Good Evening,
I was recently scanning through some photographs of what I believe to be F7 Diesel locomotives and noticed a small “F” located near the front end. I hesitate to ask, but does this mean “Front?”
If so, why would this be needed?
Thanks,
Wayne
It does indeed mean front. It’s required for operational reasons so everyone agrees on whether the controlling locomotive is going forward or backward. It may seem silly to need agreement on that, but when someone’s on the ground and communicating only by radio or hand or lantern signals, and asks the engineer to “back up,” it’s essential that the engineer moves the locomotive in the direction that the ground man is expecting him to move.
See this thread.
RM,
Thanks, and thanks again[:)] Nice speaking with ya,
Wayne
Hi Wayne,
This might seem silly or obvious on an E or F unit, but with the earlier GP’s and SD’s and Alco RS’s some roads set them up to run long hood forward (N&W and GN come to mind) and some roads set them up to run short hood forward. Then to really confuse matters I have read that the UP had their GP 7/9’s (I forget which they had, I don’t believe that it was both) set up to run long hood forward, while their SD’s (9’s I think) were set up to run short hood forward. So You can see how this could get not only confusing, but dangerous as well. I imagine that little “F” painted on the front of the frame helped to prevent many deaths and injuries, too bad a little paint couldn’t do more in other aspects of life.
Doug
A very real complication can arise when you have two units tied together back-to-back. Now both ends have an F!
Of course, you give your directions by where the F is on the unit in control, but that can be complicated on the trackage here at work by the fact that there is a wye and crews are sometimes required to wye trains in the course of spotting them.
Even without a wye, we encounter it on my railroad. Until the engineer swaps units for the return trip south.
Thanks guys,
I never knew this before and find it very interesting. Your explanations make sense and once again I learn something new…
Wayne