The "thingie" behind the fireman's side was the air brake distribution valve. Located under the cab in steam locomotives, it was displaced by the fuel tank in the RS-2s. It may have been placed in the cab at first; I know it wasn't visible on the first of them. In the cab, th noise of the exhausting air would have been horrendous, so it went out on the back porch. The RS-3 and all subsequent designs slung the fuel under the belly of the beast, replacing the batteries and allowing the brake equipment back into the cellar under the cab -- along with the batteries. The difference in the windows was probably an attempt to improve visibility which didn't work particularly well, so later designs standardized the size to match the door windows. Randy Brown - -------------------------------------------------------------- List: I recently noticed, for the first time, that Erie RS-2s used in and around the New York / New Jersey commuter areas had some sort of equipment located outside and behind the fireman's side of the locomotive. What was this for? Additionally, I see the front engineer's windshield and fireman's rear windshield were of a considerably larger in surface area when compared to an RS-3. Any clues as to why the difference? Page 64 of Willam Brennan's "Trackside in the EL NJ Commuter Zone" clearly shows these two items. Henry The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List Sponsored by the ELH&TS http://www.elhts.org ------------------------------
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