What is the purpose of the tender doghouse

I really love steam engines that pull tenders with a doghouse on them. But what is their purpose? Why do only a few tenders have them and most importantly, what's inside the doghouse? Just wondering.

I have head manny reasons for the dog house. My uncle (employed by the B&O) told me that in certain counties in a regime of the country requires them on the tender for a brakeman to use while going threw their counties, that what he heard. He also said that is where they would send the crewman who had a odor or gas problem. Not sure that is all true or part off.

One I heard was that it was for the conductor to ride in when a helper was pushing on the caboose. I know that some roads had rules against pushing on a caboose at all and the caboose was actually cut loose and coupled behind the pusher for the trip up grade.

On the N&W, it was to provide shelter for the Brakeman. To my knowledge, there was never any hesitation about pushing on a caboose.

As for what's inside; a seat, probably a hand tool or two, and maybe a lunch pail. They were used on all N&W "A's" and "Y's". At the very end of the steam era, the J's (even the 611; I have a picture) had a dog house.

I can tell you from experience, there ain't nuthin' inside 1630's doghouse but a small bench seat.

It's cramped, a rough and sometimes dirty ride.

The view's pretty nice, though.

Rusty

A  semi-comfortable spot for the head-end brakeman, I'm guessing, to watch the train. Some of the older European train cars seemed to have brakeman doghouses everywhere.

On the helper/caboose subject, I think there were rules for older wood-underframed cabooses. The helpers had to cut in ahead of them for obvious reasons.

No problem with the steel-underframe ones, although thinking about all that power squashing your ride would still be intimidating Ah reckon.

Brakeman's Doghouse on the N&W's "Water Buffalo" Mountain type[3rd Rail model].

I don’t recall where I read it, but the doghouse was a regulation/requirement to protect the brakeman from the weather.

The doghouse...

That's where my wife sends me when I play with trains for too long

Hi Folks,

    I read, somewhere, that it was a special place for Snoopy to ride!!

Take care, Joe.

That may have depended on the particular state involved. Also, some states, back in the day, had a more aggressive "full crew law", which required an additional Brakeman (sometimes positioned on the headend and sometimes in the caboose). Also, many Head Brakemen preferred to ride in the "Dog House" as it was much quieter and cleaner with less vibration. Many railroads had heat in the "dog House" for winter months, such as PRR.

I really love steam engines that pull tenders with a doghouse on them. But what is their purpose?

The purpose of a dog house was to provide a seat an shelter from the weather when a third seat was not available inside a locomotives cab.

Why do only a few tenders have them

Most road locomotives had a seat in the cab for the head end brakeman.

most importantly, what's inside the doghouse?

A seat for the head end brakeman. 

Hot Water pointed out that

Some states, back in the day, had a more aggressive "full crew law", which required an additional Brakeman (sometimes positioned on the headend and sometimes in the caboose).

Here is Washington State law from the 1950s.

It shall be unlawful for any . . . corporation . . . operating any railroad . . . in the State of Washington . . . to operate over its road or any part thereof, or suffer or permit to be run over its road outside of the yard limits, any freight train consisting of twenty-five or more cars exclusive of engine and caboose, with less than a full train crew consisting of six men, to wit: one engineer, one fireman, one conductor, two brakemen and one flagman .  - See more at: http://www.atg.wa.gov/ago-opin...sthash.pzPznNgD.dpuf

And here is where each crew member would normally ride on the train:

Engineer:  Locomotive Cab

Fireman:  Locomotive Cab

Head Brakeman:  Locomotive Cab or Doghouse

Conductor:  Caboose

Rear Brakeman:  Caboose

Flagman:  Caboose

Before radios the head brakeman and the flagman had the critical duty of walking ahead of and behind the train with their flag, fusees or lantern and track torpedos to protect their train if it was stopped on a main track that it did not have authority by time table or train order to occupy.  This could happen for any number of reasons.

If an air hose failed, sending the brakes into emergency and stopping the train, it could cause a delay in clearing the main line for a superior train.  The head brakeman and flagman would head out to protect the train as the rear brakeman and conductor fixed the problem.  When the conductor notified the engineer that the problem was fixed the engineer would whistle in the flagman.

All of the men in train service might also be needed to pass hand signals to the engineer if the train was long enough to prevent the engineer from directly seeing a brakeman who was coupling or uncoupling cars away from the locomotive.  Curves and line side trees or buildings often made this necessary.  Standing on car top running boards to pass signals was common.

