Originally Posted by
nerd
I took train
#244 yesterday from ALB-NYG. Why was there a MARC car on the front of the train, ahead of the locomotive? It was this one,
#7745 :
I should have checked to see what was on the back of the train since that's the front of the train on the return trip NYG-ALB.
As I understand it, the cab car is used as the lead on some trains as a safety precaution. so that the engine crew would be able to exit through the front door of the car in the event of an accident. Amtrak apparently looked at using some retired FL-9's for this purpose, but that would have required that an exit door be cut into the nose of the unit.
You can find more on this subject at the following website, where the Amtrak forum has an ongoing discussion on this subject:
railroad.net