ATSF and Southern have something in common - both railroads ended steam operations in 1953 and never returned to steam again. the latter is known as The Southern of the West.
Ohhh Kay....and from where did this bit of information leak out ?
I have read elsewhere that ATSF ended steam operations on August 27, 1957.
Rich
Alton Junction
According to the "History of the AT&SF" the last revenue steam operations ended on Aug. 27, 1957 when 2-10-4 No. 5021 and 4-8-4 No. 3780 ended a helper run at Belen, NM.
Mark
The helper job....was it before or after the Pennsy use of the 5000's in Ohio?
I am pretty sure that Pennsy used the ATSF engines in 1956. I know I have it in book someplace I just have to find it.
Steve
Hey guys...I think this was some sort of arm pulling post. I was a director of the SOU RY HISTORICAL ASSOC years ago and I've never heard this before.
Southern definitely did complete dieselization before the AT&SF, and the PRR and AT&SF both ended regular steam in 1957.
Southern never really did buy a modern ("Superpower") steam locomotive. Its top of the line passenger steam power remained the PS4 Pacifics, and Mikados powered most freight.
AT&SF was a leader in developing modern steam, with its 2-10-4's, 4-8-4's and 4-6-4's.
But both got some of the earliest EMC-EMD FT's frieght diesels.
.. 'twas in the summer of '56 ..
Ah , but the Southern Comfort Railway never dieselized !
You can still see them steaming along ,
especially after the second or third glass - or so they say ...
Same as with Italian FA ( Ferrovie Amaretto ) ,
with locomotive al vapore running on special TIA Maria feed water treatment ,
very special treatment indeed based on coffee liquor ..
I think we had that theme before ,
remember the caffeine preheater used with speed water ..?
Well , never mind ..
= J =
Hey, I like Juniatha's way of thinking on this. We could have the "Deutsche Schnappsbahn", the British "Flying Scotch" (double or single malt, doesn't matter), Via Rail's "Canadian Club", and so on.
Just the stuff you need for riding the "Jim Brake-Beams". Or something.
>> (double or single malt, doesn't matter) <<
Ooohh but Firelock ! O-M-G ! How can you mean THAT !?
I just hope no dyed in the wool Scotsman will read it .
About Deutsche Schnapsbahn :
what you get when riding it , is a free 'Schwips' ( to spare you googling : ger for tipsiness ) - gee .
Oh , why , up North , on the Emsland line the last steam locomotives all were oil-fired ; because of constant complaints of line-side residents about freshly washed cloths all taking on a certain unmistakable grayish , if no darker shade when hung in the open on the line ( laundry line , not railway line - whaddaya think ) , it was supposed to have been believed - at least by some more innocent minds - there had been plans to rebuild these Emden based 043 Decapods and Rheine based 012 Pacifics and 042 Mikes for Bommerlunder firing , a living northern traditional drink and well liked and universally applied clear booze . As concerns heat generating contents of Bommerlunder , proven beyond doubt in countless cases of bringing frozen sailors back to life in heavy snow storms on the Northern Sea , this proposition , if so it had been put up by the Munster HQ of Deutsche BoozeBahn , might well have boosted - or boozed , actually - the Pacific's output by at least if not substantially more . However , since the Bommerlunder is a crystal clear hard liquor , objections were forwarded with Bommerlunder firing approaching steam locomotives would no longer throw dark smokey ribbons and in summer weather steam powered trains would bear down without any visible emissions at all . This probably was considered potentially too dangerous in view of a certain percentage of the line-side population at least at times supposed to be under the influence of a few or more glasses of ..
Bommerlunder
... or so they said ...
cheerful cheers
.= J =.
Hi Juniatha! Bommerlunder, now that's one I've never heard of. If it's powerful enough to run a steam engine with the only objections to it I would see is the right-of-way being lined with people sniffing the fumes.
I wonder if the Scandanavians considered fueling their steamers with Aqavit? That stuff's supposedly a good substitute for rocket fuel.
And I'm sure in the American South no-one EVER considered running steam with moonshine. I've got it on good authority wasting good corn likker like that is a sin sure to put you in "hale". I had some real Georgia moonshine once courtesy of a fellow Marine. WOW! With stuff like that available to them it's a mystery to me how the South lost the Civil War.
Whoops, worked up a thirst, time to get the Virginia Gentleman out.
Cheers! Wayne
Hi Juniatha, it's me again. I was curious about Bommerlunder and did a little research. It IS aquavit! Well, I tried some of that stuff on a NATO operation in Norway back in 1976. Aquavit, not of the Bommerlunder brand however. Oh my God! My sinuses hadn't been that clear in years! A few more shots and I probably could have thrown my glasses away or wound up with x-ray vision like Superman.
You know, during world War Two the Allies were worried about the Germans getting heavy water from Norway for atomic research. They should have been more concerned about Norwegian aquavit ending up in Peenemunde as V-2 fuel!
Firelock76 And I'm sure in the American South no-one EVER considered running steam with moonshine. I've got it on good authority wasting good corn likker like that is a sin sure to put you in "hale". I had some real Georgia moonshine once courtesy of a fellow Marine. WOW! With stuff like that available to them it's a mystery to me how the South lost the Civil War.
Firelock - If you tried to use "Jawja Moon" for locomotive fuel, you better have some pretty darn good steel in the boiler, not to mention a long pole with which to put some distance between you and the stuff when lighting it. Would have been great if the Confederates could have left a big stash for the Union army the night before a big battle; the Union troops would have prayed for death the next day, and when the first cannon fired all their brains would have exploded. Don't ask me how I know this . . . . .
Seriously, unless my memory is playing tricks (again!), one reason Southern dieselized early was because the RR had a very difficult time during the Depression. As I remember it, Southern didn't buy a new steam locomotive after 1928. By the time things had gotten better and they could think about buying locomotives again, diesels had come along and they bought those instead of steam locomotives. Corrections welcome from anyone with more accurate information.
SALfan Firelock76 And I'm sure in the American South no-one EVER considered running steam with moonshine. I've got it on good authority wasting good corn likker like that is a sin sure to put you in "hale". I had some real Georgia moonshine once courtesy of a fellow Marine. WOW! With stuff like that available to them it's a mystery to me how the South lost the Civil War. Firelock - If you tried to use "Jawja Moon" for locomotive fuel, you better have some pretty darn good steel in the boiler, not to mention a long pole with which to put some distance between you and the stuff when lighting it. Would have been great if the Confederates could have left a big stash for the Union army the night before a big battle; the Union troops would have prayed for death the next day, and when the first cannon fired all their brains would have exploded. Don't ask me how I know this . . . . .
To Quote Firelock76
You do know that ethanol is a grain alcohol? And you could burn it in say a gas powered doodlebug. Maybe thats what the New York Central used in their high speed RDC that went like a rocket.
Thx IGN
Just completed the first read of this Subjects posts, and it's impressively witty erudite good-willed humerous civilized educational....many thanks and I raise a glass to Y'all.... put that regional pronoun in there 'cause I didn't pick on that "sin and hale."
"Hay-Ull' would have pulled the trigger for this Lon-guy-lander coastal Pilgrim to Appalachia and points south.....first trip at 24 years old.
Anecdotal, from a "read" somewhere: deep in a holler during a long pasgr & mail stop, a pasgr, gets off and asks a local kid standing there about a trail leading into the woods up the hill.
"Where's it go?"
"To my (imagine your own dialectic wording and pronunciation) father's distillery."
He continued, "but it doesn't come back..."
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter