Western Railroad Discussion > the lonely DP unit

My how the times have changed! There was a time when the railroad locomotive on the head end had some sort of personality in the perception of the general public. That same general public would often get a glimpse of some lordly figure up in the cab of that locomotive who would respond with a friendly wave. The same situation applied to the rear end of a freight train that had a caboose with real live human beings in it. And those living, breathing, smoke-belching locomotives usually had even greater personality in the eyes of the adolescent contingent of that general public. Picture this: A train can be heard approaching some kid’s neighborhood in good old Anytown, USA. A very excited “little Johnnie” jumps on his beloved Schwinn Flyer and pedals as fast as his little legs would allow, down to the depot or maybe some crossing to watch that great big train roar by. Hopefully he could get down there in time to get a melodic toot on the whistle and a wave from the engineer or fireman. And if it was a freight train he would of course have to count the cars, waiting for the caboose which would usually have another lordly figure up in the cupola distributing the same friendly waves.

And this ‘personality perception’ of locomotives & cabeese even carried over into the diesel age. I can remember countless times over at Grandma’s house when 3 or 4 of us cousins would drop everything and make the dash on foot up to the Santa Fe depot to see a train go by. And getting that wave from a friendly crewman was always sweet icing on the ‘chocolate cake’ of our getting to see the train up close.

Today interaction between the general public and “the train” has changed a great deal. Modern locomotives now have little or no personality. Instead they have tinted windows which are usually shut against outside weather conditions. As a consequence the friendly wave from a lordly figure up in the cab has become all but extinct. Besides, the general public went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The average general public motorist waiting at crossing has nothing but annoyance, or worse to deliver to some passing train (and its crew) which is blocking their forward progress. And in the last 30 some-odd years the poor caboose HAS become extinct. Who wants to wave at some damn mechanical device with a flashing light on it? And now, on increasing occasion there is what’s now known as a “DP” locomotive back there where the general public has been used to seeing nothing but a flashing light. By now the public pretty well knows there is nobody in those DP units. Nobody to exchange waves with. But that doesn’t soften the perception. Now-a-days about all the general public knows when a DP unit goes by is: “Good, that damn train is finally out of MY way!”.

It must be a very lonely job being a modern DP unit…

1. UP 6359 is the DP unit bringing up the rear of a westbound autorack train just west of White City, KS. There’s no way to know in this image, but that DP is still adorned in SP paint. Sunset supplied by the Land of OZ.
Photo date: March 16, 2016.

Thanks for looking at a DP!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/17 12:18 by santafe199.

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I saw a EB UP train on Beaumont Hill yesterday Lance, and it looked like your DPU, One UP unit leading empty Autorack cars.

Lance, you are becoming to the western board what Martin Hansen has become to the steam board.  And WE appreciate it.  Thanks for the great stories and the great photos.

Rich

Lance,
Stop it! I can't take this much good stuff. My head may explode. My eyes are googley already.
Gonut

What a gorgeous picture, Lance! IOTD or IOTM
(if TO did that latter), fer sure! And I really
enjoyed your whimsical and touching story about
the changing landscape of our beloved trains,
and that lonely DPU. In SP paint? Awesome!
Thanks, again, for another great story.

Very nice Lance, you the man.

Gonut1 Wrote:
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> Lance,
> Stop it! I can't take this much good stuff. My
> head may explode. My eyes are googley already.
> Gonut

LOLOL! ROIFL!! I agree!

Very nice...!!

Very NICE shot and story. Not like it was when I was young when everyone was friendly. Miss those days!

Larry

The Doppler effect from a DPU locomotive almost give it a sad sound as well,,Dim headlight not as excited as Bright..

Great shot, Lance!

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer