Should the A end or the B end of a freight car be going in the forward direction? Is there any protocol?
None that I know of…
If there was, then the turntables would be spinning day and night. 
I am just OCD enough to watch for this on passing trains and videos…It does not matter. I would imagine the amount of time it would take to get all the cars turned into the same direction would make setting up a consist a very difficult task.
I just asked my engineer buddy. He says for most freight cars it doesn’t matter. Most are in the same direction because that’s the way they came out of the factory and they have never been turned. Cars that the A or B end would matter are ones that have special loading doors or load requirements.
Terry
Mark V said:
I am just OCD enough to watch for this on passing trains and videos…It does not matter. I would imagine the amount of time it would take to get all the cars turned into the same direction would make setting up a consist a very difficult task.
I asked because I’m suffering from OCD too!
On a similar note, is there a protocol about length or weight?
Too funny Joe!
For the record…I line up all my cars with the brake wheel trailing because it was the way I did it as a kid with HO.
I’m guessing on a small narrow gauge ‘point to point’ the cars spent their entire careers lined up in the same direction.
Now if you will excuse me, I need to go re-arrange my train shelves in order of car number…
Mark,
We understand each other. I do it that way too, but I do it because the brake wheel is on the B end and B comes after A!
Length is what ever the loads will bear, while the weight seems to be normal at 100,00 tons. But, there are exceptions to every rule.
Joe Zullo said:
On a similar note, is there a protocol about length or weight?
Joe,
There are very strict rules about blocking trains. Length of cars, loads/empties, hazardous materials, etc. All that stuff keeps the yardmasters and switch crews busy.
Craig
Makes no difference other than “B” marks the end with the hand brake. “F” marks the front. However, locomotives with dual control can run with either end foreward.
Hmm I didn’t know about a B end or a F end but I too generally set up the brake wheels to run towards the back because it just seems right just like I setup cabooses with the cupolas towards the back. In real life caboose cupolas probably just land whereever they do. This dilemna adn great cause for crew concern was probably why the cetner cupola caboose was invented.
What happens in a point to point line where the back now becomes the front when the loco runs around?
I assume thats why I see two locos with a cab in opposite directions somewhere in the consist. At NC Transportation Museum, we simply back the train up with the caboose or observation car on the rear and he brakeman watching the rails and manning the Conductor’s brake
CL Beeson said:
Makes no difference other than “B” marks the end with the hand brake. “F” marks the front. However, locomotives with dual control can run with either end foreward.
Umm I’ve ran plenty of single control stand locomotives “backwards”. All you do is turn the chair around. The “F” is only to signify what is the front of the locomotive, and it has no bearing on how the locomotive runs. the “F” is used to signify what is front and back, much like the A and B ends of cars. As for when a train gets to the end of the point to point line, the locomotive is simply run around the train, and the locomotive is ran long/short hood forward. Other wise if no run around facilities exist, then a shoving platform (aka a caboose) is provided for a crew member to provide protection. Remember you don’t have to steer a train!
“Ahead Back up” See if you can figure that one out or “Shove Ahead”
The GN, and NS had/have long hood units designated as the front.
Craig Townsend said:
CL Beeson said:
Makes no difference other than “B” marks the end with the hand brake. “F” marks the front. However, locomotives with dual control can run with either end foreward.Umm I’ve ran plenty of single control stand locomotives “backwards”. All you do is turn the chair around. The “F” is only to signify what is the front of the locomotive, and it has no bearing on how the locomotive runs. the “F” is used to signify what is front and back, much like the A and B ends of cars. As for when a train gets to the end of the point to point line, the locomotive is simply run around the train, and the locomotive is ran long/short hood forward. Other wise if no run around facilities exist, then a shoving platform (aka a caboose) is provided for a crew member to provide protection. Remember you don’t have to steer a train!
“Ahead Back up”
The GN, and NS had/have long hood units designated as the front.
In a brakeman’s(mine) mind by just turning the seat around you are backing up or shoving whereas switching control stands, you would be going forewards. We don’t change control stands unless we have to during normal operation where I Volunteer. Plus, I am only a certified brakeman and been engineer on steam under NCTM’s At The Throttle program.
The only real hard and fast freight car protocol I know of is really hazardous/flammable/explosive loads like naptha, gasoline or dynamite had to be a certain number of cars away from the locomotive or caboose – even if they had to add empty cars to the train as “idlers”.
Locals were often made up so that switching cars out at the various sidings was faster and easier. Loaded front, empties rear was usually (but not always) done on undulating track to reduce the chance of stringlining.
Haz mat cars must be buried 5 deep from the last trailing loco in a consist. Also from last car in rear of train. Later RJD
CL Beeson said:
In a brakeman’s(mine) mind by just turning the seat around you are backing up or shoving whereas switching control stands, you would be going forewards.
Ah see you’re thinking like a brakeman, not a hoghead Class I’s don’t like to hear the word pull and shove because they think it is ‘unsafe’. Instead ahead and backup are the only words allowed per the rule book… But when your running a SW unit backwards (F is on the long hood, and coupled to cars) it’s much easier to teach the new hires to just say pull and shove. Only one way to pull, only one direction to shove. Telling the hoghead to backup to go in the forward direction (pull) is counter intuitive.
“Ahead backup?”
“Well do you want me to go ahead, or backup?”
“Ummmmm”
“Pull?”
“Yah pull 20 cars…”
A and B ends? I thought that I knew it all. You can learn something each and every day.
Dan Padova said:
A and B ends? I thought that I knew it all. You can learn something each and every day.
A & B ends are used to identify the axle locations as well… Now a 5 pack of intermodal cars goes something like this A end has a brake) A,C,D,E,B… Wells C, and B might also have a brake