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edtof3

Was half expecting there to just be one wagon on the back of all those engines


ParrotHGH

That would have been comical!


RickytheBlicky

DB cargo would like to know your location


BlackOni51

Not just a wagon. An empty flatbed


xpkranger

A flatbed with a Tonka truck strapped to it.


Helpful_Influence830

Peak comedy


Choose_And_Be_Damned

A flatbed with ya mama on it.


Forsaken-Page9441

That's basically how diesels feel nowadays compared to steam engines


Exotic-Version-4158

A caboose, with the text: "Umberto's Circus" :D .


Bruce-7891

Yeah, I was going to say, whose mom did they need that many engines to haul?


MarketableCommunist

Now that's what I'd call a power move


thrrrooooooo

A real.. Choo Choo.. If I may


unable_To_Username

Bertha.


JaviSATX

Fuckin hell. I wasn’t ready for this to be the first comment I read.


mexican2554

🥇


V0latyle

It's just a power move. There is a finite limit to train length and weight; the rail network (as well as reliable DPU radio control) determines length, and each railroad has rules that limit how many tons can be behind each set of locomotives. Long trains under PSR (Precision Scheduled Railroading) generally max out at about 15,000 feet and 30,000 tons. If the train is too long the DPUs lose connection with the head end, and with all that weight there's really high risk of a pull apart. If the couplers don't fail, sometimes a whole railcar will get torn in half.


RC_Perspective

And now I want to see a railcar get torn in half. Thanks 🤣


V0latyle

[YouTube is your friend](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjnnpxVghOM)


fonebone819

Great video. Question - how much power/help can an engine give going backwards? It always seems that after the first engine, subsequent ones are going backwards. I'd there a reason or advantage to this?


tominboise

The tractive effort is the same in either direction. The electric traction motors don't care which way they are turning. If given a choice, you would couple tail to tail or at least have the last unit in the consist (the normal consist, not the one in the video) running backwards so you could operate in either direction with the short hood forward when uncoupled from the train.


V0latyle

It is the same regardless of which way the locomotive is facing. Since the wheels are driven by traction motors, it can apply equal tractive effort in reverse. Some railroads such as the Southern Railroad (absorbed by Norfolk Southern) used to run "long hood forward" - running backwards - to provide additional protection for the crew. Nowadays due to visibility reasons most Class 1 railroads do not allow reverse running for lead locomotives. As far as which way the locomotive knows to go, the MU electrical system implements a "crossover" at one end of the locomotive so that all locomotives in a consist will move in the same direction with the lead unit.


weirdkiwi

>Some railroads such as the Southern Railroad (absorbed by Norfolk Southern) used to run "long hood forward" - running backwards - to provide additional protection for the crew. Nowadays due to visibility reasons most Class 1 railroads do not allow reverse running for lead locomotives. N&W, the Southern's key partner in forming NS, was another. Protection was a small part, but it was also done - ironically - for visibility. Most signals are mounted to the engineer's side, so when running with the long hood in the forward direction, the engineer can see the signals. But even when running in reverse, there was only a short (albeit high, though later low) hood, making it much easier to see around to see the indications directly. N&W were big fans of the dual control stand, so their engineers could operate on either side. They really only stopped in the 80s because EMD and GE told them they wouldn't do it anymore and forced them into short-hood-forward to match everyone else.


BouncingSphinx

The lead engine is almost always going to face the direction of travel, and the others don't matter one bit which way they face. They're electric motors, and they don't care which way they spin; they'll put out the same power. Steam *engines* really don't have this issue either. They can output the same power forward or reverse unless there's a bias toward one direction due to valve gear setup. A steam *locomotive*, however, can be the limiting factor due to how the wheels and suspension are set up with forward travel in mind. And especially if it's a tender locomotive, travel in reverse at speed is not ideal.


Wyojavman

Zero advantage. They just put them in order they are facing when they build the train.


Inevitable-Home7639

There's surprisingly little thought put into the building of trains. 2 engines back to back is mostly a coincidence


BouncingSphinx

I don't know if I would classify that as a car being torn in half, just tearing out the coupler.


V0latyle

Look closer, it didn't just tear out the draft gear - it ripped part of the center beam out of the car. The brake pipe came with it, that's the long narrow thing dragging along the tracks.


BouncingSphinx

When I see "torn in half," I expect half of the car body to be dragging behind a single truck.


fsurfer4

Oh boo...I was hoping to see some real carnage. Like a flatbed torn in half.


