The long-long-short-long horn you heard was Morse for Q, apparently done at crossings because that’s what they did in England back in the 19th century to alert people when the Queen was arriving? Please nobody verify this, because I like that story.
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Going backward (“long hood forward”) is scary since you only have mirrors to guide you. Admittedly, the mirrors are pretty big, but the perspective makes it feel everything moves really slow when going back. Compare the mirror and its outside here:pic.twitter.com/WrJntgbCq1
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You have to watch for people and deer, but also make sure the switches are in the right position – like the 1 here – so you don’t end up careening into another stationary locomotive or consist. (I feel pretty proud of using “consist” just like that.)pic.twitter.com/Vxrw3uDH9o
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Stopping is really tricky to get right. The curve is weird – the locomotive doesn’t seem to be doing much for a while, and then stops way too quickly. Only on my 8th run I managed to stop right next to “Malfunction Junction” sign and I felt pretty good about that.pic.twitter.com/pCiUXZANP7
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I’ve been told stopping precisely is probably the hardest part of doing all this. You need to be delicate with cars or otherwise you can damage the cargo, not to mention endanger the people (called brakemen?) doing the coupling and decoupling.
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BTW The Wikipedia page on train coupler designs is, somewhat unsurprisingly, very exhaustive: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_coupling …
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Going forward is easier, although it feels really precarious, with the locomotive feeling rather wobbly? Maybe that disappears if you go faster. This one tops out at 90mph, which I’m told makes it relatively benevolent.pic.twitter.com/EJ0x80dSWQ
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Oh, yeah, if you stop too fast you can literally flatten the wheel, which makes your boss very unhappy. (I’ve heard a lot about unhappy bosses today!)
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You probably already noticed it is REALLY LOUD inside a locomotive. This here is actually in the engine compartment, which is even worse, and this is with the engine just idling. Also, no, that place wasn’t scary at all.pic.twitter.com/EYYBxwWbZv
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Replying to @mwichary
Trains have been electric for ages. Only the Emergency ones use diesel. What poor country has obsolete infrastructure like that?
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