I’ve always been fascinated by hood units. They don’t have the smooth curves and straight lines of the streamliners and they weren’t always put on the premier passenger trains, but when it came down to it the hood units were the ones to finally kill off steam.
The interesting thing about hood units, the GP7 and 9′s, the RS-1′s, and others, was their flexibility. The visibility out the back windows created options that were not available in the “covered wagon” world of F and E units. This lead to the development of the “road switcher” and created an interested by-product called running long-hood forward.
Long-hood forward might be a familiar term to fans of the Southern and Norfolk and Western, but it has fallen out of favor in recent years and I thought it would be fun to look back on the history of the practice.
The Beginnings
The standard design of the steam locomotive led to the development of the locomotive cab in the rear. While cab-forward steam did exist, it was the exception to the rule. The locomotive boiler was said to be a benefit to the crew, providing protection in the event of a grade crossing accident.
The first diesel locomotives turned this old practice on its head, putting cabs in the front behind new streamlined windows. These locomotives also had interior access to the diesel engine and a body that took up the full width of the car body.
Hood units were original developed as a type of yard switcher. The cab was designed to give engineers more visibility for switching. European locomotives typically kept the cab centered but North American locomotive builders would commonly put it to one side, creating the long hood, which contained the engine, and the short hood which contained other auxiliary systems. Some locomotives also had low short hoods for better visibility moving forward.
With the option to run locomotives both ways some railroad decided to run long-hood forward in order to increase crew safety. Unions liked the measure for that reason as well as providing a compelling reason to keep a fireman in the cab. Signals on the left side were harder to see for the engineer with the long-hood in the way. Locomotive builders appeased these railroads by building special dual-control stands and designing locomotives that could easily be operated each way.
Death of a Style
Eventually newer and wider “cab-style” units would begin to end the practice of running long-hood forward. More modern desktop controls would also make it more difficult for engineers when operating in the other mode. The Norfolk and Western as well as the Southern Railroad were the most well-know supporters of long-hood forward. The practice lasted on these railroads well into the early days of the Norfolk and Southern.
While not as common as it might have been in the past, the practice of running long-hood forward still lives, as sometimes operations and track layout preclude turning a locomotive. Earlier tonight I was taking some photography of the Columbus Line and caught CSX 2645, a GP 38-2, running long-hood forward. Some say it’s the way God intended.
that can be found at all the usual used book sources. I picked it up from my university library and would recommend it.