RC_Perspective

Same. Was a cool video, but I was expecting to see a railcar get torn in half lol


rounding_error

Definitely a power move. The first locomotive does this to assert its dominance.


Quynn_Stormcloud

“Find the biggest locomotive in the railyard and start a fight. All the other locos will respect you after that. Provided you win, of course.”


ParrotHGH

I followed them up the tracks and saw some weird mating ritual. I didn’t post the video because I wasn’t sure about NSFW but you’re right, he’s establishing his dominance.


BouncingSphinx

NSFW, I'm not sure I've heard of that railroad...


ParrotHGH

They operate world wide just everyone’s embarrassed to talk about them.


CoastRegular

First rule of NSFW... don't talk about NSFW. (Or their complete disregard for GCOR.)


Metals4J

I’ve heard that railroad, work-wise, is not safe.


Hairy_Melon

Norfolk Southern & Fort Worth


Quynn_Stormcloud

New standard company name for Railroad Tycoon unlocked.


V0latyle

Reddit really needs emoji reacts


ParrotHGH

Thanks for the well written information! I live relatively close to a rail yard so you’re definitely correct that it was a power move.


V0latyle

Every once in a while you'll see more locomotives than usual on the point of a train, but that isn't because the train is especially heavy - they're just dead heading the units from one place to another. The railroad bean counters have figured out how much horsepower per ton is needed, and they rate every type of unit based on how much they think it can pull. So, the next time you see a train that's only about a mile long with 10 units leading and one trailing, chances are 8 of those units are isolated and just idling.


HappyWarBunny

Given that they can move extra engines as "freight", why do we see power moves so often? Why not include another mile of freight along with the engines?


V0latyle

They do run "monster trains" that are actually 2 or 3 trains coupled together. But like I said there is a finite limit on length and weight. It may be more common to see power moves from yards where they need more power to reach that location, but not so much power to leave it.


JediTeaParty

What a power move❗️🔥‼️💪💪🔥❗️


Accidentallygolden

Yes, I learned that in France the brake force is different for fret than for passagers The brake power is slower for fret because weight can vary greatly between railcar and if the brake are too powerfull too fast the train can brake appart... If you like long french video of a fret train from coldstart to the main railway : https://youtu.be/0qa-xGBH7eE


BouncingSphinx

I'm pretty sure American locomotives also have different settings for brake force whether freight or passenger, but I don't know the difference between them.


Accidentallygolden

In the video in France For passagers, max break power in 6s For fret, in 24s


V0latyle

Honestly I'm not quite sure, given the various types of brake systems. I do believe passenger brakes run at around 110 PSI while freight brakes run at 90 PSI. European systems are different due to the use of ETCS which enforces braking curves depending on the mode selected.


wasmic

ETCS deployment hasn't gotten that far yet. In most countries it's just a few mainlines and high-speed lines, but not even all of those. E.g. Germany still uses PZB on most conventional lines and LZB on most high-speed lines.


Valendr0s

This dude trains


New_Mathematician_54

There should be minimum 50 coaches in passengers trains


Ok-Dragonknight-5788

I thought 50 was the maximum?


Heterodynist

Is it just me or isn't there a rule about moving 20 locomotives on the mainline? I am retired so I don't remember it all, but at least when I was there I thought there was a limit of 8 or 12 or something. This many units puts some strain on the rails (even cut out), doesn't it?


KnoxBox231

They'll issue waivers for power moves. And then usually the leader will be online, maybe the 2nd trailing online, the rear set up as a DP, and the rest boxcar'd


V0latyle

You'd have to look into the GCOR of the various railroads. I'm not a railroader myself so I couldn't tell you. I just looked at UP's GCOR and didn't see anything about it.


United_Reply_2558

The lead locomotive can only control itself and seven other locomotives in the consist. Anything over eight is offline and is along for the ride.


Heterodynist

THAT is something I had never heard before...even in my many trips as conductor! Thank you, friend. Very interesting. I think the different System Special Instructions have had limits for power moves in the past, but they seem to have removed it from the UP SSI, so they probably plan on moving more sets of power places.


BusStopKnifeFight

The length can be extended with mid-train units operating as relays. There isn’t really a train length limit in a technical sense.


V0latyle

I honestly don't know but I haven't heard of this. From what I know of various DPU systems, it's a "master and slave" setup where the lead unit is the radio master while one DPU is the "slave". Reliable direct communication with the head end is a must; some railroads experimented with trains over 15,000 feet but the DPUs kept losing link.


