Big Boy locomotive

A friend gave me a plastic model kit (non-running) of a Big Boy locomotive. I couldn't believe how long the is after building it. How can engineers see the track ahead?

jeffmorris said:

How can engineers see the track ahead?

Click to expand...

Now you know why so many train wrecks happen?

Even if they could see pretty far down the track, good luck trying to stop what a bigboy is hauling in time.

Really, a railroad relys on all members of the "team" to get the job done, and safely. The engineer can only do so much.


Can't stop, even when you try. The other engineer jumped, but quite late.

Well the real reason is miscommunication of information between the conductor and dispatcher. The conductor gets his train orders from the dispatcher and the conductor is responsible for telling the engineer what to do and how to coordinate the movements of the train to get their job done as quickly and as safely as possible.

There was a locomotive similar to Big Boy that was turned around 180 degrees and the cab is now at front.

You're probably referring to the SP Cab Forward AC-12.