|
Aggieland | I used to live near a spur where they would frequently utilize it to let higher priority trains pass (90% of the trains in this track all went south, and they would leap frog a train headed the same direction). I’ve personally witnessed the DPU on a unit train of coal push in the slack on the couplers from the rear when getting the train moving again. It’s my understanding that the engineer can control each unit independently from the head end.
I had a radio scanner and would frequently listen to them talk. One time they left an engine in the siding idling for a week on the north end of the siding right behind my house. One night about 10pm a southbound train came creeping by and then proceeded to back in the siding to grab that loco as a DPU. It was fun listening to the conductor and the engineer go through the process of linking the engine to the head end. The conductor was obviously in the cab of the DPU and the engineer gave him instructions and such. Punch this code here, push this button etc. Then the engineer remotely raised the throttle and the conductor confirmed it and began his mile long walk to the head end. They called into dispatch that they had cleared their air test and had the unit hooked up and within about five minutes she came back giving them green signals and off they went.
Another time around 11pm a train with three head engines and one rear DPU broke down but was too long for the siding. The engineer was mad as hell on the radio as they were talking about they didn’t have the proper HP/Ton weight ratio with one engine down and that he would have to tie down the train after splitting the crossings and catch the limo to San Antonio because they would clock out on hours before a spare unit could be brought in from Hearne 20 miles away. That engineer went back and forth with dispatch saying it was a dead battery on the train but he was going to try it one more time etc. About three minutes later he comes back and said he had it going and was requesting green signals. Dispatch gave him the go. I can tell you with utmost certainty that he did not get that engine going. When he took off the DPU on the rear was screaming full tilt trying to get that train rolling and it took him a good while to get some speed. I think he decided he wasn’t waiting on the limo and it was fairly smooth terrain heading south to SA so they gave it a go.
Caleb | |
|
Railroad Question
