ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Photos for General Discussion Locomotive pictures

Hi All,

Returning after a long hiatus, and I find you all mucking around in my corner.

Romance of steam? Oh puleeze. Ever run one of those things on a 100 degree August day? Even for only 9 miles? I agree that there is something interesting about a machine that hangs all of it's underthings out for all to see. We have an engine modeled after a british loco, and it's a bugger to fire on a hot day, you can't get away from it. You wear long sleeves just to keep the hair on your arm.

The GG1 is a good engine for the bookkeepping department. Ever sit in one? You are running an engine from a phone booth. High voltage electrical gear just beyond your ear. Ergonomics wasn't Loey's strong suit.

There was a fella here that ran one of those things in mainline service. Had a three or four lightweight car intermediate length run. Tooling along at about 60 MPH coming up to a slow order. Dropped a couple of pounds of air to slow things down, no change on the speedo, or amp guage. Few more pounds, still no change. Few more. Radio crackles. Conductor swearing a blue streak. Seems that all of the car wheels are locked up and bouncing along. Loco never noticed.

The GG1 was rated at 5000 hp, with a 5 minute 3000HP overload rating for a total of 8000HP for hillclimbs, or starting.

My grandfathers collection has pictures of the first GG1 into Harrisburg PA.

I gotta scan some things if anybody's interested.

Power directors office Harrisburg PA, Catenary line crew Paoli PA

Power directors office is still there, and untouched except to black out trackage that is removed.
Have a picture of my grandfather sitting at his desk, and me, in the same pose, same desk 50 some odd years later.

Trainwire

Hi Trainwire, if you got any piccies, please scan them in , that would be great, even a schematic of the electrical and traction drives.
Thanks Ray

Hey there, Trainwire! Long time, no see (text, that is ...)


LOL!!! ROTF-LOL!!!

Never rode in any Steamers - only rode Diesel-Electric Locomotives (mostly 2nd Generation units); but have seen a few Videos shot In-Cab, during drags with Steam Power.

Those Engineers never sat still! Pulling - and I mean PULLING on the Throttle in either direction! Every time the Locomotive passed a Flange Greaser, the Throttle had to be brought down, then back up again - or end up with the wheel slip hazard of the century!

Firemen stoking the Firebox here and there, (not as often as I figured). Everyone looking for the next Block Signal's Aspect - and confirming it... loudly!
All under a mind boggling >90 dB "Roar + Clackity-Clack"!

No wonder Old Timers (from Steamer Crews) are/were almost 100% deaf! All the ones I met, had a universal term:

"What?"
"Huh?"
or the commonly used
"Whaddyasay?"

Servicing every 250 Miles sure makes for an overhead nightmare!

Like the Old Timers said;
"Watching Steamers' or 'Not Having To Run / Maintain A Steamer' is a great experience", which I fully agree with! Those classics were simply amazing to watch!, even more interesting to understand their functionality.

I was reading an Article in "Trains" Magazine, which discusses Helpers - modern (RCE/DP), "Manned Helper Sets" of Diesels, and in the days of Steam.

The Steam operation is very interesting - though being the Helper Crew in Tunnel Territory must have really sucked! (read: Tunnels filled with smoke - and lots of it!).

Apparently, in Grade Ascending Helper jobs, once the Helper ("Pusher") got the "High Ball" whistle from the point Locomotive, and the reply whistle was given, the Engineer in the Helper would open the valve (throttle) fully wide - sitting on sanded rail, and leave it until the point loco started; then backed down as the train gained speed (without backing down so far as to create slack, or pushing too hard as to toss cars out).

Same article shows a Helper Set of Diesels (Cut-In Helpers) in Ascending Grade Tunnel Territory, with the picture taken about 10 cars out of the Tunnel.
In the background, there is a HUGE cloud of black smoke rolling out of the Tunnel.
The Helper Set is a 4 Unit Lash-Up of "Tunnel Motors" (SD 45 T-2s from EMD), and the trailing 3 units are totally covered with soot! The 1st unit is "1/3 sooty"

This shot was taken when "SP Stilled Owned SP"
Must have been back in the 70's or 80's, since the "Southern Pacific" stenciling was not the "Speedline" type, and there were still Oscillating Headlights on the units - with no Ditch Lights.

On the same subject - kind of!; S.P. had the "Cab Forward" versions of Steamers (2-6-6-0 Articulated???), which must have made Tunnel Districts - and mostly any District Jobs, a lot less "Smokey" - and possibly much cooler.

I do feel bad here, as this thread deals mainly with Electrified Equipment, an area of which I have very little experience with.
All the equipment I have dealt with, had some type of Prime Mover coupled to a local Genny.

Sorry to "thread Drift" towards Non-Electrified Railroads so much!

Scott35

***Bump-A-Roon'io***





Scott35

Reference the whining crapola about it being hot enough on the footplate of a Brit steam loco to burn the hair off your arms, purrr-leeeezzzze! Any bits hot enough to burn a True Brit's arm ( say 900 deg F, dull cherry red ) would have drawn the retort;
"Don't bloody well touch it then, you thick bugger!"

Rule Brittania! 126mph, 3 July 1938, steam passenger locomotive and carriages: Sir Nigel Gresley's "Mallard".

( Admitted, it nearly went through Crewe Station sideways, but you can't have everything! )

Alan

Wow,
How could I stay out of this thread on my favorite subject - trains.
I'll admit that I'm not much of a juice loco fan, but it's all tremendously interesting, thanks, All.
But, there's nothing like steam. Scott35, when you mentioned cab-forwards, I had to jump in. SP had 195 of them, almost all where 4-8-8-2's. If they were to run them cab-in-back, you would be about 75 feet behind a 6000 HP, miilion lbs machine with ear-splitting steam exhaust.
There's a story in Trains Mag about 3 or so years ago, describing being in the cab of UP 3985, the 4-6-6-4 they still operate. The Diesel power in their train crapped out in the snowsheds over Donner Pass, so they had to open 3985 up. I believe they mentioned breathing bottled air, and enduring 200 degree cab temperatures, until they were out of the tunnel. Some fun, Huh!!!
I run 750-1000 lb. 1-1/2 inch scale steam. It's still hot, but all fun.
see www.trainweb.org/vcls

Regards to all,
Energy7

Thanks to Dr. Beeching, who closed down vast swathes of "uneconomic" branch lines in the early sixties in the UK , steam lives on. Miles of unused track, and unlimited supplies of scrapped steam-locos ensured survival. Nearly every loco, brand-spanking new or old, was sent to Barry Island in S. Wales for the oxy-torch, some straight from the makers to the scrapyard! Preservation Societies have since kept the fireboxes in steam for us all.
http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk

gives a taster of just one of many.

Ah..... Sheffield Park to Horsted Keynes! That brings back memories. We used to vacation in Sussex when I was a kid, and I rode the Bluebell Line many times.

I also used to love the narrow-gauge Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway over in Kent. Some of the local children used to take it to school every day, and I was so envious!
www.rhdr.org.uk

A couple weeks ago I looked into the Keighley and Worth Valley RR in West Yorkshire. Mostly becuase of the Oakworth station, seen on a music video I saw.