Editing Distributed power (section)

==Other similar operations==
''[[Top and tail]]'' is a phrase used to describe an operation where there is a locomotive at each end of the train, usually to make it easier to change direction at a terminal location where it is not possible to run the motive power around the train (i.e. swap the locomotives from one end of the train to the other); this arrangement is not used specifically to operate longer or heavier trains. Top-and-tail operation is not generally utilised with distributed power, although such a configuration could be used as such. One use of a distributed power top-and-tail configuration is in Western Australia's wheatbelt, in which Locotrol provides an operational solution rather than increasing the train size.

The description should not be confused with ''push-pull'', which refers specifically to a train configuration (usually associated with passenger trains) in which the motive power is located at one end of the train only. In this latter configuration, the train can be operated from the non-powered end by an operator's control position (the "cab-car") at that end of the train.