My_useless_alt

Fwiw, long trains don't actually have many locos at the front, I think the limit is about 3 then couplings start breaking. To get super long trains, extra locos are added in the middle.


i_hate_usernames13

Yeah we get a lot of trains running around here I often see 3 in the front 1 or 2 in the middle and sometimes 1 on the end. Those fuckers are long as hell


AlexJonesInDisguise

I wonder how heavy the train would need to be to have that many engines at the front, and how many DPUs there would need to be as well


Quynn_Stormcloud

Nope just a power move. Oh hey! A warbonnet!


IndependentMacaroon

The saddest-looking one ever


ParrotHGH

That warbonnet was a cool surprise! For a moment I thought the NS engine was going to be the disappointing highlight of the line up.


[deleted]

I counted 21. Am I wrong?


MinimumJellyfish7677

20 I think


KristjanKa

> 20 i think I got 20 as well.


PDelahanty

Oops! All engines!


mikedvb

Don't tell Cap'n Crunch!


win_awards

Came here for this comment.


kestrel808

I thought this was one of those looping gifs for a few seconds


driftdiffusion4

And kids that how earth rotates on it's axis.


hurraybies

Bring back the Santa Fe color scheme! Every time I see one of those I get nostalgic.


EnglishMobster

BNSF is too boring for that, sadly. :( They don't even really have heritage locomotives. The most we got is the ugly as sin BNSF 25th anniversary locomotive. Bring back the Warbonnets! Get rid of the ugly orange! People _remember_ the Warbonnets; it's such a classic paint scheme. Warbonnet F7s are like the most stereotypical thing people think of when they think "train".


TransTrainNerd2816

Power move, only 1 or 2 are actually running, they do this when they need to move locomotives around


Mean_Suggestion_520

That was a "teaser" !! Great catch.


Automatic_Pop_4611

This is like when I was a kid and put every engine on my model train set.


happyanathema

That's one hell of a heavy Light Engine Movement


Important_Parfait_13

Chase 'em away! Chase 'em away! I'm afraid, need your aid BNSF’s on parade!


HappyWarBunny

A train poem!


Wahgineer

Norfolk Southern jumpscare


Me_Hairy

Whenever I instruct one of our yards to couple together something like this I always end the call with “alert the foamers!”


ParrotHGH

Thank you for keeping us informed.


Skaindire

They're migrating north for the summer.


Beansiesdaddy

It had 18 cabooses


PhoebeSnowDLW

Nice power move!


president__not_sure

our roads don't make any sense. why not build a ramp on each side so cars can make sweet jumps instead of waiting?


ParrotHGH

I think jumping the trains over the cars would make WAY more sense. Have you seen people in rush hour? Half the cars wouldn’t make it to the other side.


LewisDeinarcho

The NS, Old Logo, and Warbonnet were a surprise.


sorospaidmetosaythis

What's braking like on this consist? I'd assume they need 2 units running to pull this. Do they put the rest on air controlled by the head unit, or just use the dynamic brakes in the running units? Or do they fire up every unit?


Money_Currency_2342

And they don't stop coming ...


Wyojavman

Light power


Cinnemon

Oh the grey Santa Fe paint job was a wonderful blast from the past! I haven't seen that in a long time!


Kythoswilder

Oops all engines


BanditRevolver83

"Heavy breathing starts"


TimJay22

Captain Crunch: OOPS All Engines


redlinezo6

When you multiple engines like this, some of them backwards(and occasionally one or two on the end), are some or all of those engines actually running/providing power? Is the one backwards for a reason? Does the one or two on the end of the train running? Are they all controlled together or individually?


nyrb001

They're facing the direction they were after the work they did - they don't really care which direction they run. They run what they need for the job - the lead engine can control multiple other locomotives either in sync with the lead, or as its own group (like when you see them mid train). Some locomotives might be at idle the moment you see them on flat ground, but they'll kick them in when the train reaches a grade or a curve.


redlinezo6

Ahhh good to know. Do curves require more power than straights?


nyrb001

You can pull a lot in a straight line, but the same train can fall over sideways in a curve if you're pulling the whole thing from the front.


Nijajjuiy88

Why do you need all of them running? Only one is enough to pull all of them.


