Why on a train do the engines behind the first face backwards?

Question

Why on a train do the engines behind the first face backwards?

Answer 1

So engineer can get from one to the other

Answer 2

Back in the old days of steam locomotives, they had a roundhouse with a turntable to reverse the direction the engine faced.  There are no more roundhouses.  Pull off on a siding, go to the other engine and you are turned facing the direction of travel.

Answer 3

when the train gets to it;s final destination it can be turn back into service either direction because it can controlled by either direction and a greater feild of vision can be used also

Answer 4

Yards will always try to put a locomotive consist together, so that the locomotives on the ends face away from each other.

When the train rolls into a yard, and the consist need to be removed for service or attached to another train, you will have a locomotive already facing the correct direction.

This is especially important for helper units.

Answer 5

The engines in a train can go the same speed and pull as much forward or backwards it makes no difference. That just happened to be the direction they were facing when they were hooked up.

Answer 6

Locomotives are really hard to "turn around".  In an automobile, you know you do a "wye" turnaround or a U-turn.  But it's really hard to find tracks which allow that kind of maneuver!  

Locomotives can function equally well in either direction, obviously.  However, the control cabs are usually set up so the sight-lines are much better in one direction or the other.  It's more comfortable to drive one "forward".

So in a group, they aim the end units "outward" so you can reverse it easily, as long as it stays a group.  The middle units, doesn't really matter.

Answer 7

Usually, only the lead locomotive and the last trailing locomotive are are configured as "back to back" so that all is needed to operate in the opposite direction is to change the controls from the lead locomotive to the last.  This is done so that when reaching destination, the consist can go right on top of another train headed in the opposite direct, without the time consuming delay mentioned above.

The way the intermediate locomotives face is just the luck of the draw.

Answer 8

Diesel locomotives are set up to operate in either direction.  Since the rear units in a locomotive consist are not anticipated to be used as the pilot locomotive, then it doesn't matter which way they face.  Sure, you could turn them, but this takes time for no benefit.  The Norfolk Southern and some of its predecessors used locos with dual contol stands so they could be operated comfortably facing either way.  I don't know if this is still a standard practice in their new locos.