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The short hood of a
The short hood of a hood unit
A hood unit, in North American railroad terminology, is a body style for diesel and electric locomotives where the body is less than full-width for most of its length and walkways are on the outside. In contrast, a cab unit has a full-width ca ...
-style diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...
is the shorter of the two hoods (narrower sections of the locomotive body in front and behind of the cab) on a locomotive. The short hood contains ancillary equipment, frequently a chemical-retention toilet
A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste (urine and feces) and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting p ...
for crew use, and may contain a steam generator for heating older-style passenger cars.
Styles
High
Normally, the short hood is the front of the locomotive, and may be referred to as the locomotive's "nose". Originally, this was not the case; railroads preferred to have the long hood leading, for additional crew protection in a collision, and because it was the familiar mode of operating steam locomotives. The requirement for increased visibility conflicted with this and ultimately gained precedence. Many locomotives originally had a short hood the full height of the locomotive (a high short hood). This gave extra equipment room and was often used to house a steam generator.Low
Once the short hood was established as the front of the locomotive, manufacturers began to offer a low short hood (also referred to as the "standard cab" or "spartan cab" design), which was below the level of the locomotive's cab windows and allowed for center windows for better forward visibility. They are commonly referred to as the "nose" of the locomotive now. Many older locomotives were modified to have a low short hood and were referred to as chop-nosed.Full width
More recently, it has become the standard for the locomotive's nose to be built full-width, instead of having a narrow short hood. This is officially known as a "safety cab" (sometimes "Canadian safety cab" since Canadian railroads were the first to specify these) and is often, but inaccurately, described as "wide cab" by railfans and others (the cab is no wider; it is the nose or short hood that is wider; therefore the term wide-nose cab should be used).Great Britain
In Britain, almost all locomotives have two cabs, however some olderEnglish Electric
The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, made munitions, armaments and aeroplanes.
It initially specialised in industrial el ...
or British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...
designs have extended cabs with a strong resemblance to a "short hood" at both ends (usually referred to as the "nose" or "bucket"). Examples include the Class 37, Class 40, Class 45 and Class 55. Some single cab designs did have American-style short and long hoods (known as "bonnets" in Britain). Examples include the Class 15 and Class 16.
See also
* Long hood {{Locostyles Locomotive parts