Looking beyond prototypical modeling/running of trains, how do you prefer to run your diesel locomotives?
Long hood
or short hood?
Mine run long hood forward, as was Pennsy practice.
Most I run short hood forward. Those in pairs are usually tail to tail though I have at least one pair that’s nose to tail.
The Milwaukee Road ran their GP9s and Alco RS3s long hood forward, and so do I.
Since I haven’t got around to full fledged operations yet, that is a decision I haven’t had to make yet. Since there are no real safety issues involved, I can go either way. I am leaning toward long hood forward, but the decoders are set to run short hood forward, so it seems it would be simpler to go short hood forward. Decisions, decisions.
While I prefer to run short hood forward, I have elected to designate the long hood as the front on all the PL&M’s diesels. I chose to do this as a nod towards one of my prototype inspirations, the Norfolk and Western.
They run pointed toward the East.
I prefer to run short hood forward.
NS around here runs that way.
I like the idea of having a “better view” out the driver’s window so to speak.
It’s just a matter of setting a bit in CV29 to reverse the direction.
I run short hood up front. If I was an engineer, I would want it that way just because of the better visibility. I know my CP Trainmasters were run long hood forward in real life, but I think they just look better in a lash up short hood forward. Besides it’s my railroad so there[:P]. [swg]
Brent
It seems ‘right’ to me to run them short hood forward, but I know full well that the railroads ran them as if they were steamers with a long boiler out front. At least, most did.
Sooo, when someone on another forum asked me why this Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 was backing out of a tunnel, I replied that it was actually entering, but shoving a work train in to do repairs due to a rock fall from the roof of the tunnel. The asker was polite enough to accept my response. [(-D]
-Crandell
My trains don’t point . . . . . but I have a dog that does. (HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!)
Except when accessing a mine spur my Seaboard and Western Virginia Railway operates the short hood as the front of the locomotive; in a multi-unit power lash-up at least one unit running behind the lead unit . . . . . . . . . . which will, of course, have its short hood leading the train . . . . . . . . . . will be running in reverse. Usually–but not always–the trailing unit in any multi-unit lash-up will be the unit running in reverse. Just to add spice to the mix I may on occasion run a two or three unit–but never a four unit–lash-up elephant style.
My diesel roster is vacant of any 1st generation B-B switchers so running long-hood forward is somewhat of a moot point . . . . . . . . . . in fact there are currently no B-B switchers on my roster. The only 1st generation diesels currently on my roster are a handful of Atlas’ SD7/9s dating back to the early '90s and I am giving serious thought of disposing of these either through selling the kin-n-kaboodle offline or selling them to an on-line shortline. Beyond that my oldest units are SD35s which may also be just a little aged to operate in a fleet of SD70ACe/SD70M-2/ES44s.; these may also be sold off in the same manner as the previously cited SD7/9s.
Wa-aal…
On the JNR, steam locos run smokebox forward - except for the helpers that run bunker-first from Tomikawa to Haruyama.
On the TTT, the teakettles all have their smokeboxes pointed DOWN, which is actually upgrade. They are never turned.
The juice jacks all have control stands at both ends. The EH10 has two separate carbodies, but the frames are coupled with a permanent drawbar and the whole is a single locomotive.
So, we come to the diesels - which are all center cab, symmetrical diesel-hydraulics and can run either way.
As to which way a specific train is pointing, that depends on its direction of travel. UP trains point UP, and DOWN trains point DOWN, even if they are perfectly symmetrical DMU sets.
Chuck (Troublemaker modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I dont model diesel, but I can tell you this about steam. In order to prevent rapid boiler cooling and spontaneous explosion, steam locomotives would point up the steep grade, regardless of direction of travel. This was to keep the water in the firebox to be heated up, rather than flowing into the front of the locomotive turning all the steam to water destroying the pressure and nullifying the brakes.
For you, I would look at your locomotives and see where fuel pumps and the like are located. If a loco was driving up a steep grade, the tank would be half full, yet none of the fuel could get to the pump if it was on the upper end.
Hope this helped!
It has nothing to do with braking. If the firebox did not have water over it, it could cause the conditions for a boiler explosion.
That said, you need an extreme grade for that to be an issue. (Mt Washington cog railroad extreme) Most low water issues would simply be a case of the engine running out of water.
ATSF in 1989, I run them the way God intended, short hood /nose leading.
Bob
The PROPER Reading way - long hood forward. [:D] Sometimes smoke comes out of the far end of the long hood, which in those cases is round.
–Randy
Although my layout has yet to be built, it depends.
Passenger trains will run with the locomotive always facing the West, on the west end. The B end of every car will face the locomotive so that the HO passengers will have lighting, heating, and cooling in all cars. And the cab car will be on the east end, with the cab (A end) facing the East.
Freight trains will not matter (they will run both ways, although the short hood will be the designated front). I will be using Geeps and a Genset, so visibility will not be a major problem (besides, on a local, they will have to change direction anyways). I am also going to scratchbuild a shoving platform for long backup moves.
One exception to this- NS H-02 (local) will have the 3010 facing east, as that is how NS usually has it.
Most, if not all, of my diesels carry an F for forward on the frame, so I run them all that way.
Rich
I model the NYC and the NKP. On my RR both get their checks signed by the same person so I can mix and match as I see fit. My family has a history with both RR’s hence the permanent merger. I go long hood forward with NYC and NKP short hood forward that makes for some interesting lashups.
Good to see consistancy, but it really doesn’t matter which way a coach is facing for electrical. What does matter is how you get the traps to the platform, which usually puts the B end next to the engine so that the trap is immediately at the platform instead of being 80ft away. But if your running Horizons/Comets and Amfleets with doors on either end, that doesn’t matter so much.
5.89% will do you sufficently. Another lesson the Madison leanred the hard way, they ran an engine boiler-down The Hill. (Only once) and the M.G.Bright slef destructed because the fireman didn’t keep enough water on the crow