What is the most realictic placement of locomotives..

[Kogut]

...in that train?

[Ameecher]

Like that, although, it's pretty rare to have 3 class 20s on a train, 2 is usual coupled nose to nose so that the cabs face outwards. It's rare for anything other than 20s to be double headed in normal service in the UK, certainly triple-heading is very unlikely.

[Kevo00]

Like that, although, it's pretty rare to have 3 class 20s on a train, 2 is usual coupled nose to nose so that the cabs face outwards. It's rare for anything other than 20s to be double headed in normal service in the UK, certainly triple-heading is very unlikely.

Triple headed class 20s used to be quite common...I'm sure I remember seeing pictures of them triple heading on the Skeggy run in the summer, and the wiki page says the Longannet coal trains were sometimes triple headed. Triple heading might be unlikely now, but that doesn't mean it once wasn't over the fifty plus year life of the class. The cab on the third loco should be facing the cab of the second one though, if you're a purist.

[audigex]

In terms of reality, two at the front is "normal", in terms of realistic placement ignoring the type of train, you would almost always have the locomotives at the front: other than when two are used not for motive power, but to enable faster turnarounds.

For freight, it's almost always multi-heading rather than top-and-tail.

[Ameecher]

The cab on the third loco should be facing the cab of the second one though, if you're a purist.

Well, no, because then it'd be leading nose first after a run-round, so this set up is most likely.

[Kevo00]

Fair point, although I'm sure I've seen it the other way as well.

[Dave]

Triple headed 20s used to do Scottish coal runs in the 70s.

[andel]

It would be double front, single rear to bank. They use top and tail 20s for RHTT trains... they use 4 (yes, 4) sometimes on the tube train transfers.