i drive frequently past a yard, and have become familiar with several yard engines by their cab numbers… what do crews do when their unit is in tandem with another, which is the lead? do crews sit in the cab until the work is done? do they wait in a break room until called for?
There are probably as many different answers for this as there are yards to work in. If you’re watching a yard where engineers are still employed, the lead unit would probably be the one with the engineer’s side of the cab on the same side as brakemen are accustomed to working. It isn’t too hard to change from one controlling unit to the other, if circumstances warrant (such as being out on the main line where signals need to be read, etc.).
Your engine crew remains in the locomotive for the entire time the job is working, unless they’re on their meal period or another break.
EDIT: Dave, thanks for your post (after mine). I was overlooking something there that was obvious to me but may not have been to someone else. Of course, you’re absolutely correct.
Usually when two units are mu’d. only one crew is employed. On one shift two units may be used to together with one crew, and split apart for two crews on a another shift.
Yard locomotives are no longer assigned to a crew as theirs and theirs alone.
Most of the time, there are more locomotives in a yard service pool than crews on duty, and whichever is first fueled and ready is the first one out the door so to speak.
MU units have one crew…in yard work, the one furthest away from the cars being switched is the one normally occupied, for safety reason, it provides a safety zone between the engineer any accident that might happen.
In road service, the lead unit is occupied.
and one more time, I learned something new…
That also puts the engineer on the leading end of the move when pulling out a track.
Jeff