Radios, especially transistorized portable radios, have made railroading more efficient and much safer.

Very interesting tidbit of info, I grew up next to a SP&S brakeman, but never really knew much about what he did other than he liked to fish and sort of adopted me as his fishing partner when I had permission to go.

Ron

If your neighbor worked in the steam era on the SP&P he likely spent some time in a doghouse.

On the NP, the doghouse was for the forward brakeman when one was required. It provided better visibility of the train.  The NP doghouses were equipped with a heater (i.e. radiator) that was supplied with steam from the locomotive.  (I would also think there was a brake valve to dump the air and set emergency brakes, similar to that in a caboose cupola, but I do not know that for a fact...) 

Eminent NP conductor Mr. Warren McGee once remarked to us at an NPRHA convention that the doghouses on the W-3 class tenders "were a pretty good place to take a nap..." 

By the way, Warren is still with us and in assisted-living in Livingston, MT. He turns 101 years old on September 7.  

when there wasnt room in the cab for a head brakeman to sit some railroads provided a doghouse for him to sit. it also provided a observation post to view the train. on the prr the smaller doghse had a seat and on the long distance tenders their longer doghse had a bench seat you could stretch out on usually with a caboose cushion. An engineer of the time spoke of while scooping water on the fly..if they didnt like the guy they would make sure the tank over flowed giving the guy some real wet shoes !! they were heated by a steam pipe heat from the engine. again the crew in the eng could make life miserable by shutting it off or turning it up. My source told of having to climb over the coal load to .......discuss the matter !  john

The A was designed, built, and run by the N&W. It is a 2-6-6-4 and arguably the finest steam engine ever built! It ran fast freight, heavy passenger, and double headed on drags.

The sole remaining example is the 1218 currently at the Va Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Va.

Here's a great picture of the Lionel 1218 A. You can see the doghouse on the tender.

The KCS also used them, and in a less-common position on the side of the tender,

against the fuel bunker.

KCS Bull Moose (2-8-8-0, that is); this is one seriously good-looking steamer, BTW:

Wow Warren is still with us. He is a wealth of knowledge for the Northern Pacific Railroad. I enjoy his fantastic photography and witty paraphrases.  His work will always be remembered.

If any one would like to see a railroad town that is frozen in time, you have to go to Livingston Montana.  A Beautiful area. Yellowstone is really a fun time. And if you are a railroad enthusiast visit this Museum....

 The Yellowstone Gateway Museum

Here's one you don't often see

Yup, I knew better. I fat fingered it. Got Z1b on the brain. Thanks.

Adriatic -

Yes - note the KCS Bull Moose doghouse "on the side" above; same idea as the SP, different side.

I was too busy looking at the steamer & forgot to look Sorry. 

(You loved seeing it anyhow)

I was reading long ago about boiler explosions and recall a brakeman's experience whereas he was in the doghouse on a tender, heard a really big 'boom' and got out and looked forward. All he saw was the running gear and nothing else. Only after he climbed down did he see what was left of the boiler, having been launched into the air and over a berm next to the train. He couldn't find any sign of the crew.

The head-end crew had a low water situation over the crown sheet and didn't react in time (or at all) and were pretty much vaporized for their error. He walked away without a scratch.

Yeah, when the crown sheet went (which isn't the only type of boiler explosion, but it was the most common), it usually went really fast. And the boiler usually vaulted off the frame, launched from the firebox with the smokebox area as a pivot. That would happen so fast that you were usually dead before your brain could process what was going on...

...if you were lucky. Some poor men lingered on for a while but most died instantly.

Surviving in the doghouse isn't that implausible. Many crown sheet failures looked like this afterward. The downward force, in many cases, kept everything on the rails. In some cases, if the loco was moving at the time, the remains would just keep rolling afterward.

that is C-R-A-Z-Y!!

Wow, and one of the better riding ones too.

 Steam belongs to Mother Nature.

Trying to cap anything about her is a challenge with grave consequences for the smallest of failures.   

I suppose it's much easier to inspect the train and relays hand signals  from the dog house (or tender)rather from the engine cab,  however   when new train orders  are  picked up the whole crew is responsible for reading them, I doubt they're  also hooped up to the dog house so  the brakeman is in the dark  about meets etc.

One reason for the doghouse on the tender was it became illegal for crew to ride in a caboose, known as a Cabin on the Pennsy, being pushed by a helper engine, known on the Pennsy as a Snapper

Ohio may have been th first state to pass this regulation.