Class 66 (among many) - which end is which?

[thenudehamster]

Before anyone tells me, I know that pretty well all modern UK diesels - even those built across the pond - don't technically have a 'front ' or a 'back', being equally efficient in both directions. They have an 'A' and 'B' (or no.1 and no.2) ends for maintenance identification; this I know - but DCC control of model versions needs them to be defined, so the Command Station knows which way is 'forward' and which is 'reverse' - and so do I for that matter.

 

To make life easy for me, mine will have the 'A' (or no.1) end as 'forward' - but which end is that? Is the exhaust at the front or the back of the loco when the A end is forward? Are the two large grilles on the right-hand or left-hand side?

 

Come to think of it, how does one tell the difference on any UK (or elsewhere, for that matter) two-cab Diesel? Or electric?

[jim.snowdon]

Conventionally, the A end was the radiator end and, presumably, the end where Forward on the traction controller equated to the reverser in the traction equipment being in forward. It's rather less obvious with twin engined locomotives, especially as, with duplicated traction equipments for each engine/bogie, one was always in forwards and the other in reverse.

 

Jim

[Garnock Raider]

The rad is at the 'wee cab' end on a 66, which, by BR convention, would make the 'big cab' the no.2 end. But the Americans may have different conventions.

[TravisM]

25 minutes ago, Garnock Raider said:

The rad is at the 'wee cab' end on a 66, which, by BR convention, would make the 'big cab' the no.2 end. But the Americans may have different conventions.

 

In North America, as there is only one cab usually, the cab has a small letter F on the frame by the front steps.  If it has two cabs, the small F is still there at one end to indicate the front and number one end.

[96701]

3 hours ago, jim.snowdon said:

Conventionally, the A end was the radiator end and, presumably, the end where Forward on the traction controller equated to the reverser in the traction equipment being in forward. It's rather less obvious with twin engined locomotives, especially as, with duplicated traction equipments for each engine/bogie, one was always in forwards and the other in reverse.

 

Jim

Indeed, I cannot identify A and B ends on Deltics, Westerns and Falcon.

[big jim]

66 are back to front as the electrical end (big cab) is the No1 end and the rad end (small cab) is No2 end, to make things even more fun all pipework inside the loco is grey as opposed to different colours for different fluids, the power handle also pushes away from you when opening up for power, the reason being they were designed for right hand side driving and the solution to the problem of the centre pedestal controls being on the wrong side once the driver was on the left was to simply rotate the whole pedestal 180% 

 

class 70 have a primary (electrical end) cab and a secondary (rad end) cab, the primary end houses all the MCBs, engine start buttons, parking brake lever etc, the other end just has a few circuit breakers on the bulkhead

 

iirc 67s are conventional i.e No1 end is the fan/rad end, not 100% sure as ive not driven one for a while

Edited March 7, 2019 by big jim

[101]

1 hour ago, big jim said:

 

 

iirc 67s are conventional i.e No1 end is the fan/rad end, not 100% sure as ive not driven one for a while

 

Been a few years for me as well  Jim but I'm pretty sure the 67s are the wrong way round too

[Steadfast]

Class 59,66 and 70 all have the radiator end at the rear, or reversed to UK usual convention, as the guys above have said. However, if you look at it as a US loco with an extra cab bolted on, it's the same as they have, with the radiator at the back of the loco.

 

Jo

[ardbealach]

On my DCC controlled layout I use the 'F' word in what is the Forward end in my diesel locomotive fleet.  The roof Fan is at the Forward end of the locomotive.   I cannot say if this works for all diesel locomotives and roof fans.  A DMU set is still a bit of a trial and error for forward and backwards, although the marker lights do help.  (AM)

[johnb]

I've a small terminus to fiddle yard DCC operated layout with EMUs and diesels and I've set things that forwards is from f/y to buffer stops. However I like to operate my 2car EMUs without all having the guard/luggage area at the same end, so I vary them so that the end that I designate forward has an orange dot underneath at the 'forward' end. Then I simply modify CV29, easy on NCE Powercab as it does the CV29 twiddling for you.

 

I've done the same with the diesels that I operate, but then I'm not using Class 66s and such modern stuff!

 

Not my initial idea I hastily admit, I helped with friends layout that did this, as it's an exhibition layout is does make things easier, particularly with new operators.

 

John

[Bill Radford]

DRS have been very kind with the 68s & 88s - the end numbers are on the doors!

[JDW]

8 hours ago, johnb said:

I've a small terminus to fiddle yard DCC operated layout with EMUs and diesels and I've set things that forwards is from f/y to buffer stops. However I like to operate my 2car EMUs without all having the guard/luggage area at the same end, so I vary them so that the end that I designate forward has an orange dot underneath at the 'forward' end. Then I simply modify CV29, easy on NCE Powercab as it does the CV29 twiddling for you.

 

I've done the same with the diesels that I operate, but then I'm not using Class 66s and such modern stuff!

 

Not my initial idea I hastily admit, I helped with friends layout that did this, as it's an exhibition layout is does make things easier, particularly with new operators.

 

John

 

 

I do the same, John.  I use those little coloured round stickers, attached underneath to somewhere near the "front"/"forward" end of every loco/DMU so I know which way around it goes, and like you to avoid having everything the same way, some have had their direction reversed.  For me, "forwards" is towards the station, and "reverse" is to the fiddle yard, I think because way back the direction arrows on the buttons on the controller were F = right to left and R = left to right, and it made sense for the trains to match the controller.

 

Another benefit is that I can easily see if an item of stock has a decoder or not, some that doesn't get used often doesn't have one, and sometimes i just forget I fitted one!