I've been gone too long, I am going to get this quote box issue figured out.
For some reason, the quote function is different than the other forums I have been frequenting
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
Locomotive batterys are 8 volts, and there are 8 of them, so if you want to tap them you have to go to the second battery, (been there done it) I always went to the 14 volt tap. Because of line loss, you'd get just what you wanted for 12 volt use.
I wondered if locomotives had air-ride seats like most semi trucks. Then I remembered that trains ride on steel rails that *should* be really smooth. So are they equiped with just basic, old truck seats?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Murphy Siding I wondered if locomotives had air-ride seats like most semi trucks. Then I remembered that trains ride on steel rails that *should* be really smooth. So are they equiped with just basic, old truck seats?
CP AC44's built from 2001+ have air ride seats. Some of the best seats in my opinion.
I haven't been in a locomotive cab in decades, but if we're talking about air ride seats, AC and hot plates then things have surely improved over the years. In the 1970s I had the opportunity to look into the cab of a CN RS18.. wow.. long hood forward limited visibility through a very small window that resembled a porthole.. cramped cab.. and nothing that I could see that would equate to creature comforts in the modern context. But in the 70s many railroaders who had started out with steam were still working, and even the RS18 was a vast improvement over a steam engine cab, thus not alot of complaints. Apart from the utilitarian cab, I suppose one had to grow accustomed to the engine's sounds.. the rhythmic kathunk kathunk of the prime mover along with alot of hissing, shuttering, and the occasional long sigh..
Despite how will like to glamorize them - locomotives are nothing more that specialized heavy duty industrial equipment designed for the sole purpose of moving freight on the railraods of the world. Each is bound by the physical restraints of the areas they are to operate in.
They are designed with the same throught processes that apply to all the other forms of heavy duty industrial equipment. Get the job done without routinely killing the operator of the equipment for the least amount of money.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACDThey are designed with the same throught processes that apply to all the other forms of heavy duty industrial equipment. Get the job done without routinely killing the operator of the equipment for the least amount of money.
That thinking is very dated (and of course the railroads are among the last to adapt to anything new).
There's no excuse for today's locmotives to not have decent seats and operating compartments. Well, excuses that don't revolve around crying about spending money for basic neccessities. The pseudo macho-crap needs to go.
The people in the ivory tower could get by sitting on overturned milk crates and using a port-o-john in the parking lot, too.
But they don't.
And the industry wonders why they can't get/retain people.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
zugmann BaltACD They are designed with the same throught processes that apply to all the other forms of heavy duty industrial equipment. Get the job done without routinely killing the operator of the equipment for the least amount of money. That thinking is very dated (and of course the railroads are among the last to adapt to anything new). There's no excuse for today's locmotives to not have decent seats and operating compartments. Well, excuses that don't revolve around crying about spending money for basic neccessities. The pseudo macho-crap needs to go. The people in the ivory tower could get by sitting on overturned milk crates and using a port-o-john in the parking lot, too. But they don't. And the industry wonders why they can't get/retain people.
BaltACD They are designed with the same throught processes that apply to all the other forms of heavy duty industrial equipment. Get the job done without routinely killing the operator of the equipment for the least amount of money.
EHH tried when he moved CP HQ out of their posh downtown Calgary digs and into much more modest quarters adjacent to a railyard. Not quite to the sitting on milk cartons stage, but a reasonable compromise..
zugmann The people in the ivory tower could get by sitting on overturned milk crates and using a port-o-john in the parking lot, too.
Under PSR - everything is viewed as avoidable costs. People, safety appliances, creature 'comforts' - EVERYTHING.
Figure a way to avoid the cost and get promoted - unless you are the cost that is being avoided.
We've come a long way over that last 40 years.. and arguably we still have a long way to go. Today's equipment is much quieter and more ergonomic than what was available in, say, 1982. Over the years workers demanded better working conditions, and employers came to realize that better working conditions improved productivity and reduced injuries, illness, and employee turnover... a win win for all involved. Even people in the hardscrabble construction field expect to be working in air conditioned comfort... diggers and bulldozers now come with AC and comfortable seats as standard equipment..no more sitting out in the elements under an old makeshift umbrella.
We had a lawn chair for the middle seat in a yard engine for about a month.
CP quit buying air ride seats years ago (thanks Hunter and Creel). CN never splurged for them, but we did get fully reclining seats for a while back when the napping program was a thing (long since gone, again thanks to Hunter and his ilk). Now we don't even get headrests. Not sure about the other railroads.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
SD70Dude We had a lawn chair for the middle seat in a yard engine for about a month. CP quit buying air ride seats years ago (thanks Hunter and Creel). CN never splurged for them, but we did get fully reclining seats for a while back when the napping program was a thing (long since gone, again thanks to Hunter and his ilk). Now we don't even get headrests. Not sure about the other railroads.
Air ride seats would be nice. We started getting ones with headrests, which I hated. For me, all they ever did was get in the way when I wanted to look back without sticking my head out the window.
We have new seats that were tested and they actually took comments from the people who use them. They are OK, but they don't slide back far enough the way they are mounted on most engines. Most wide nose cabs with the side control stand have a shelf for paperwork and cup holder. Some are large. Even the small ones mean a big person is going to have your knees crushed into them.
Jeff
Back in the fifties, the PRR E-8's I rode in had just two seats in the cabs, NO air conditioning, NO hot plates, I do not recall any drinking water or any other creature comforts. They did have a porcelain toilet behind the rear 567 on the engineers side. I do not recall them having a DO NOT FLUSH sign.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.