When road switchers (GPs, SDs, etc.) first were produced, many railroads (Great Northern, New York Central for example) chose to run them long-hood forward. The belief was that the long hood provided more safety for the crew in case of an accident (running into an automobile at a grade crossing or running into another train).
When the low short-hood option came along around 1960, many railroads began running engines with the low short-hood in front, feeling the increased visibility was safer for the crew in the long run. However, Southern and N&W continued to run long-hood forward.
