Brake Wheels

[Roadtrp]

This will probably get the award for All Time Stupidest Question, but here goes... [:I]

Are freight cars generally aligned so the brake wheel is on the end of the car facing the locomotive, away from it, or does it make absolutely no difference whatsoever?

I suspect it makes absolutely no difference, but wanted to make sure I am putting together my freight consists in a realistic manner.

[DSchmitt]

It doesn't make any difference.

There is a funny story about a train at Napa Junction CA (The junction is a Wye). The train went down the wrong leg and couldn't back up because of a grade (not enough power). After hours of work using the wye as a runaround the crew got the train headed the right direction. They then realized the cars were in reverse order and spent more hours correcting this. When they were throug they were on the correct leg of the wye with the cars in the correct order, but the A and B ends were reversed.

[ndbprr]

NO it makes absolutely no difference. The only critical element is that the air hoses at either end be connected to the next car and the valve opened so the brakes can be controlled from teh locomotive. The brake wheel provides a mechanical method of applying the brakes when the car is set out so it doesn't roll away. You will notice however on some unit trains that one end is painted a different color. This is particularly true of hopper cars. That is done to indicate that end of the car has a rotary coupler. That is a coupler that has the ability to allow the car to be rotated upside down for dumping while the coupler stays in the upright position attached to the next car. That way the train can move forward after the car is dumped without ever having to uncouple the cars. the guy operating the rotary dumper is charged with making sure one end of one of the cars has the painted panel. Otherwise he has some serious expaining to do when he twists a coupler out of a draft gear.