Tracking West
Long Hood Forward
Way back in the day, diesels were first starting to take over, and the "Long Hood Forward" operation was used by almost every railroad at the time. This operation is when the long hood of the locomotive is the front rather than the short hood, and was used as both a safety consideration and because it was similar to how most steam locomotives were built. However, due to the lack of visibility, most railroads switched to short hood running by the time the second generation diesels were being built. A few railroads did continue to regularly use long hood as the main way of running, with the most famous examples being the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & Western. In the modern day, you can still see trains running long hood forward, though rare, it does happen under certain circumstances.
When the California Northern Railroad had received a gypsum train from the UP bound for Artois, the train was facing a problem heading south. Though the train originally had three motors when it left for California, with one of the motors facing east, the east facing locomotive was having problems. Specifically, the batteries weren't holding charge, and therefore the unit could not stay powered on. Although this unit was supposed to lead the return trip, it had to be dropped in Roseville so it could get repaired, and a replacement motor would not be picked up. Therefore, the train would arrive on California Northern with only two west facing motors, running on a line with only one fully intact wye. With the wye also being a multiple hour trip from the train's destination, that left turning the units around out of the picture. When it came time for the train to leave Artois, it was decided that the crew would run the 28 miles to Cortena long hood forward and then pick up a new lead motor that was tied down there. The trip would take a bit longer than usual though, as both of the units did not have rear ditch lights, meaning the train would be restricted to 20 mph. After picking up the new locomotive, a 3GS21B (genset), the train would be able to run at both track speed and not long hood forward.
In the photo, the gypsum is on the return trip as it passes by the Cortena siding. The train had only just cleared the north switch not even a minute prior, and would start to slow down as the genset that would be picked up was sitting at the south end of the siding. The train would be stopped for about a half hour before continuing with the new leader. After getting to the UP at Davis, the genset would be taken off and the UP power would be thrown around the wye before tying down for a UP crew to pick it up later that night.
Long Hood Forward
Way back in the day, diesels were first starting to take over, and the "Long Hood Forward" operation was used by almost every railroad at the time. This operation is when the long hood of the locomotive is the front rather than the short hood, and was used as both a safety consideration and because it was similar to how most steam locomotives were built. However, due to the lack of visibility, most railroads switched to short hood running by the time the second generation diesels were being built. A few railroads did continue to regularly use long hood as the main way of running, with the most famous examples being the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & Western. In the modern day, you can still see trains running long hood forward, though rare, it does happen under certain circumstances.
When the California Northern Railroad had received a gypsum train from the UP bound for Artois, the train was facing a problem heading south. Though the train originally had three motors when it left for California, with one of the motors facing east, the east facing locomotive was having problems. Specifically, the batteries weren't holding charge, and therefore the unit could not stay powered on. Although this unit was supposed to lead the return trip, it had to be dropped in Roseville so it could get repaired, and a replacement motor would not be picked up. Therefore, the train would arrive on California Northern with only two west facing motors, running on a line with only one fully intact wye. With the wye also being a multiple hour trip from the train's destination, that left turning the units around out of the picture. When it came time for the train to leave Artois, it was decided that the crew would run the 28 miles to Cortena long hood forward and then pick up a new lead motor that was tied down there. The trip would take a bit longer than usual though, as both of the units did not have rear ditch lights, meaning the train would be restricted to 20 mph. After picking up the new locomotive, a 3GS21B (genset), the train would be able to run at both track speed and not long hood forward.
In the photo, the gypsum is on the return trip as it passes by the Cortena siding. The train had only just cleared the north switch not even a minute prior, and would start to slow down as the genset that would be picked up was sitting at the south end of the siding. The train would be stopped for about a half hour before continuing with the new leader. After getting to the UP at Davis, the genset would be taken off and the UP power would be thrown around the wye before tying down for a UP crew to pick it up later that night.