Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

This is a concept that I considered in 1967 when I was allowed to ride on a local freight.

The operator could operate switches, open couplers, attach brake hoses, etc. and not have the problem of standing in view of the engineer around obstructions.
He would also be able to precisely judge closing distance and speed to reduce ramming railcars or stopping short.

so how good are the remotes? how long is the delay between pushing to buttons on the remote and the loco response?

bigphilliestyle2000 wrote:so how good are the remotes? how long is the delay between pushing to buttons on the remote and the loco response?

I've used them and it takes a little getting used to but it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I would say the delay is negligible..maybe a half second at most, not enough to make a difference. They are very handy when switching cars and there are safety overrides galore. If the unit is tipped (as if the operator were to fall over), a warning tone sounds and if no action is taken, the train is put into full braking and comes to a stop. The same applies if the operator sets the train in motion and does nothing else with the remote pack for 45 seconds.

BNSF (the remote control I learned on) limits their trains to 10 mph while operating on remote control, probably best when you are operating a deadly RC "toy".