Two engines

Has there been any noticeable changes in doubleheading practices lately on other routes? Haven't seen hardly any on UP/W lately, not even on trains 71/16; just wondering if its a systemwide thing or not...

doepack wrote:Has there been any noticeable changes in doubleheading practices lately on other routes? Haven't seen hardly any on UP/W lately, not even on trains 71/16; just wondering if its a systemwide thing or not...

It happens on occasion on BNSF, but train #1251 has seen the double header. No real explanation as to why this run would need 2 engines and its the second train to tie up at Hill at the end of the day. 1247 which had been running with 2 engines for a few months has been only running with one for the past few weeks.

MetraBNSF wrote:

doepack wrote:Has there been any noticeable changes in doubleheading practices lately on other routes? Haven't seen hardly any on UP/W lately, not even on trains 71/16; just wondering if its a systemwide thing or not...

It happens on occasion on BNSF, but train #1251 has seen the double header. No real explanation as to why this run would need 2 engines and its the second train to tie up at Hill at the end of the day

Actually, that's not a bad idea, they can fire up the protect unit from Hill for a rescue mission later in the evening rush if necessary. In fact, didn't this exact scenario play out recently when an evening inbound broke down at Lisle (unit 194 I think)?

Meanwhile, doubleheaders have returned on UP/W 71's weeknight runs...

Everyone: Does METRA operate any trains with two engines with one at each end of a train?
Can they be trainlined to operate together or will one have to idle along?
I rode a LIRR Montauk train today 2/9 that had two DE30s-one on each end of the train-with a 6 car consist.
The LIRR is short on bilevel cab cars I believe.
When METRA operates trains with two engines is one being ferried as a spare in case of a breakdown?
MACTRAXX

Metra normally just runs two units together rather than on each end of the train. If they had to, a loco could be put on each end of the train and MU'ed to run in sync by using the 27 pin cable that is used for the cab cars.

Though I haven’t heard of a bi-level train with a loco on each end happening on Metra anytime recently, it did happen at IRM with their bi-level commuter train a few years ago. The engineers’ brake valve on the cab car developed a problem rendering it inoperable for the rest of the day. It was an extremely hot day and the bi-level train was one of the very few places at the museum with working (well sort of working in this case) air conditioning available for visitors. So rather than pull the train out of service and leave the visitors with one less place to cool off, the stopgap solution was to take a second engine and couple it to the cab car end (though the locos weren’t MU’d, but the crews of the other trains didn’t know that….) and use the cab car just as a regular coach. So once underway with an F7 on one end and an E9 on the other end and only three bi-level cars; comments started coming over the radio from the other trains like “jeez do you guys think you have enough horsepower for that train???!!!!)

I've never seen such a train, with locomotives at each end. I've heard of putting the following train's power on a failed train, but never set up like an Acela with power at both ends in normal operation. I've seen one pic of RTA F40PH couple back-to-back in early days, with Amtrak bilevels or RI Jesse James cars trailing.

Edit: a picture example of a disabled train with borrowed power at the Chicago end. Great pic by Shane Deemer.
http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/7 ... 237979.jpg

There was some special a few years back on one of the north lines, where all the cars were older "private varnish" with no cab car, so there was an F40 on the end because there were no turning facilities at the trip's destination.

That special that ran over MD-W did not have F40's on both ends, rather they ran elephant style in order to run around the set of cars.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 855&nseq=5
Also:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 27&nseq=60

I have never seen any Metra train run with a locomotive on both ends, except for this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpGYw_0GKAA
However, that was not a revenue run.

That's not elephant-style. Elephant style is how Amtrak and Via mostly couple, where the trailing locomotive is coupled to the lead facing in the same direction. What we have pictured above is "back-to-back". Amtrak seemed to couple their power this way pre-Genesis era.

This morning (02/16/2009), MILW-West train 2220 had 183 MU'd with a boom-box.