Here's an interesting train: NS train 351. Train 351 runs from Raleigh to Roanoke, Va. I believe the train used to leave Greensboro and head towards Roanoke on the "K" line (via Winston-Salem). At some point, they decided to run the train up the main and cut across to Roanoke. This presents a problem, as the trains come off the "H" line (east-west orientation) and must get on the main (north-south orientation). As there is no wye to allow this, the trains pull down the main towards Pomona yard, then cut off their power, and run around and re-attach to their train (on the rear). Not usually a problem, unless you have 1 loco... I have seen as many as 7 units on this train (depending on size).
Here's a "short" train I caught recently... only about 60 cars and one loco, so it ended up headed north long hood forward.: http://hhodnett.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=519353 Harold
Well, gee, back in genesis, the NY Central, B&O and many other lines started running long hood forward. Hmmm, that was with ALCO RS-3's though. :sad:
IIRC, NYC also had GP9s set up for long-hood-forward running as well. SOU stayed with high hoods and long-hood-forward all the way. Wonder what a hi-nose SD90MAC woulda looked like in SOU colors.......
Regardless of road, most early hood units at least up to the late 1950s were built with the LH as front.
There's a website where you can "paint your own locos" but I don't remember the site. You'd probably have to make due with a low nose SD90MAC... Harold
In the early diesel days, most railroads long hood running was a carry over from steam days. Long hood running was considered safer. The C&O and NKP didn't share this feeling as most of their diesels were set up short hood forward.
On the Frisco, only the RS2s and the RS1s obtained from the AT&N merger were long-hood-forward operating- all the GP7Ls were set up for short hood forward.
The Southern actually ran their early units such as GP7's and GP9's short hood forward. The long hood forward began with units such as the SD40 and GP38. Units prior to these were short end forward, although they were high hoods.
http://paintshop.railfan.net/ I'm thinking. If there were a high nose, or even just standard nose, SD90MAC, wouldn't it just be an SD90AC?
Yes, I guess... The "M" was dropped when it became redundant if they offered no standard cab in the EMD line... EMD still built "standard cab" SD70's for NS and CR before they ended up with SD70M's... I guess the "M" was EMD's way of denoting a "North American" or wide cab vs. the "spartan cab"
I suppose you'd drop the M designation on a hi-nose unit, but we're getting into splitting hairs. Then again, replace it with "HH", for high-hood.
Maybe NS got SD70s before SD70Ms, but CR didn't. CR never owned SD70Ms, only SD70MACs. In fact, the SD70s arrived after the SD70MACs.
NS does equip their large road units with ditch lights on both ends so that they can run long-hood at track speed. A major problem with the wide-cab GE units is that the radiator flares are right in the line of sight out the back cab windows so you either scrunch down in the seat to look under them or face foward and run looking in the rear-view side mirror. Neither way is very comfortable.
