Road switcher

A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive used for delivering or picking up cars outside of a railroad yard. Since the road switcher must work some distance away from a yard, it needs to be able to operate at road speeds, it must also have high-visibility while it is switching, and it must have the ability to run in both directions. For these reasons, road switchers are generally hood units. The set-back cab of a hood unit provides more safety in the event of a collision at speed than most switcher designs, and the rear visibility is much better than that of a cab unit. Due to their ability to both run at road speeds and switch cars, road switchers are often used for yard switching and freight duties.

The ALCO RS-1 was the first successful example of the type, and virtually all modern hood units are laid out in the same fashion.

United Kingdom

The term "road switcher" is not used in the UK and few locomotives of this type have been built. One exception was the British Rail Class 14.