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Thecab,crew compartment ordriver's compartment of a locomotive, or aself-propelled rail vehicle, is the part housing thetrain driver,fireman orsecondman (if any), and the controls necessary for the locomotive or self-propelled rail vehicle's operation.
Onsteam locomotives, the cab is normally located to the rear of thefirebox, although steam locomotives have sometimes been constructed in acab forward configuration.camelback locomotives often had two cabs; one for the fireman at the rear of the boiler, and one for the engineer on the side of the boiler. Camelback locomotives were built with this configuration to accommodate wider fireboxes.[1]
The cab, or crew or driver's compartment of adiesel orelectric locomotive will usually be found either inside a cabin attached to ahood unit orcowl unit locomotive, or forming one of the structural elements of acab unit locomotive.
Onself-propelled rail vehicles, the cab may be at one or both ends.
The earliest locomotives, such asStephenson'sRocket, had no cab; the locomotive controls and afootplate for the crew were simply left open to the elements. However, to protect locomotive crews against adverse weather conditions, locomotives gradually came to be equipped with a roof and protective walls, and the expression "cab" refers to the cabin created by such an arrangement.
By about 1850, high speedCrampton locomotives operating in Europe already had a much needed windshield giving some protection to the footplate area. Some other early locomotives were even fitted with a cab as part of a rebuilding program, an example being thelocomotiveJohn Bull.
In Germany, the locomotive cab was introduced by the Saxon railway director and writerMax Maria von Weber. However, until 1950 the railway directorates of the German-speaking countries continued to believe that a standing posture was essential to maximise crew vigilance. Steam locomotive drivers, who had to lean out of their cabs for better visibility, therefore frequently developed occupational diseases, along withrheumatism, and electric locomotive drivers suffered from wear to the knees.
This unsatisfactory situation changed—with few exceptions—only with the construction of the Germanstandard electric locomotives, which for the first time were equipped with crew seats. Meanwhile, the maintenance of crew vigilance became possible by technical means through the use ofSifa devices.
Media related toDriver's cabs at Wikimedia Commons