Why high-hood units?

[OldArmy94]

Why did the Norfolk Southern heritage roads (Norfolk & Western, Southern) use high hood units AND consider the "long" end to be front?

[Anonymous]

I'm not an expert on the subject but from my research the high short hood made room for a steam generator for passenger trains and running the long hood first was for crash protection like a steam loco.

[Anonymous]

The Southern and the NW ordered engines with high short hoods so that the engines did't need to be turned. The feeling was that the view really wasn't better in either direction. On a chopped nose engine the view is much better and most railroads turned them so that the short hood was on the leading end. Crash protection was another consideration. But if anything gets that high to the cab your in for a bad day. The NW stopped buying high short hoods when it became to expensive. The Southern kept buying them up until the merger. Some Southern engines have horns on both ends so money must not have been much of an issue. The NdeM of Mexico bought GP-38 with high short hoods to house a steam generator. They are the only ones so equipped. The rest of the order was for short hoods.

[Anonymous]

Sir, Hate to be a bother to you, but can you answer a quick question? Did EMD, when they first came out with this design (I believe it was the GP-7) make it with long hood forward?
TIM A

[Anonymous]

It really depended on the railroad that bought them. I know that the Great Northen had them set up for long-hood forward but some other like C&O had them short hood forward. I have been in some and found that they were either way depending on the orginal owner. The strange one was that some mining company bought the short hoods on their GP-9's and then ran them long hood forward.

[Anonymous]

It really depended on the railroad that bought them. I know that the Great Northen had them set up for long-hood forward but some other like C&O had them short hood forward. I have been in some and found that they were either way depending on the orginal owner. The strange one was that some mining company bought the short hoods on their GP-9's and then ran them long hood forward.

[dknelson]

First of all the usual switchers came first and the GP somewhat resembled a switcher with a little extra "out back" -- so conventional wisdom would have had them operate long hood first like a switcher -- GPs were called "road switchers" when new.
Also I think a lot of railroads viewed the GP as somewhat like an improved steam locomotive so the cab was at the back. And of course crew safety was better with the cab in the back.
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the info, I do not work for the railroad that is why some of these questions may seem basic to you.
TIM A

[Anonymous]

Hey, not a problem, I wish someone would have answered my questions when I asked. All I got was attitude from some the guys.

[wabash1]

A engine dont have a preferance it will run as good one way as another. the old standard was the front of the engine was the direction in which the engineer would sit with his right arm out the window this was considered the front of the engine. We dont call it the front or rear anymore it is either long hood out or short hood out. I would rather run long hood out as the horn is on the long hood end and not over my head makes it less noisy.

[dknelson]

well the engine does not have a preference but the controls are generally set up for one end or the other being deemed the front (some have or had dual controls) so railroads made a choice, ordered their engines accordingly.
I remember seeing a train come into Milwaukee's Butler Yard down from Sheboygan WI (maybe 2 hour trip) with one of these huge new GEs running backwards. I took my picture and then waved at the engineer who just grinned and shook his head.
I imagine his neck and shoulders took a while to recover
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

A lot of railroads that had territory with the tendency to have rock slides bought long nose forward locomotives. We at one time had a lot of SD9s on the BN that had dual control stands for which ever direction you wanted to go.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Phelps Dodge bought the first low-nose GP9's for its mining operation for better visibility over the train (perhaps when dump cars were being loaded?). N&W and VGN equipped most of their diesels with dual controls but this is an expensive option.

[wabash1]

Well the stands are usually setting on all the emd units so all we do is swivel the seat and go the other way. ( the older units) I have run must engines in either direction. the dash 9 units are hard on a engineer its hard to see around the wing. the desk top units are not fun in either direction forward or backwards

[Anonymous]

Yeah it is not fun looking around a curve and have that wing in the way. I always thought the trainmaster knew you were running that way, to set up a banner on you. I didn't like the desktop units due to lack of leg room, I'm a tall guy. And if you had a passenger it was even worse.

[Anonymous]

The N&W, ordered low short nose units, with the control stand on what would be the firemans side. The long nose was the front of the unit. If they ran short nose to the front, the fireman or brakeman, appeared on the engineers side of the cab. Although no controls. Very difficult to do any switching, unless you had a portable radio. We had very few, when I worked the rails in the early 80's. BPtrainwreck