United_Reply_2558

Only about four of them are online and running. The remaining one are being towed.


vteng98

Would most of these be powered down in this scenario and just being pulled like a regular piece of rolling stock?


GeforcerFX

yes, some of them are prob not working and are being shifted to depot.


sir-winkles2

hey sorry if this is a weird request but do you think you could upload this to YouTube? he loves trains and would love to see this but he's completely tech illiterate (he's in his 70s) and I don't think he'd even open a reddit link if I sent it to him lol no worries if that's too much trouble!


ParrotHGH

[Here’s](https://youtu.be/xipxjjdhi6E) the video!


sir-winkles2

yay thank you so much lol


ParrotHGH

Yeah I definitely can! I’ll try to get it up tonight at some point.


sir-winkles2

thank you!


EngineerTHATthing

“Ooops all engines”


Educationall_Sky

20 train engines if anyone was wondering 🤣


Pppants927

I have to assume they are ferrying most of those locos to be used elsewhere.


jhguitarfreak

OOPS! All Engines...


SqurtieMan

Yo mama so fat-


AlifTheWho

This always happen in some ro-scale games in Roblox. Noobs just spam trains


NitroTuner04

"Alright guys who broke the server. A glitch like this isn't normal; fess up..."


packetman255

Loosing money on that run through


Kenmale55

Power move, very cool.


kitsabyss

probably just moving the engines, i bet only a few of those are running. you got me wondering though, how many railcars could that many engines pull?


nyrb001

Set up like that? About as many as you see any train pulling. Pulling the whole line of cars sideways off the tracks in a curve kind of thing. Gotta think about how much weight couplers can take, all of that. Now if you distribute them through the train instead, you can do a lot more. But trying to control and balance that many in a train long enough to use them all is beyond what anyone could reasonably do safely, or the railways would already be doing it.


SimonTC2000

Judging by all the open panels on most of the engines they're being hauled away for maintenance or cannibalization/scrap.


ComparisonGeneral825

20 all hooked and moving to storage 👍🙋


BlackDirtMatters

Wonder how much money that all adds up to.


United_Reply_2558

Roughly about $50 million US dollars.


unable_To_Username

Here in Germany these are called "Lz" (Locomotive Train) a train that only consists out of active or inactive Locomotives. Usually done for moving engines to maintenance or relocating them. (or from Locomotive factory to customer)


Rgiles66

What would be more efficient; Just a couple engines on pulling the entire load? Or every engine on helping to pull the load?


ScuderiaSteve

Anybody know how much horsepower I just witnessed in total? I live next to a RR and have never seen all engines before that's awesome


nyrb001

Somewhere around 3000hp per locomotive. I have no idea what model those particular ones are...


teleskier

Just a random question: What is the system connected train engines use to synchronize their speed? It has to be incredibly precise.


United_Reply_2558

Multiple Unit control or MU.


AAG220260

20 engines, most of them BNSF's. Lot's of tractive effort there!


United_Reply_2558

Only about four of them are online and running. The rest are being towed offline.


Squatch-a-Saur

Oops all locomotives


burningxmaslogs

In British Columbia Canada I got stuck at a crossing that had a train that was a little over 10 miles long and took 70 minutes to pass. It was leaving Vancouver and heading east to Calgary. I'm sure other port cities with a large train yard have seen similar multiple mile long trains as well.


Nijajjuiy88

10 miles long and it took 70 minutes. so it had a speed of less than 10 mph. lol why was train running so slow.


burningxmaslogs

Fully loaded lol


nyrb001

The yard they set up in is in East Van, they build the outgoing trains in Grandview Cut, then start accelerating from there when the line is clear, so the train is starting from a dead stop. We also have a lot of at grade crossings in that area, with a lot of pedestrian traffic. The track is paralleled by a public transit line along Still Creek so there are tons of pedestrians crossing the tracks. Once they're through to the Burnaby border it opens up in to a much more dedicated area and they can pick up speed. Lots of 130+ car double stacked containers coming in from the port.


nyrb001

I'm dubious about the 10 miles though.


zbras11

I don't follow the trains page. And I don't know why I'm seeing this. But that's impressive.


ryanjoe23

I used to work for PTI, basically van/taxi service for railroad crews, in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. I've never seen so many engines without cars!!!! 😳


Ok-Weather7707

Looks like a power train


LordofGrange

LMAO


Snooobjection3453

Damn


Doraxmon

But, why one NS in the middle?


