i have always wondered why these cabs came to exist. what new safety features do they have? is it just because standard cabs get cold in the winter and widenose cabs have heating systems? or does it have something to do with visibility (how well the engineer can see ahead)?
They offer better protection for the crews. The have heavy duty collision posts and I believe they are made with thicker steel. They are also a bit roomier then the spartan cabs. Plus the engineer sits a bit higher up then in the spartan cabs so visibility is a little better.
It was all started by the Canadion Railroads mainly of crew comfort…
The U.S railroads were slow to fallow but caught on eventually…I think due to Unions demanding crew comfort…
They accually have better visability (of crewman whan switching or close up) with the standard cabs…Thats why there will never be a whide nose switching in the yard.
The standerd cabs have Ok heating systems but their all worne out by now…Some times the widenose cabs are harder to heat because of their large size…
Finnally tha crews hate the earlyer 90’s wide noses because of the desk top conrolls… whitch require them to lean forward at a weird angle because the "nice’ air ride seats dont ajus right. But now because of their crys the “desk top” control is now phased out for a modern rendition of the standerd ARR control stand found in most standerd cabs.[;)]
The so-called widenoses have indeed evolved from the canadian “Safety cabs” of the 70s-present. Most Dash9s and all AC4400s and AC6000s have those desktop controls which , I am told force the engineer to remain in basically one position. The seats of all modern units are a[censored] to adjust! Even a nearly 40 year GE-Alco vet has tried to “reform” seat design to no avail. His recommendation is dump that “agreement” seat, you folks. The best seats (captains[4:-)] chairs, found primarily on ex-SP units) will get to you after an hour or so, if you can’t move around even a little bit! The old “mushroom” seat was a good one, before it would get smashed/torn up by impatient crew people. Another problem is the increasing number of big (or plus size) engineers and conductors. (I should talk, i’ve put on ten pounds in the last year, and love junk food! Then there’s Beer! “MMMMMMMMMMBeer”- Homer J. Simpson)
so widenose cabs are better in the long run if the seats didnt suck?
They just need CP chairs… those babies are nice… go all the way back 
The widenose cabs avery nice but the only beef I haave with them is that when any switching is required or if the crewman must leave the cab and get off you lose sight of the person even with mirrors which are angled towards the nose for this purpose. the construction of the units are better than the older units account of the posts and steel reinenforements in the nose and the visibility is also much better. Also your right the CP chairs are the BEST .
yeah i figured there had to be some important reason that the cabs were changed. is there any reason why the SD70M-2s and the SD70ACE have different styled noses? are there more posts in them or something?
I belive its more electrical stuff.
i see. i figured there had to be some reason the noses became wider. only for electronics and the extra protection posts?
i havent heard of any accident where the cab was crushed in. since the most common accidents seem to be crossing incidents. and in those cases, i’m pretty sure the road vehicle gets smashed or sometimes pushed along the track. like that Ambet Scott incident where she was dragged by the train and made that 911 call while being dragged.
check out this crash…and a cab was crushed…well sorta…
http://www.csx-sucks.com/pictures/?al_head_on.jpg
csx engineer
the ACE cab is just a new style. I made the nose higher in the middle without making for less visability. I dont need to bend over to get in them either!
whoa. the widenose wasnt even damaged. not even the front handrail. how did that work?
One of you said that wide nose cabs would never be used in yard switching.
CN has GP38-2W’s that they use for yard switching all of the time. The yard where I was when I grew up even had an CN SD50 for their yard engine one day … wide cab … full cowled body [:D]
There was a rear end collision at Clinton, Iowa a few years back where the engineer and conductor were killed. A IMRL crew on a UP haulage train ran into the back of a BN local job at about 17mph. The rear car, a tank car, went up crushing part of the nose and crew compartment. It was said that an ice bucket (for drinking water) along the back wall hadn’t been touched.
If I remember right, the tank cars was empty. I’ve been told that if the car had been loaded, it would probably not have rode up into the nose.
Jeff
was the cab standard or widenose?
as for the SD50, did they even make those as cowls? weird. oh well. i prefer hood units
Many C40-8s, HR616s (had to throw that in!), SD50s, SD60s, and GP/SD40-2s were built as cowl units for CN (and CP had their SD40-2Fs)
CN’s cowls were 20 HR 616 from Bombardier, and then 60 SD50F and 64 SD60F from GMD. This was followed by 55 C40-8M, and 26 more acquired by BC Rail. CP Rail bought 25 SD40-2F.
i see. well, hood units looks nicer IMO
The Clinton accident involved a wide nose.
Jeff