It seems in the land of steam years ago every rinky-dink town had a roundhouse, now I assume this was to store engines and the turntable was to turn engines around, right? obviously so the engine was not hooked up going backwards pulling a train, right? well, as we all know most of these buildings were torn down and turntables were dismantled, soooo… how do they turn diesels around, surely they don’t take them out to a wye every time, or do they not turn diesels around( I’m sure there is a front and back although with some diesels that is questionable------ am I missing something here???
A roundhouse was never used to store engines…After every run a steam engine had to be service and inspected and repaired if needed.
A steam engine could and did operate in reverse on mines runs,interchange trains and some urban locals.
Diesel can be operated in forward or reverse so no turning of a diesel is really not needed…Also in a locomotive consist the units is usually set up to run either way with two end locomotive pointing in the right direction.
Often they do not turn diesels, since it’s just as easy for a diesel to run forward as backwards. It is a little inconveinient for the engineer since his seat is pointed in the one direction.
You already guessed the other main way to turn a diesel, a Wye, but there are places that have a loop that they can use to turn the engine (and some of a train) around.
If an engine must be turned they most likely use a triangal like group of track. The train goes down one side of the triangle until the two side adjacent to the mainline meet then the train will reverse and go down the opposite track untill it meets back with the main line. It is then facing the other direction see below:
In other words, a wye.[:p]
2 examples from Spokane Wa. One, the roundhouse at Yardley was torn down but the turntable remains as does the baloon track that went around the roundhouse.
Example no.2. Pre-BN the SP&S interchanged w/ the NP at Pasco and Scribner. The distance between the 2 was about 150 miles. NP would set out eastbound cars for the SP&S at Scribner getting the added revenue for the extra 150 miles. The set out would be placed on a siding w/ no provision for turning an engine. The SP&S would run a Scribner turn, generally w/ a Challenger, from the GN yard at Hillyard which was ir’s Spokane terminal, out to Scribner where it would pick up the interchange, One leg of the round trip was run w/ the engine in reverse!
Thanks
I knew there was a word for it.
I’ve looked at a lot of trains in the past years here in Canada and some in the U.S. and have never seen a diesel loco pulling a train where the engine is backwards, now I may be nuts but if you reverse an engine the engineer is now on the wrong side, unable to see signals, signs etc. this must have been worse on a steam engine. so somewhere out there they are reversing locomotives, possibly still using old turntables if they were’nt dismantled.
Nope…NS,CSX and all the other railroads and short lines operate their locomotives in either direction…As a example urban locals,industrial branch line locals,some remaining mine runs,local freights and urban interchange trains.As far as the engineer being on the “wrong side” that is no big deal…You see there is a signal indicator located in the cab so the engineer can still see the signal…Plus there’s another set of eyes in the cab…The conductor…
As far as reverse moves with a steamer the head brakeman would ride the tender deck and call out the signals…Remember this…Some times a reverse move was and still being made where the caboose is “lead”…In the days of steam the conductor and rear brakeman would tell the engineer what the signal aspect is by radio or hand signal…Even today on long reverse moves cabooses is still being use with the conductor and brakeman riding the caboose in order to protect the shove.