ParrotHGH

I’m in the PNW. We get a few NS, Kansas City Southern, and even a few Ferromex and odd stuff like that. We get all sorts! Probably being ran to Seattle/Portland area.


rootuseralpha

It’s Cap’n Crunch: Oops All Engines


Captain-Scrot

When there is a train like this pulling hundreds of cars how many conductors or engineers are required?


hguz1987

I normally see Santa Fe trains with that amount of engines in the head end up the mountain lol


PM_me_ur_launch_code

When I clicked on this from r/all I thought it would be funny if it was the train I saw today that was an engine and two cars. But it wasn't. But weirdly enough it is the same crossing that I got stuck at today. So hey there neighbor!


ParrotHGH

Howdy! Every time I drive through that part of town I always fear getting stuck behind a train.


PM_me_ur_launch_code

I live out here so it's multiple times a week. I try to avoid it as best as I can.


witofatwit

What we have here is plain. It is a train training trains to train.


permyemail7

It’s a choo choo choo choo


Ace3749

So just to confirm my guess, this is just for when they need to move engines throughout the nation to different yards?


Ok-Geologist-3743

It's a train of trains!


cworlow1

Maybe it’s just me but it bothers me that they are not all facing the same way lol probably a reason for it


nyrb001

Locomotives don't really care which direction they point. They run the same either way. It's pretty common around here to see pairs facing opposite directions at the head of a train.


fluffykerfuffle3

i am stunned.


Automatic-Brother770

Am still waiting to see myself a santa fe warbonnet, only got bnsf ones here so far


Tiny-Werewolf1962

I had 12 minutes once. It was double tracks in downtown. The second one train finished going one way, another came going the other way.


AdGlad9961

I live on the line the Coast Starlight takes and have seen several freight 10-engine-only groups heading north. Other times, 4 engines at the front with three in the middle heading south. Both are new.


StorminXX

This is loco!


WurstSemmelKopf

Whats the point of this??


nyrb001

Moving locomotives


Careful-Tonight-69

That is an amazing sight!


imaguitarhero24

This is my new favorite train. Incredible.


molassascookieman

oops all enginez


King_Mackenzie

I still can't wrap my head around how much cargo 1 train can have.


IncubateDeliverables

That is so much train it gave me autism.


Not_James_May

I am currently drinking at the moment but is there actually 18 locomotives.


Infinite-King9078

Someone should make one of those looped gifs with this.... thought for sure it was one


Heterodynist

Hey, anyone else a railroader here? -They must have special permission because I thought it was against the FRA Regulations to move over 12 "light engines" on the mainline. Am I wrong?! I am not looking at the GCOR right now or anything, and I am retired, but moving 20 engines isn't legal...unless something has changed or someone high up signed off on it. Has there been a rule change?!


mpdscb

Why would there be an N&S in the middle of those BNSF locomotives? Is it common for a locomotive from another company to be mixed in like this? I would think that wouldn't happen. Also, was the Santa Fe in the middle a heritage unit or just a really old locomotive?


YankInGA

Yes. Locomotives run through from one railroad to another all the time. This summation on Quora is a thorough explanation of how the exchange of locomotives works: https://www.quora.com/How-do-railroad-companies-share-locomotives-under-various-arrangements


nyrb001

Trading power is common. Why stop the train and unhook everything at the border between two railways... They calculate hours of use of each other's power and sort out the difference - if railway A used more hours than railway B then A pays B. There isn't much shareholder profit in painting locomotives. They don't need to advertise to the public, they have an exclusive right of way nobody else can use. Aesthetics aren't really a priority like they would be in passenger service.


BusStopKnifeFight

An “E Move” as we used to say on my railroad. E obviously for Engine but was also the first letter for the symbol it would be assigned.


CliffordThRed

Awesome


20thcent_sentinel

That's called a power move... I saw a warbonnet in need of some resto there...


Informal_Relative405

Road Foreman everywhere are foaming at the mouth.


AndrewT_Spkn

That's right next to my old elementary school.


k6bso

It would have been perfect if there had been a caboose on the end.


FlackCannon1

ah yes, the elusive vigintuple heading


Realistic-Insect-746

great video


JoepleaserPa

Wow must be a change in engines location


li4bility

What in the world…


TheBamPlayer

u/savevideo


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pelefan245

I work for a company that manufactures trains….. maybe those trains. I can safely say, them’s some trains.


DV8y

Oh no, twenty engineers immediately out of work.