Question: What do the numbers and letters mean on the side of the cab of Union Pacific Challenger 4-6-6-4 No. 3985? — Ben Fairbank, San Antonio, Texas Answer: 21 – 21 4-6-6-4-4-69 ————— 404 UP […]
Section: Ask Trains
Ask Trains: How did railroads use classification lamps and flags?
Classification lights on Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern SD40-2 No. 6090. David C. Schauer Question: When a train displays color flags on the engine indicating “Extra” or “Second” section, how is that information used in the operation of the railroad? — Robert Miller, Hernando, Fla. Answer: A complete answer is available in Trains’ online “ABCs of […]
Ask Trains: What is the purpose of unpowered axles in modern diesel-electric locomotives?
BNSF Railway ES44C4 No. 8338 works at the lead of a freight train. The locomotive’s C4 trucks have only two powered axles in the three-axle trucks arranged in a powered-unpowered-powered arrangement known as A-1-A. Tom Danneman Question: What is the purpose of the A-1-A C4 truck on the BNSF Railway Evolution Series diesels, and how […]
Ask Trains: Why do certain locomotives have reporting marks for different railroads?
What appears to be an Omaha Orange and Pullman Green Great Northern Railway EMD SD9 in 2017 actually is a BNSF Railway unit that had been built in 1959 for Chicago, Burlintgon & Quincy subsidiary Colorado & Southern. For several years, BNSF has assigned Great Northern “GN” reporting marks to some older diesels generally assigned […]
Distributed power braking
BNSF Railway distributed power pushes an eastbound empty coal train at Hathaway, Mont., in June 2014. Tom Danneman Q In two recent issues, Trains stated that distributed power helps maintain trainline air for brakes. How can this be without giving up lead unit control of the brakes? – Jay Noyes, Lowell, Ind. A In distributed […]
Modern streetcars
A low-floor Alstom Citadis light rail vehicle for United Arab Emirates has minimal truck components so it remains closer to the street. Steve Sweeney Q In the August 2015 issue of Trains, the article on Alstom light rail mentioned continuous low floors as a design feature. How does Alstom make this work? – Jack Munro, […]
Lake Allatoona line relocation
A Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis train crosses the Etowah River, soon to be Lake Allatoona, in December 1944. CSX Transportation now operates the line. Trains collection Q Which issue of Trains featured the article about a line relocation on the Western & Atlantic, an early Louisville & Nashville predecessor, at Lake Allatoona, near Cartersville, […]
Ask Trains: How do train crews earn their pay?
A Union Pacific local train passes through suburban areas near Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., in October 2017. TRAINS: Steve Sweeney Question: How do trains crews earn their money? — Lee Martens, Rifle, Colo. Answer: In short, it is complicated. There are differences between how most Class I railroaders are paid and their short line colleagues — […]
Ask Trains: Will Precision Scheduled Railroading affect Amtrak timekeeping?
Siemens Charger SC-44 No. 4632 leads Amtrak train 391, the southbound Saluki from Chicago to Carbondale, Ill., on the Canadian National Centrailia Subdivision, after passing the coaling towers that were built for the then Illinois Central Railroad in 1949. 18302-27 Jim Pearson Question: What effect, if any, will the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading by […]
Ask Trains: How Triple Crown trailers withstand train forces without standard freight cars
A Triple Crown trailer train heads westbound out of Huntington, Ind., in September 2015. 15273-21 Randy Olson Question: I occasionally see Triple Crown semi-trailer trains on a route that runs near Decatur, Ill. Since these trailers are attached directly to one another and are not on flatcars, how are the frames of these trailers reinforced […]
Ask Trains: What is the function of the spikes in this picture?
Golden spikes are popular, and have long been used as symbols of completing an important railroad construction project. In October 2018, officials drove multiple gold-colored track spikes into a new industrial park track in Kalispell, Mont. Important as they are as symbols, the spikes in this ceremony were not intended to function as standard railroad […]
Drovers’ caboose
Missouri-Kansas-Texas drovers’ caboose No. 350 shows off the car’s extra length. The cars could accommodate extra riders overseeing livestock shipments. Harold Schupp Q Where, in the train’s consist, were drovers’ cabooses placed? Were they at the rear with the regular caboose, or somewhere in the train’s consist near the stock cars? Were they used only […]
