Thursday Proto Photo, Sep 24/09

[The Donkey]

I really liked Bob & John's pics of the CSX shoving platforms. Lousy to say how things have
come since the caboose, but I still had interest in them, as my modeling plans are current
day. The scale test car pics above made me wonder about a pic I got about 3 years ago,
& it turns out it's the same as Bob & John's. (ignore the exaggerated blur, the train was going
close to the 60 MPH speed limit, but my cam makes more blur w/pan shots on overly cloudy
days.) It was on the tail end of an eastbound Autorack train.

[wm3798]

So the air horn is directly behind the crewman's head?   

Lee

[asciibaron]

So the air horn is directly behind the crewman's head?  

shoving platform is a misnomer.  these will convert any locomotive into a remote control cab unit.   the remote control equipment connects up like a regular MU'd unit, but since MU doesn't control bell and horn, the platform has these items.  it's far cheaper to build these and then MU a loco than to make a remote loco - adds flexibility to the fleet.  

i have not seen these used in reverse moves with a crew in the loco, but i'm sure they could be used like that.

[Lenny53]

shoving platform is a misnomer.  these will convert any locomotive into a remote control cab unit.   the remote control equipment connects up like a regular MU'd unit, but since MU doesn't control bell and horn, the platform has these items.  it's far cheaper to build these and then MU a loco than to make a remote loco - adds flexibility to the fleet. 

That makes so much more sense, but it reminds me of the "robot" cars that were used when unmanned mid-train helpers were first tested out.