Cabs of loco's in a consist?

[Evan]

Hi,

I was watching a Pentrex video a friend lent me last night, and something made a question mark form.

My question: when loco's are in a consist, do the crews put anything on in the cabs of the unmanned loco's, such as a heater? It struck me that they would be awful cold cabs when a crew eventually mans them. (The video I watched had a LOT of winter scenes from Denver). Do they have to worry about anything freezing?

I also read somewhere that the noses of the larger loco's (SD60's etc) have a toilet in them. What happens to the waste?

Thanks

 

[Dave Flinn]

I'm strictly guessing here; but most, if not all, cabs have heaters. I don't know how long it would take to warm up a cold cab; but my guess is they would not turn them on unless the cab was occupied. I have also heard and read that sometimes other crew members will ride in one of the "other" cabs, too; and I imagine they would turn on the heater if needed.

I suppose the toilet waste gets dumped at a terminal, just as a passenger car; but, again, I am just speculating.

 

[csxengineer]

heaters

Most of the newer engines have a toilet heater to prevent freezing. Most older units have sidewall heaters which warm the enginer, and a blower to circulate the heat. In the winter, even with all on, a gp-40 is still very cold. We usually have to put duct tape by the doors to stop the draft. If an engine is dead in tow, we drain the water to prevent freezing. The wide bodys warm up quick, unlike an sd-40. As for waste, a LST truck (don't know what it stands for), cleans out the toilets. Sometimes the chemical dissinfectant smells worse than the poo.

 

[csxengineer]

toilets

All engines have toilets. Ask someone about NS back in the day when they had only a bucket and bag. Rumor has it, you had to "go" in the bag, and since farmers used to complain about finding bags in their field, NS required you to keep your bag with you until the next terminal.