A Train Thread

[revvinkevin]

ROB...

I took that photo a number of years ago (10? 12? 15?) at the L.A.L.S (Los Angeles Live Steamers) annual spring meet, at Travel Town in Griffith Park (L.A.). The link below is for their web page.

This photo: The boy (10 years old, 2 - 3 years ago?) is the one that runs, operates, cleans and otherwise takes care of this little steam locomotive. Unlike many others, this little engine actually burns coal to make the steam! (in the metal tray - far right) Back to the boy, I was completely floored and amazed by the amount of knowledge relating to steam locomotives he had stuffed in his head! This photo was taken at O.C.M.E... Orange County Mechanical Engineers... in Costa Mesa, California.

http://www.lals.org/index.html

 

[revvinkevin]

Correction......

It's Orange County Model Engineers (well, no ones perfect... blush) Their web site is below.

This photo is also at O.C.M.E. They "haul public" (give free rides) the 3rd weekend each month (for those in Southern Cal).

http://www.ocmetrains.org/

 

[revvinkevin]

Another from L.A.L.S (however I cannot take the photo credit)

 

[countryguy]

Heritage Railway

Several local retired railway employees got together and have created a miniature railroad here in the city of North Bay, ON which operates daily during the summer. They operate both a steam engine and diesel engine.

http://www.city.north-bay.on.ca/visiting/seeanddo/attractions/miniTrain.asp

 

[filter-flo_rob]

Gauge and Scale

Kevin and Gary [and others interested].

Firstly, thank you for posting those pix and the URLs!

Ok, ok ... after creaming myself looking at those pix, etc., I found a great URL that actually explains gauge and scale in plain English. This person's website (the main page) also has info. on model railroading as well.

I remember as a kid going to the amusement parks and riding on those trains. I believe they were 1/12th scale. Unfortunately, they were usually gas driven, and there was no live steam; however, I would not mind setting up such as scale in my yard!

Scale Products Co. [Disclaimer: not affiliated with this company at all] has great signals for 1/12 scale, etc.
Check it out: http://www.trainsignals.com/signals.html

Rob.

http:// www.thortrains.net/scale1.htm

 

[revvinkevin]

Rob, your link had something wrong with it... below is the corrected link. Also, thanks for the link about the scale model trains up there Ontario way. That's a larger 15" gage (the track rails are 15 inches apart), the track gage for L.A.L.S and O.C.M.E in the LA area is 7.5"gage, half the size of the Heritage Railway.

I really enjoy steam locomotives, both live steam scale models and the full size originals due to their mechanical complexity. I can watch, listen to, play with, tinker and perhaps ride(?) for hours. I'm drawn to them like the preverbal moth to a porch light.

Now here is a little story for you….

Back in 1989 my friend Curt (who is to blame for my interest in steam locomotives) and I went to Union Station in Los Angeles for their 50 year anniversary celebration. There were Amtrak trains and other locomotives, both steam and diesel on display. Aside from some noteworthy vintage 1950's diesels, there was also the Southern Pacific Daylight and Union Pacific's #844. They traveled from Portland, OR and Cheyenne, WY (respectively) for this event.

It was REALLY something to see these vintage steam locomotives actually ALIVE, with fires in the firebox, full steam pressure in their system with steam leaking, hissing and whistling from various places and able to move under their own power! Oh sure I'd seen other steam locomotives up close and personal, but they were ghosts from the past, static displays some a park or museum, dead for many years.

Not long before we left, Curt tells me he overheard a conversation about plans for SP Daylight and the UP 844's departure the following day, heading east up the Cajon pass, about 40 miles east of LA. He then said the UP and SP tracks run side-by-side up the Cajon pass and the two trains were going to pace each other, going side by side up the pass.

Well… THIS was something we could not miss! That following I grabbed my best friend Mike and the 3 of us chased these two vintage steam locomotives up the Cajon Pass for maybe 10 miles, until the SP and UP tracks separated, each going their own direction. This was truly an awesome thing to see… watching these two steam engines actually living and breathing, chuffing their way up the grade!

Now I'll have to dig through the old photos and scan them so I can post a few here.

http://www.thortrains.net/scale1.htm

 

[mrsalvo]

I like trains too.
I'm most fortunate to have experienced riding the old California Zephyr on the Western Pacific in 1969 as well as The Super Chief and a few other carriers. But it was a good thing Amtrak did come along when it did, otherwise I don't think we wouldn't even have a skeletal system that we have today.
I hope the states of Oklahoma and Kansas can get the Heartland Flyer up to Kansas City. If there was ever a grassroots train, the Heartland flyer is it. The state of Ok. really did save up for many years to purchase and refurbash the cars needed for the train, and have money to pick up the cost of operating it.
Here in Texas we have the very late triweekly Sunset Limited and late daily Texas Eagle, thanks to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson to saved that train a few years ago. It runs too late to really count on it for real transportation though.

 

[revvinkevin]

It runs too late to really count on for real transportation.

