CALNNC posted:Well, other than nebulous explanations, there were a few answers that were informative. Something along the lines of this is what I was looking for, and it does not end up with only the need to know your territory:
Nebulous explanations? Wow. The fact is that the need to KNOW YOUR TERRITORY is the #1 qualification for running a train over a particular piece of railroad.
You can read the book on how to operate a locomotive and get the instructions quoted in your reply, but that doesn't qualify you to operate a train over the railroad.
smd4 posted:So...you should go fast over the grade, but you can reduce throttle if the wheels slip?
In other words...the locomotive is operated using the engineer's judgment?
LOL - great response!
Gee....who would have thought that the engineers judgement and experience would be a part of this.
Dieselbob posted:...I'm sure a good engineer is just like a good farmer, heavy equipment operators, pilots or race car drivers. The feeling they get through their butt tells them 75% of what they need to know about what's going on. Big machines talk to you and tell you what they need, you just have to be tuned into what they're saying.EXACTLY. And how does one learn to understand what the machine is trying to tell you?EXPERIENCE.
I think a lot of you folks think this is a much more precise process than it really is.
If a division requires helpers, it's because of a grade. Getting up a grade requires horsepower. How does a diesel locomotive develop its maximum horsepower? By putting the throttle in the 8th notch. If that's too much power, causing the wheels to slip, then you back off the power a little. It's not rocket science.
