Why does thee engineer sit where passengers in automobiles sit? Why not have the engineer sit where he is used to sitting when driving a train?
I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about. What kind of engine/railcar do you mean?
Old Timer
I am meaning a modern Diesel unit. Say a GE C44-9W Wide Cab unit.
Because the majority of American railroads developed and installed their signal systems to the right hand side of the tracks.
Follow the logic of the designers back then…the largest moving things were ships, which pass each other on the right head on or when overtaking another ship.
Where did most of the railroads recruit their designers from?
So they followed the current rule of traffic used by sea going ships, always pass on the right, so you want your engineer to be on the right hand side to see switches, signals and such.
You don’t want him to the inside, where he will be blinded by the soot and cinders of the other train.
It is really a backwards question…why don’t American automobile drivers sit where train engineers sit…after all, the trains (and ships) were here first.
(hint, think stage coach drivers and waggoners, and which horse leads)
Go to England. There you’ll see all sorts of cars and trucks where the driver
sits on the same side of the vehicle as a locomotive engineer. Worse than
that–they all drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road![;)] It seems to be traditional-
the locomotive engineer sits on the right side of the cab-even back in the early days.
Controls could be arranged in any manner, but since it aint broke-
there’s no reason to fix it.[:D][swg]
I thought engineers sat on the right hand side because the spacing of the wheels on Roman wagons was 4’ 81/2".[:D]
Engineers sit on the right because drivers sit on the left…
And in England and Australia, the driver sits on the left when he’s in a locomotive, on the right when he’s in an automobile.
That is true only in the northern hemisphere. [;)]
And on remotes, he may not sit on either side…
Moo
OHH you guys are killing me =)
and he may even be a she that is not sitting on either side.
Actually, for the second half of the round trip between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, Adirondack RR engineers do sit on the left side, since the engine is running backwards and doesn’t have dual control stands.
During my 60th Birthday special engine drivers treat at Loughborough in the Midlands UK I drove a West Country from S.R and sat on the left but another group drove a GWR Engine (A Manor) and sat on the right. Brunel was more "Americanised than the rest of us I reckon. However the reasons for normal road driving of course was historical probably the same idea as the bridegroom standing on the right in Church.It keeps his sword /lance arm free as most people were considered to be right-handed. They must be nearly all left-handed in America perhaps??
Going back to the original question, I saw the Engineer on the American big diesals sitting sideways in a Megastructures TV feature and it looked strange but with his back to the loco side he could look quite easily along the train as well as forward so I imagine it is easier on the body.
I’ve heard a few reasons.
Signals will be on the field side (not the side between the tracks) because it’s too hard to install them and maintain them between tracks.
For passenger operations, it allows the engineer to see the station.
More importantly, switches to industry will be on the right side (the train exits the current track to the right without crossing the main.) The engineer must be able to read the switches to see weather or not the track is lined for where he’s going. The important stuff to see is on the right.
For driving, I’ve heard that originally, to defend from roadside bandits, people would hold wagon reins in their right hand, and defend themselves with their left, but if the English can drive on the other side, they’re either all left-handed, or this theory holds water like a siv. (Anyone else see a puddle on the floor?)
engineers sit on the right side cuz the are right
It was all part of a vast “right” wing conspiracy to destroy the Milwaukee Road and gain monopoly control of the vastly important Montana Wheat Market.
Didn’t C&NW engineers sit on the left during steam days? That’s why the Milwaukee/C&NW merger was thwarted. If those lefty engineers could have reached Montana…well, I don’t have to tell you about that…
It’s one of “those things” that just happened. Like the gauge being 4’ 8 1/2". Nobody has ever figured out what an “optimal” gauge is. Everybody just came to agree that 4’ 8 1/2" worked OK and it wasn’t worth a fight.
And he/she has gotta’ sit somewhere.
So railroads followed ships and always passed on the right… If two trains on single track were to meet, did that mean that the train with siding on the right had to take the hole?
Engineers and mail carriers do sit on the same side of their vehicles
[;)]
CC
C&NW engineers did indeed sit on the left in steam days, but in double-track situations traffic moved on the left-hand side, not the right. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe the CNW-heritage commuter lines into Chicago, now operated by UP, still run on the left. So the rationale for being near signals (CNW’s were semaphors, for what it’s worth) and away from pre-diesel soot from passing trains holds here as well.