Anyone Else Fascinated By Old Locomotives?

[LE BARON]

Watching a lot of YouTube vids on trains I’ve picked up some of the lingo they use. I had heard that term before “Slack”. I didn’t realize just how much is involved in getting these things up to speed and how much braking/acceleration affects the whole train,front to back.

One of the things I found out is why sometimes you see 3 engines at the front with one or 2 facing backwards. I always thought it was for torque reasons. Lol. It’s so they don’t have to utilize a turntable when the engine returns from the direction it came from. The lead engine usually carries on somewhere else. I’m sure there’s other reasons but that’s one of them I’ve seen on a vid.

It is surprising how much "slack" there is in the knuckles (couplers), The longer the train, more cars, the more slack. So when the train brakes the cars push forward towards the front. If the engineer is not careful when accelerating and takes up the slack too fast then it could blow a knuckle, especially towards the rear. This is even more true in winter weather when the knuckles can be much more brittle.
And who gets to change a knuckle? Why the trainman who now is up front with the engineer. He gets to sling one over his shoulder and trudge back to change it out no doubt wondering about the competance of the engineer.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

New York New Haven ready to head out on a gloomy day...

 

[MikeysZ06]

Here’s a few more pics from the Heritage Park entrance. I also recorded a 5 min vid that I’ll upload after work.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Mikey

 

[MikeysZ06]

From Heritage Park this morning. Not Tuesday as I say here. Busy area down this way. 14 St/Heritage Drive/90 ave. Residents around here have had enough as this project has been going for a little over 2 years and it doesn’t really look like anything is near completion. The last vid is a little of my first RLC (right lane closed) job for 8:30 AM.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Pennsylivania round table. Not much colour on these diesels

 

[LE BARON]

Pennsylivania round table. Not much colour on these diesels


View attachment 27961

And here I always thought it was only King Arthur who had a round table.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

I guess technically it is called a turn table, my bad. There are the remains of such a device from the late 1800's about a half hour from my house. Just outside of Kinmount, Ontario the Irondale, Bancroft and Ottawa RR could come off the main line and head out in another direction.

 

[LE BARON]

I guess technically it is called a turn table, my bad. There are the remains of such a device from the late 1800's about a half hour from my house. Just outside of Kinmount, Ontario the Irondale, Bancroft and Ottawa RR could come off the main line and head out in another direction.

Back in the old days (circa the 50's) they had a fairly large shop in the Farnham yards. Had the memorable experience of taking a diesel Locomotive out of the shop on to the table and then to the yard line. All that was taken out and moved to the Angus yards in Montreal. They still needed to turn the engines around so they put in a "Y" track to do the job. Still there.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

It might go better on rails...

 

[LE BARON]

It might go better on rails...

View attachment 28007

Yeah, that is a long way to heave coal from the tender to the boiler

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Zeeman28, Stan, George's Trains advertised that the have the long discontinued Revell Model of the "Big Boy" back in stock. Something to put together on these rainy days. George's Trains is in your neck of the woods so to speak. Great shop.

 

[nascar03]

I can’t imagine the weight of that loco can be handled by just 18 wheels/tires.!

That first corner must be quite a test of nerves for the moving company!

Graham

 

[MikeysZ06]

I can’t imagine the weight of that loco can be handled by just 18 wheels/tires.!

That first corner must be quite a test of nerves for the moving company!

Graham

I’m guessing the trucks are Autocar rigs? Can’t quite make out the logo on the hood on an iPhone. Maybe old Western Stars.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Sante Fe eventually merged with Burlington Northern to become the power house BNSF Railway...

 

[Black 03 Z06]

A couple of Hi Rail cars...Looked for a 58 Chev but no luck...Incredible to find a Corvette converted

 

[MikeysZ06]

The Bowness train in the train house.

 

[Riley P]

Absolutely amazing, the different designs of trains over the years. Fascinating thread!

 

[Black 03 Z06]

South Africa's "Red Devil"

 

[Riley P]

How much torque did those monsters have and how did they compare to the modern diesel/electric?