My current D&RGW HOn3 layout is of the end of a freelanced mining branch, that will eventually have a town further down the line. The access to the mine is a ‘forward-in, backwards-out’ arrangement, and I was wondering where the locomotive would be positioned for the ‘backwards-out’ part - would it be pushing the train, or would the crew switch the caboose to the opposite end and pull the train out, tender first? There will eventually be a wye or turntable in the town to turn the locomotives around at that point.
I think some of my old photos ( I’ll try to find one) have shown, pulled out, tender first, in similar circumstances. I also think it is preferred to pull empty cars with the loco backward. So they may back in empty and pull out full. Grades also may have something to do with positioning. I stand to be corrected.
If this is a ‘mountain grade’ operation with no turning facilities, I would back down tender first, with the freight cars above the pilot of the engine. This way you get erid of the problem of a false uncoupling. It alsokeeps the water in the boiler above the crown sheet(if this is a real steep grade and you are low on water).
When I worked for a railroad in the late 60’s, we kept loose cars uphill from the engine, until we were able to stop at a level place and ‘lace up’ the air hoses.
Its not a “false” uncoupling, they really do uncouple, nothing false about it.
But you are exactly correct the engines would be on the low end to prevent runaways (or as we call them now “uncontrolled movements”) if there is a break in two. especially if the cars were not equipped with air brakes or were log buggies which would be almost impossible to set handbrakes on while moving, if they were even equipped with handbrakes.
If the grade is not steep and the turning facility was a wye with a long tail track, then it might be quicker to shove the whole train backwards caboose first, then you could turn the whole train and engines all at once.
There won’t really be any speed advantage between shoving it caboose first, or running tender first, because most RR’s restrict both types of operation about the same.
