Cab forward
The term cab forward refers to various rail and road vehicle designs that place the driver's compartment substantially farther towards the front than is common practice.
However, the crew's prospects in the event of a collision are worse, and if the driver and fireman are in separate places it is difficult for them to communicate, just as in autotrains.
In Germany, Borsig in Berlin built a one-off streamlined cab-forward DRG Class 05 (serial number 05 003) 4-6-4 in 1937, with further development stopped by World War II.
Fueled by pulverized coal and with the firebox at the forward end, this loco was built with huge driving wheels, 2,300 mm (91 in) in diameter.
Instead, he extended the locomotive frame behind the cab, placing a four-wheel truck beneath the water tank and coal bunker.
In conventional Whyte notation, this resulted in a 0-4-4T locomotive, but when run in reverse it was effectively a 4-4-0T, with the track stability of that popular wheel arrangement, along with unobstructed visibility for the engineer, and improved dispersal of smoke and steam.
Large numbers of Forneys served in New York City, Boston, Chicago and elsewhere, but were superseded at the end of the nineteenth century by electrification and the development of subways.
The 39 long tunnels and nearly 40 miles (64 km) of snow sheds of the Sierra Nevada could funnel dangerous exhaust fumes back into the crew compartment of a conventional locomotive.
There were concerns about what would happen to the crew in the event of a collision, and at least one fatal accident occurred on the Modoc Line in Herlong, California when a moving locomotive struck a flat car.
This innovative engine was built by William (Bill) Thomas, the NPC master mechanic who was nationally known[7] and holder of a number of patents.
With the addition a new and unusual marine water tube boiler and an all-steel cab, installed in reverse order from standard engines, this unique creation earned Thomas a patent on the locomotive design.
Although it reportedly steamed well, though with a sooty exhaust, the crews found it difficult to operate, and with fears of the possible results of a collision they dubbed it "The Freak".
Porta proposed a 2-10-0 cab-forward, triple expansion, modern steam locomotive for fast-freight work for the ACE 3000 project.
[10][11][12][13] The company did not call it cab-forward, but the Pacer's layout placed the passenger compartment farther forward than was typical to that time.
The Pacer's "wide track and cab forward design actually lets it handle pretty well" given its body roll like competing contemporary models.
[18] Likewise, the Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Cirrus have a hood that is wider than it is long because engineers established a goal of packing the engine and everything else that is located ahead of the passenger compartment into a much smaller space and then the designers developed the car's outer body to offer more interior roominess than competing models in their size class.
