On Sunday I watched a Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train leaving Sherbrooke, QC for the East Coast. At the headend were five locomotives…between the first and second diesel was a MMA caboose with the words “remote control” on the side. What is the purpose of the caboose?
Would bet the caboose has a control stand, radio and locotrol unit and can be used to back up/control the movement…sorta of a poor man’s control cab/car.
Links to a couple of good photos (not mine) of such cabooses:
http://imagestorage.nerail.org/photos/2006/08/18/20060818145223669.jpg and http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=20060818145223669.jpg&order=byposter&page=24&key=maineac
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2006081815031031329.jpg&order=byposter&page=23&key=maineac
- Paul North.
MM&A operates at least some of its trains with single person crews.
They put remote control systems in several cabooses instead of on locomotives. When onboard, the train operator controls the train with a RC caboose being pushed or pulled by a locomotive. When the train has to do work, such as a pick up or set out, the operator gets on the ground to do the ground work while controlling the locomotive remotely through MU cables on the caboose…
I don’t know why such a caboose was on the train you saw. Maybe the train had a single person crew and was going to do work enroute. If so, the caboose would contain the needed RC system
The caboose shell contained equipment to allow for the remote control operation of locomotives other than just the lead. It may, in this case, be there to control the other 4 units in the set perhaps as a test of the controls. But a good way to find out is to ask the railroad.
The RCO can control whatever it is MUed to. In simple terms, it becomes the “lead engine” of the consist, even if it is smack dab in the middle. You’re not going to use it just to control some units in a consist while a hogger controls the rest. And I’m sure it’s set up like ours, mainly for yard/local use with a maximum speed of 10 or 15 mph. If the caboose was being used in RCO mode, then the strobes should have been flashing.
They may have been just moving it somewhere else for use. Or needed to use the engine it was attached to and didn’t feel like unhooking it?
PS
I know we have experimented with a few RCO platforms (mainly former locomotives that had the engine and other part that make it move on its own removed), but the majority of our RCO gear is installed on operating locomotives. I wonder what all the advantage/disadvantages are of each?
Or maybe the caboose is there so that one of the crew members can go back there if he wants to lay down. I noticed that this train had two crew members. Maybe one operates the train while the other gets rest in the caboose, and then they switch.
I doubt it.
Just a thought: I think that there is a Forum member, Randy Stahl, who Posts here from time to time. Possibly, still works for MM&A (?)
Randy could probably have some pretty good commentary on the MM&A’s use of the ‘Radio Control’ cabooses(?). [:-^]
Yes, I look forward to Randy s input and appreciate his and everyone elses
[:)] That is a nice looking caboose. Got to have one for the ( O ) gauge . I doubt if one could be bought, so maybe scratch build one. Would there be any infringement to build a motorised one??
Cannonball
Can someone explain whats wrong with just using the cab on the locomotive? Why would a seperate car like the caboose be needed?
Is it to avoid putting expensive RCO equipment into each and every locomotive? IOWs the single caboose becomes the ‘brain’ while any different locomotive(s) its coupled to can still remain a dumb RC-less zombie engine(s) being controlled by the ‘brain’ in the caboose?
By putting the RCO equipment (electronics, etc.) in a separate ‘vehicle’ it permits any engine consist that the vehicle is coupled & MU’d to, to become a RCO locomotive consist. I suspect the MMA has a relatively limted number of locations where a RCO operation is utilized - and even if it is every switching and/or industrial location on line - the costs of equipping every locomotive on the MMA property would be prohibitively expensive.
Initially, carriers outfitted designated locomotives for RCO operation and assigned these locomotives to specific RCO locations - then in real world day to day operations found how restrictive such operations were to the efficient use of motive power. Subsequently many carriers have outfitted RCO platforms, that will make any locomotive they are coupled and MU’d to RCO engines. The RCO platforms can be assigned to particular locations and locomotives can be cycled in an out of the location as required by normal operating requirements and the location will still have RCO operating abilities.
Thanks I thought it had to be something like that, in that case using a old caboose as a platform does make alot more sense.
IIRC, the same thing was done in the early days of distributed power - although they may have used a boxcar instead.
If you think about it, it’s got to be a whole lot easier and cheaper than putting the equipment in every single locomotive - and every locomotive is still available for conventional assignment.
Wisconsin Central or a similar road did something similar with flatcars, as I recall.
- Paul North.
http://ront.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2675694
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2675734
Note that besides the train line, there are also the air hook up hoses for the main, aux and release air lines, and in the second photo you can see the MU cable to the locomotive.
Toss in the head lights and horn….
Educated guess is as was stated by Balt….instead of equipping all of their locomotives with remote control capabilities, they equipped a few cabooses.
By doing so, they can “remote” any consist they choose simply by setting the locomotive up as a trailing unit, the caboose has the receiver for the chest pack.
This makes it easy and cheap to use any locomotive as a remote controlled unit, simply couple up the caboose, cut in the air lines, set the locomotive up as a trailing unit and away they go…
Note, too that both have a bell, headlights, and in one picture you can see a horn.
UP performed a similar conversion with some retired GE locomotives to turn them into RCO platforms. They are/were numbered in the UPY 100 series and were painted solid grey with red lettering.
The first UP RCO platforms, at least what we had, were old yard slugs that had originally been built from old end cab switchers. When turned into RCO platforms, they had the traction motors disconnected or removed entirely. After a while, regular engines equipped with the RCO gear started showing up but by that time I was no longer “playing” with them.
It also looks like those cabooses have a connection on one axle for a speed sensor. If the system used is like what the UP has, the RC operator doesn’t actually control the throttle. The RC controller has certain speed steps and the computer decides on what throttle notch is needed to run at the desired speed. Has I recall, the top speed available was for 15 mph. That kind of a top speed is fine for yard/terminal areas, but not so well for over the road operation. That makes me think when running down the road they use the regular locomotives and switch to the RC only when actually doing work (switching/picking up/setting out). That could be why the caboose is in the center of the consist instead of on one end of it on over the road trains. It doesn’t have to be hostled around at the end terminals.
Jeff