Double ended UP freight

[SuperFudd]

Today I saw a Union Pacific double ended freight go through Union City California north bound on the Coast Line. It had a large loco (or two?) on the lead of the container train and one large loco on the rear, facing rearward with it's light on. I have wanted to do that in Trainz but figured it would not be right. It seems that it is right. Sorry I can't ID the locos better but I am mostly a 1950s kind of guy. If it helps, they were yellow.

 

[illinoiscentral]

They were probably ES44AC's given the running style.

 

[StorkNest]

You could do that in the 1950s, given the diesels around, you could use more. There were coal drags with a few locomotives on front and a couple or three pushing. Most I read about were special mail/trailer traffic on NYC routes that had 8 of the most modern for the time diesels leading, never heard of trailing units. Have seen pictures of up to 6 units and you can mix types, even certain railroad lines in the same consist for power pools, recent mergers that have not repainted, some railroads that have headquarters located someplace you wouldn't think of so they run trains there for special occasions.

 

[Therock]

Today I saw a Union Pacific double ended freight go through Union City California north bound on the Coast Line.

It's called a DPU, Distributed Power Unit. BNSF and UP have been doing this more and more with various types of trains as of late. In the early 2000's it was not uncommon to see coal trains with a few engines on the rear in addition to the front. It's an efficient way of working around steep grades and avoiding coupler breakage, but I personally think it just looks stupid when the rear unit is facing away from the train in a TGV-esque way; keeps you from knowing which end is the front if it's stopped unless you can spot a FRED.

 

[Euphod]

Haven't we all seen about every possible combination of engines and rolling stock? I don't think there's ever a right or wrong way...

 

[Tiger313]

*snip* but I personally think it just looks stupid when the rear unit is facing away from the train in a TGV-esque way; keeps you from knowing which end is the front if it's stopped unless you can spot a FRED.

Trains without tail lights, now that looks stupid. Trains with a cab on each side look darn handy.

 

[Therock]

Trains without tail lights, now that looks stupid. Trains with a cab on each side look darn handy.

Of course, if you get a backlit shot at a location, you can always get the going away shot in good light... mind the FRED, but it isn't all that handy when you're driving by a yard picking out which trains you'll be able to plan for when you don't even know what direction they are going.

 

[Tiger313]

Ah but that's where tail lights and head lights are for, no? Trains here always have lights on, even when stabled overnight and in the rail yards.

 

[backyard]

A train without a marker on the rear, is a cut of cars...it's not a train until it gets a marker on the rear.

You won't see locomotives coupled to a TOFC train because the cars can't take the force against the rest of the train..

Stacks are a different matter. They can take the lateral force of a pusher in curves.

Auto-racks & TOFC cars require a certain number of regular cars between them & a pusher or mid-train slave...then it becomes a mixed-manifest freight.

Red flags you see around construction sites & on the rear of wide-loads on the highway with tapered ends on the handle(flagstaff) are designed to be placed on the hole through the knuckle on a coupler are a type of marker for locals, but FRA rules say that some way of measuring air pressure at the end of train is required.

Flashing rear-end devices(EOT for end-of-train) transmit air pressure & the signal is used to measure distance from the lead locomotive using a radio frequencies assigned to the railroads.

F.R.E.D. is a name that was originally used for EOT's but the inventor copyrighted the name so railroads quickly removed any reference to the name.

Some roads require a manned pusher to be reversed against the train, some do not, BNSF has been known to change their rules.

I used to run cabooses with every model train however in Trainz I found that switching is much easier without a cab.

 

[Therock]

Ah but that's where tail lights and head lights are for, no? Trains here always have lights on, even when stabled overnight and in the rail yards.

Yes, but when both the front and back of the train have their lights on dim (which is how they are typically set if not turned off on the front end) then both ends of the train look exactly the same except for a small gray box attached to the coupler.

 

[Darkrider]

I have heard of some U.P. locomotives with cylinders that produce TWICE as much power as a chevy Silverado on Extreme Trains. Does anyone remember the class?

 

[jkinzel]

Haven't we all seen about every possible combination of engines and rolling stock? I don't think there's ever a right or wrong way...

At our age Ed, I think we have seen it all and what I haven't seen, maybe I don't want too.

 

[Rusty1955]

Brother in law works for UP. He said the reason is two-fold they are doing this. the main reason is MONEY!. He said they save a lot of money on fuel by having a pusher engine. Lastly, the extra power for moving heavy loads in mountainous regions.

 

[Tiger313]

Yes, but when both the front and back of the train have their lights on dim (which is how they are typically set if not turned off on the front end) then both ends of the train look exactly the same except for a small gray box attached to the coupler.

Not here they don't!

They may have dim lights on, but still have front white light and tail red light. When they're parked they only have a single headlight and a single tail light turned on.Sorta just like a Mercedes-Benz car fitted with parking light option.

 

[norfolksouthern37]

I have heard of some U.P. locomotives with cylinders that produce TWICE as much power as a chevy Silverado on Extreme Trains. Does anyone remember the class?

id say all of them.

 

[StorkNest]

I should mention local freights on the Northeast Corridor run with one locmotive on front and back, this is due to how tightly the NEC traffic is run and allows the local to not take up track for run-arounds that would interfere with passenger trains. Haven't heard that done elsewhere but doesn't mean it isn't.