Re: Railroad Trivia

BReeceOGR Forum Member

I am sure that 99.8 % of the members know this bit of information. Last Monday, a few members of my Sunday school class took day trip from Rockwall TX (20 miles N.East of Dallas) to Ft Worth via the Dallas Area Transportation and FT Worth train (TRE). One member was a Railroad Engineer and "Operated" trains for a bunch of years and he is a wealth of RR information.

Example:

On the front side of a Diesel Engine is the letter "F" , to prove it, when a train pulled into to the depot we walked to the front of the engine and sure nuf, there was the letter "F" , to indicate the front of the engine.

Decided to check my Legacy GP 35 Louisville and Nashville and much to my surprise, there is the letter "F" on the front side (both sides), I had never noticed this but books can be written about what I don't know about trains

Brent

1/22/174:59 PM

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Hot WaterOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

Brent,

That letter "F" is a federal requirement, and has been since non-steam locomotives were developed in the 1930s.

1/22/175:10 PM

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B SmithOGR Forum Member

The full reference is: CFR Title 49, Subtitle B, Chapter II, Part 229, Subpart A, Section 229.1.

§ 229.11 Locomotive identification.
(a) The letter “F” shall be legibly shown on each side of every locomotive near the end which for identification purposes will be known as the front end.

(b) The locomotive number shall be displayed in clearly legible numbers on each side of each locomotive.

1/22/175:45 PM

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pennytrainsOGR Forum Member

My W by B GG1 has an F on each side. Problem is they used one stamp for both sides so if the loco is traveling clockwise the F is on the rear. crazy The F should be just in front of the number. Maybe I should ask the caped crusader for help correcting the problem... cool

1/22/179:06 PM

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colorado hirailerOGR Forum Member

Were engineers having a problem starting off in reverse, or what? I guess with boxcabs, early electrics and diesels, you could not tell at a glance which way was the intended direction, but that would have applied to some steam dummies and commuter tank engines before that.

1/22/179:41 PM

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