08-19-2011, 11:06 AM
Steamtrains Wrote:...Could you please explain how that shoving platform works..?? ...A shoving car runs at the front of a train when the engine is at the end and the distance the train is to be shoved is to far to have a switchman hanging at the first car. The switchman on the shoving car talks via radio with the engineer in the engine. Most shoving cars are old caboose with all windows closed and the guy is standing on the front platform. Another often seen version is an old flatcar with a simple "box" on top. This shoving car is a very special solution BNSF uses only in the LA area with the very special climate permitting to run it without any protection for the switchman. 100 miles east he would be grilled. It is a very local car.
update: west/east corrected
Reinhard