This could be one of the reasons train travel has faded to almost non-existence over the last bunch of years.

But the bigger reasons are:
#2 the creation of the interstate highway system and the convenience that came with it...
#3 People are always in a too much of a hurry to get wherever they are going. This is why many drive at 75 - 85 MPH rather then the posted limits of 55 or 65 MPH. And yes, I have been guilty of this too!
#4 Air travel and the convenience and SPEED it offers.

A few years ago my mother traveled from Southern California to Fort Worth, Texas for my brothers wedding. She opted to take a train rather then fly due to the lower cost, but it took her 2 days to get there. Driving could take less and flying is only about 5-6 hours, one way (getting to and waiting in the airports, etc.)

 

[rp2813]

Yeah, if you really need to get somewhere, it's best not to rely on the train. And there's a different kind of "late" than being behind schedule. I believe Salt Lake City is a good example, but you experts correct me if I'm wrong. For a town of it's size, I think Amtrak's eastbound Zephyr gets in there at around midnight. Not the most convenient time for most people. And if the train is running late, which I expect is the rule rather than the exception, then what? 4 AM?

If we ever get high speed rail going between the SF Bay Area and greater L.A., I expect those trains will run on time and be reliable, and who knows, maybe they will set the trend for the future of passenger rail service in this country.

 

[dalangdon]

The trouble with Amtrak and timeliness is that they are at the mercy of the roads they travel on. The SW Chief and Empire Builder travel the BNSF and are usually on-time, or even early. The Zephyr, Starlight, Texas Eagle and Sunset run on UP and are usually late. The NE corridor trains (that travel on Amtrak's own rails) are both frequent and on-time.

The future is definitely in the corridors, like we are seeing in California, Illinois and the Pacific NW. But the LD trains are still a good choice for people who aren't in a hurry or can't fly or drive. Personally, I hate to drive, and I don't like to fly commercial. So I take the train when I can.

 

[toggleswitch2]

-Here's Bombardier a Canadian company world leader in all this highspeed reail equipment and we don't even have our own high speed trains anywhere in Canada.

PeteK:

Bombardier repairs/renovates/refurbishes NYC subway trains.

And I must say the Bombardier rehabs are "gawgeous", eh?

 

[whirlcool]

Santa Fe and Burlington Northern always maintained their tracks very well, especially Santa Fe which had miles and miles of welded rail.
The Penn Central and other eastern type railroads didn't do such a good job. There were often speed restrictions and other messes due to rail condition. The "George Washington" train which ran from CUS to WAS was lucky to ever arrive on the scheduled DAY it was due. It ran a very weird route from Chicago to Washington. It went through Indianapolis, West Virginia and finally into WAS.

 

[dalangdon]

Alan, there's still a train like that. It's called "The Cardinal" and goes from NYC to CHI via DC, Cincinnati and Indianapolis. It's a pretty ride, but a strange way to go between the towns.

But since the LD trains aren't really intended for people to go from endpoint to endpoint, it's more designed for the cities along the way. It would work better if it ran every day, but it only runs three times a week.

On the days it doesn't run, the train between Chicago and Indinapolis is a real dog. I wouldn't ride that thing if you paid me.

 

[revvinkevin]

It appears this thread has reached the end of it's track

Har har. Regardless.... I said I would add a few photos of the two trains going up the Cajon Pass in Southern Cal., so for those interested, here they are.

There were a number of viewing stops along the way on this train chasing trek. At one point there were so many vehicles stopped along the shoulder it caused the traffic to back up on the eastbound 15 Fwy.

 

[revvinkevin]

This is the Southern Pacific - Daylight

 

[revvinkevin]

This is both, the SP Daylight and the UP #844...

It's not every day you (at that time) two 50 or so year old steam locomotives running up a grade together!

I hope some of you enjoyed these photos!

 

[revvinkevin]

By the way.... Yes there IS a LOT of black smoke, but when the engineers know rail-fans are watching, they really pour on fuel so there will be lots of smoke like this.

F.Y.I... It's not necessary for a steam engine to smoke like this, they can run with almost no smoke.

 

[dalangdon]

I love both the UP and SP liveries. When you fly into Omaha, if the plane comes in from the south, you fly right over the yard where UP stores their heritage equipment, and it is a sight to see.

By the way, the National Association of Rail Passengers has an entry on their blog about the California High-Speed Rail initiative. If you click on the image, it embiggens nicely (as joemygod would say), and gives you a .pdf with a route map and proposed schedule. Pretty nifty.

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/narpblog/index/

 

[rp2813]

Thanks Kevin. Great pictures! I would have loved to have been on either of those trains!

Ralph

 

[petek]

Those are great pictures, is there any video of it online anywhere you know of?

 

[revvinkevin]

Videos of the SP and UP trains on the Cajon pass

This one is an amateur video... (4:06 min)... it shows the trains in Union Station and in motion.

Sorry... you'll have to copy and paste this address into your browser.


