Main 1 to the other end and climbed aboard. A few minutes later, we started rolling again, this time westward, crossed back over from Main 2 to Main 3 and went back to San Bernardino. In all that, it was hoped we could be routed by Sullivan’s Curve and the famous rock formations there, but it was not to be. But it was a really cool trip nevertheless! Somehow I’m sure that you see a connection in the above story to your thread question.
“A pair of locomotives.” Hmmm. I knew I should not have gotten involved with this thread …
So, how is ONE switch that was moved six times able to get the two-unit power on the correct side of the cars?
Edited:
SCRATCH THE LAST QUESTION!
The 'light power' went in, got the cars, and came out the same way, the engineer changed engines, and headed back to where they came from.
It is perceived there is something about this thread that borders on the supernatural. Murphy Siding, IS THERE?
Reading (and comprehending) is fundamental. He didn't mention a train, just two locomotives.He just said the wye was sometimes used to service local industries. If the first switch was set against his original movement, the three switches on the wye would need to be moved a total of six times.
Murphy SidingOnce the train is positioned to head back down the hill, how do they handle getting the crew to change ends?
So at least there was a train going downhill, not clear if the two engines went up light?
Murphy SidingI saw a pair of locomotives go up the hill where there's a wye to some industry tracks that are used to turn engines.
However in the scene he describes, the engines were not turned - the trailing engine going up was the lead engine heading back down?
Backshop Reading (and comprehending) is fundamental. He didn't mention a train, just two locomotives.He just said the wye was sometimes used to service local industries. If the first switch was set against his original movement, the three switches on the wye would need to be moved a total of six times.
Sure, but that's also assuming no spring switches.
SD60MAC9500Sure, but that's also assuming no spring switches.
Every switch is a spring switch at least once.
zugmann SD60MAC9500 Sure, but that's also assuming no spring switches. Every switch is a spring switch at least once.
SD60MAC9500 Sure, but that's also assuming no spring switches.
Really, every switch is a rubber/automatic/probably other names in use switch at least once. As long as they are trailing point moves, maybe multiple times. Facing point moves would be a different matter.
wjstix Murphy Siding Once the train is positioned to head back down the hill, how do they handle getting the crew to change ends? So at least there was a train going downhill, not clear if the two engines went up light? Murphy Siding I saw a pair of locomotives go up the hill where there's a wye to some industry tracks that are used to turn engines. However in the scene he describes, the engines were not turned - the trailing engine going up was the lead engine heading back down?
Murphy Siding Once the train is positioned to head back down the hill, how do they handle getting the crew to change ends?
Murphy Siding I saw a pair of locomotives go up the hill where there's a wye to some industry tracks that are used to turn engines.
It was a small train.
There were only two train cars involved.
They were both locomotives.
And now that you mention it, they didn't swap ends. I saw that the crusty Warbonnet was leading the pumpkin up the hill. When they came back down with the pumpkin in front, my mind decided they had swapped ends to put a better unit up front. Maybe they were just joyriding?
Murphy SidingMaybe they were just joyriding?
They spun them twice to make sure.
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