You have just discovered why it is important for a train engineer to become familiar with his territory. Steep grades will often be fairly obvious, but for lesser grades the only reliable clue is how the train is behaving. Remember that, and now you will be prepared on the next trip. Without wanting to reopen the "foggy" thread, grades and their effect on train performance are also one of the factors that experienced engineers use to keep track of where they are.
John
listen to the engineer your training under.. they know the territory and how to run a train on it.. as far as going up hill or down.. if you have to add power..your going up hill... and if you have to reduce power to keep the speed..your going down hill... and you can feel in your butt through the seat what the train is doing behind you... you will be able to feel the slack action as your butt gets more fine tuned to being in the seat...
Look over at your conductor...
If he's slumped forward, you're going downhill. Backward, you're going uphill.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
The eye can be easily fooled by the lay of the land leading one to missinterpret slope.
Hang a weighted pendulum in the cab someplace (out of the wind) and watch which way it is hanging. It will move due to acceleration/deceleration, but will settle when the speed evens out. Then maybe you can tell whether you are tipped up or down. Maybe get one of those magnet-base protractors with the pendulum inside and stick it on the wall of the cab.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Just started engineer training and i seem to have trouble telling on a short hill if its up or down , and some of these hills are steep, lose speed fast. any ideas would be a huge help!!!! Thanks John
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.