This is promo footage for a professional video (1:56 min) and is much better... I'm thinking of buying it!

 

[kenb]

Big Boy

The "King" of steam locomotives

 

[kenb]

Big Boy schematics

 

[rp2813]

I remember in the late 50's on the City of San Francisco from Chicago to Oakland we were pulled along by one of the last of the U.P.'s steam engines deployed for passenger rail service. I can't tell you which type, I just know it had the design with the shrouds on both sides up front. That's the only thing I remember about that train trip, as I was probably no more than 4 years old at the time, but seeing what was even back then a vanishing type of locomotive out front as we rounded the curves is something that has been etched in my memory forever.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Thanks...

...for the photos and links to the video promo. Nice to see "real" trains, and not those mickey mouse diesels and electric things.

 

[revvinkevin]

Big Boy....

Yes the 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" is quite a massive, powerful and impressive machine. But the Big Boy was strictly for pulling freight and never saw any passenger train duty.

Many years ago I was in Detroit and visited the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. It is truly a "Must See" for anyone and everyone (IMHO). Aside from having a huge variety of numerous other things to see (much, much more then just cars) they did have a very large steam locomotive, but it was not a Big Boy. They did have the 2-6-6-6 Allegheny Locomotive and boy was THAT an impressive thing to see!!

I've only seen a Big Boy up close and personal one time in my life. It was at the LA County Fair Grounds in Pomona, Ca. There is actually a small out-door display of old steam locomotives there and a Big Boy is part of it!!

Oh, BTW... the Centipede listed earlier in this thread may have been the largest (and most powerful?) steam locomotive ever built, but was not a success in the "real world" due to the fact it's firebox and boiler was not large enough. With 6 cylinders driving 16 wheels, it could just not produce enough steam continously, under heady loads, for long distances. It would have to slow down or stop and allow time for the boiler to build enough steam pressure to keep going.

http://www.hfmgv.org/museum/index.aspx

 

[rp2813]

Had I saved the OSH calendars that my dad had collected over the years, I probably could find a picture and blurb about the U.P. locomotive I mentioned above. I've seen pictures of this type of locomotive over the years but don't think I own a book that contains one. I do recall reading that it was the last steam locomotive U.P. used for passenger service before going 100% diesel. I suspect the Big Boys continued to operate hauling freight for a while longer. Gotta love a locomotive with a nickname like that!

 

[kenb]

Ralph, towards the end of steam UP still had quite a few Northern Class 4-8-4's in passenger service such as the UP 844.

 

[revvinkevin]

The new (enviromental) direction of Diesel locomotives……….

For those who care about the environment (everyone should...), here ia a little info about the direction Union Pacific is taking.

Union Pacific Railroad is using 60 new environmentally friendly ultra-low emission diesel locomotives in its Los Angeles Basin rail yards. This is part of UP's efforts to reduce emissions.

The new 2,100-horsepower locomotives (pictured) are called "Genset" switchers. Each locomotive has three 700 HP ultra-low emissions diesel engines and 2 of the 3 engines automatically start and stop as load requirements dictate. This is projected to reduce emissions of both NOX and particulate matter by up to 80 percent, while reducing fuel consumption up to 16% compared to current low-horsepower locomotives.

UP is currently testing another type of environmentally friendly low HP rail yard locomotive called the "Green Goat." It uses state-of-the-art diesel-battery hybrid-technology (similar to the Toyota Prius) to cut emissions by 80 percent and reduce fuel use by 16 percent compared to conventional diesel-powered locomotives. The hybrid switcher is powered with large banks of batteries. When energy stored in the batteries is depleted to a pre-set level, a small, low-emission diesel engine automatically starts to recharge the batteries. There are currently ten units in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth yards and 11 more in California, most of them in the Los Angeles area.

Union Pacific is also testing two types of "aftermarket" technologies to determine if they reduce emissions in older locomotives. They are:

#1 An experimental "oxidation catalyst", or "Oxicat," installed on an older, high (3,800 HP) long-haul locomotive that was built in 1992. The special catalytic material chemically reduces the amount of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter, much like a catalytic converter on today's cars and trucks.

#2 A Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) was attached to a low-HP yard locomotive that is operating in UP's Oakland rail yard. This is North American rail industry's first experimental "after-market" exhaust system filter to determine if it will reduce diesel engine emissions in older locomotives used in rail yards.

 

[rp2813]

Interesting information, Kevin. When I think of the modern day U.P. I think of stodgy, oversized and unprogressive. Not so much now after reading your post. On the other hand, I hope they never change their color scheme.

Speaking of which, how is it that so many different rail companies used the same yellow and red scheme for their passenger cars? Back in the golden age of railroading and modern design, I would think each company would have wanted their streamliners to have a distinctive look that set them apart from others. Special trains had special schemes, such as the SP Daylights, and companies like Pennsy stuck with their maroon so there are many exceptions, but I'm wondering how come so many went with the (UP's?) yellow and red.