07-10-2012, 11:30 AM
Mike Kieran Wrote:Actually, The Milford-Bennington Railroad runs the entire length of its mainline caboose first because there's no sidings on its entire route. The train runs empty caboose first up to the quarry in Bennington and returns engine first to the interchange at Bennington. This is where it would make sense to have a remote controlled caboose operating in a push-pull capacity. If it's a unit train running the same cars, you could conceivably run the MU lines the length of the train and operate the caboose as a cab car, just like on commuter trains (which operate with the engine pushing at high speeds).
Still not quite getting it I think Mike.
Your Milford-Bennington Railroad is an excellent example of using a caboose as a shoving platform.
A remote-control car is very different from a shoving platform. It just has R/C receiving equipment and gets hooked up directly to the locomotive(s) to be controlled. It's not an operating cab like a passenger cab car, it's just an R/C receiver. Freight cars don't have pass-through M.U. connections as freights really are not operated in "push-pull" configurations like commuter trains. And besides, during switching or picking up cars you can't separate the locomotive(s) and remote control car, or you lose that control.