Train book translation help

[jhouis]

I am translating a 2023 novel from French into English: Mécano, by Mattia Filice. Written by a TGV driver about a TGV driver, about 70% in free verse. Sometimes, rarely, I come across a highly technical passage, in which case I get help from French railway workers on Le web des Cheminots. This particular passage needs to be put into colloquial American railway worker speech. I would appreciate your help with it. What I have now is my translation of the explanatory "civilian" version I received from a SNCF representative. The context is a briefing of the driver by the "Maneuver Agent", standard procedure.

• "On va faire le tête-à-queue ": We are going to take a locomotive from the head of the train to go put it at the back
• "Tu vas refouler ": . You are going to drive in reverse
• "puis appuyer pour la coupe" : advance the locomotive (or the self-propelled train) until you press on the buffers (see photo) of the other locomotive or train to allow de-coupling (physical separation.)
• "puis je vais te faire évoluer jusqu'au Cv17 à revers de type bas" : then you will move (using evolution, a type of maneuver at slow speed) until you reach purple signal n°17 which is a maneuver square of the “low” type (it is not on a jib, it is on the ground) Purple, it requires a full stop.
• "et à l'ouverture tu pourras directement appuyer ": And at the opening you will be able to press ( at the opening is when the purple signal changes to an indication authorizing restarting the motor)


Literally translated, the French sounds like this:
1. We are going to do the head to tail
2. You're going to reverse
3. Then press for the cut
4. Then I'm going to have you evolve to the Cv17 reversed of the low kind
5. and at the opening you will be able to press (the starter) right away

the word "appuyer" means to press- in one case the buffers, in the other the starter. Also moving in reverse and a reversed signal. I don't expect the American reader to be able to follow this in English any more than their French counterpart does in French. The book is really cool btw. Thanks in advance for your help. One more thing- where is the best place to post this?

[Overmod]

Some potential North American idiom:

The 'tête-à-queue' might be referred to as 'running around the train'.

Signal 'type bas' is what's known as a 'dwarf signal'. The 'opening' refers to the switch 'opening' to the correct route, right?

I am not sure, though, why the latter 'appuyer' would involve restarting an engine when someone has just backed down to go to a different route. The context would be important here. If he has just compressed buffers to facilitate making the cut, and he is in the process of running around the train, could he be 'pressing on' (in the English idiom)?