What is the height difference between the top of a cupola and the top of a cab? Specifically in the diesel era.
And did any locomotive ever be equipped with something like a cupola for some reason?
Probably the closest thing I can think of for a North American* road anyway.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=527902
*Although designed and built in Germany
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krauss-Maffei_ML_4000_C'C'
A GP-30 runs about 15’ 7" above the rails.
http://www.borail.net/EMD_GP-30_type_Class_FSE-5.jpg
Cabooses had a huge variance, depending on clearances of the railroad but several I’ve looked at run to about 15’-11" maximum over the cupola. Google can help you here.
Good Luck, Ed
So basically one would be hard pressed to fit a cupola atop a locomotive, steam or diesel, correct?
The closestin a N American railroad I can think of are the Kennecott Copper GP39-2’s with raised cabs for use in the mines. they were sold to the MKTwho replaced them with normal cabs.
Dave do you have any idea of the purpose, or thinking behind those Kennecott raised cabs?
Doug
The Alco C415 was available with three different cab heights. The highest cab looks a bit like a cupola, particularly when compared with the lowest cab version.
Almost any center cab locomotive, electric or diesel, is built that way for visibility so in a sense the cab is designed to function like a cupola in addition to its main purpose.
And there were steam locomotives modified to have a small compartment near the front for men to occupy during certain performance and engineering studies. They weren’t elevated and were not there for general visibility however.
Dave Nelson