What is a MU car

aionta

New Member
Hello all I am a newbie and am wondering what a mu car is and what mu'ing / consisting is

Thanks all!
 

acsoosub

New Member
Generally "MU Car" refers to a self-propelled passenger coach, usually electric, that can run in multiple sets.
Similar types of equipment would be Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) and DMU (Diesel multiple units).

MU stands for multiple unit and refers the the ability of diesel and electric engines to be hooked up to each other in sets and all controlled from the lead unit. That was not possible with steam engines, you needed a crew in every engine. (So it is not correct to refer to a doubleheaded steam trains as MUed, and it is not correct to refer to a consist of diesels as double- or triple-headed.)

Consist refers to the MUed set of engines, other slang terms include lashup.

Use of the word consisting, to refer to the act of setting up a set of engines, is generally used in the model railroad context when setting up a consist of engines to run together on a DCC control system.
 
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