What are your thoughts on modern NS locos running long hood-forward? Also even though this is off topic, Monday, I saw a policeman giving a sobriety test by having a person walk on one of the tracks!
Its the same as the old days, if you don't have a conductor riding in the fireman seat, your blinded on the one side.
With the new locomotives out there today, I don't see how it could be safely done on the main for a over the road trip. Not to mention that part about being totally blind on one side if you're alone. Having had to move/hostle new GE's and EMD's (SD70M-2/SD70ACe and SD80/90MAC's) your view is severly restricted by the radiators and I wouldn't won't to run using the mirrors the whole way. I don't remember what model it was, but I was in a newer NS unit that did have a speedometer on the back wall behind the engineers seat. So maybe they still run long hood forward sometimes, if it were me, I'd be turning that thing at the first available facility though.
We had the same sort of problem over here with the English Electric Class 20, and others which were of similar outline to US locomotives (Classes 15 and 16 spring immediately to mind with a long hood and a short hood) and it's why most of our locomotives have a cab at each end. What I've never been able to understand, though, is this: what is so different about driving a diesel with the cab at the back end from driving a steamer with that long boiler in front? Regards, Pete Davies
I can tell you from experience. I had to run a GP-40(#4302 IIRC) long hood forward with 3 cars, from Suffern yard to the MMC in Kearney. Its a very different perspective.
Where I live NS SOMETIMES runs a Dash 9 LHF for a mine run because the only one loco is the power for some runs, but these runs only have a few cars.
One difference is most boilers and smokeboxes curve inward toward the top, and narrow toward the front. the rear of a modern diesel hangs outward at the top, and the long hood is generally wider at the rear (radiator) end. Also, you are twisted around trying to see out the rear cab window, while all the controls are behind you, instead of more-or-less conveniently in front of you.
I dislike running long hood forward. The lack of visiability out weigh all safety concerns, and if it is not set up to run long hood forward as Mike said, it is not natural and even more unsafe.
I got to run an old Baldwin DRS-1500-6-6 that is set up to run long hood forward, both hoods are high on Magma 10, it really is hard for an engineer to see down the long hood, and not much easier to look out the back (short high hood). You do NEED a conductor to your left.
I've got a lot of photos of NS trains running with LHF, including Dash 9's and SD70M-2's... I even caught a CSX train running LHF recently... Unusual. Harold
Terry,The older road switchers had reversible (flop over?) seats.. I suppose the newer wide cab locomotives doesn't? I've seen GP38-2s,SD40-2s GP40-2s running long end forward with the engineer looking down the long hood.Last NS local I seen with a exCR SD70 Spartan cab the engineer was looking down the long hood..Does the SD70 have reversible seats? Back in the day you could turn the seats side ways in the early road switchers and yard locomotives.
Norfolk Southern and it's predecessors had locos that were set up with dual control stands, so the awkwardness of having controls behind you wasn't an issue. The last long hood forward 6 axle units from GE were the C39-8s. Most of the SD60s were designated as long hood forward too, I think about 25 of their 150 units were short hood forward designated. NS viewed the long hood forward as safer for the train crews, but if I recall, there was an incident in Ohio sometime during the early '90s where a crew didn't see the aspect of a signal because of curvature and they ran an interlocking causing a major pileup. IIRC the brass of NS changed their stance on the long hood forward after this incident! (probably others too!) Trevor D.
LONG HOOD FORWARD Ocasionally on this end of the alabama division i will see older EMDs long hood forward but sadly these units are gettting petty rare down here.
When I was still working for a shortline, we had an ex-B&O passenger GP9 6604 that was still set up for LHF with the drum-style control stand. It ended up on the point of an empty corn train late one afternoon because we ran out of time to switch it in the consist. We had to leave town ASAP or we would go dead on the law before we arrived to the CSX interchange. Real pain in the butt even as a conductor, no time to fill out your reports because you had to watch ahead on the left side for the engineer.
A big chunk of the Harrisburg switching at Enola and Rutherford is conducted with ancient GP9's and SD9's. I've seen equipment moves with two locos coupled short hood end to short hood end; you're running LHF no matter which way you go.
