Operation
Although the crew cabin is centered on some hood units, in most cases the cab is closer to one end of the locomotive than the other, breaking the locomotive up into long hood and short hood sections. It is generally preferred to run a hood unit short hood forward so that the cab is closer to the front, but there is enough visibility in the other direction that they can run long hood forward at regular speeds. Some railroad companies (notably, the Norfolk & Western and the Southern) ordered locomotives with cabs facing long hood forward so that the short hood is actually the rear of the locomotives, but that practice has become increasingly rare. This was usually done to offer greater protection to the crew in the event of a collision. Other locomotives were set up with dual control stands so that they could operate in both directions, making it unnecessary to turn the locomotive around at the end of a run. Some cabless hood units were also built. The long hood ran the whole length of those locomotives. In North America, all locomotives are required to have the letter F printed on the side sill at the end which is normally operated as its front.
Read more about this topic: Hood Unit
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