MiningmanThis picture however stirred in me a long forgotten disgust with the diesel. Nothing romantic about it at all. They all looked the same. They had zero character. No whistle, no steam visibly working, nothing moving...and that horn...a sick cow, or a simple "blatt" ... These things just did not cut it. Awful. Boring. Bland.
But that's in photographs. If you were next to them listening to the music of four 567s idling - one of the best mechanical noises ever created - you might change your opinion. And if you don't like that horn, you must not care for a GG1, the only steam visibly working from which was from the heat steam generator ... or for the SP GS4s.
If you'd had experience with the U34CHs the way EL ran them in their day, you'd become more of a diesel fan than you expect. For all the right steam-engine-experience reasons.
Be up close and personal when diesel consist is fighting a grade at maximum tonnage and fighting for traction at it's minimum continuous speed of 11 MPH and you can have a different perspective on the personality of diesels. They may not spew steam and belch coal smoke - but the grinding and creaking of the track structure being stained to its maximum. The click, click, click of cars going over a rail joint - and then depending upon your vantage point, the click, click, click begins to happen just a mite quicker, quicker, quicker and then you notice the train is actually starting to gain speed - the head end has crested the summit and is starting down the other side - and then you begin to hear the whine from the dynamic brakes from the head end, making sure the train is still under control as it begins its desent - but wait now you hear the manned helpers at the rear of the train - still running in the 8th notch and shoving hard to keep the slack in the train bunched, before throttleing back as the helpers crest the summit and then cut off to return to the bottom of the grade to assist another train load of West Virginia real estate; or maybe remaining at the summit to assist a train down grade that has ineffective dynamic brakes. Most any engineer can easily get a train up a grade, a REAL ENGINEER is required to get trains safely down the grades. Throttle work is easy. Blending air and dynamic brakes to bring big tonnage trains down the grade requires skill.
Mountain grades demonstrate diesels to their best advantage. The former B&O's Mountain Sub between Cumberland and Grafton is limited to 80 loads of West Virginia real estate, despite having 2 AC Heavys on the head end and 2 AC Heavys on the rear end - between the grade and the curvature those are the limits for maximum drawbar/knuckle strain.
In the steam era, it was never envisioned that one could have more power on a train than the designs of drawbars and knuckles could handle. You could always overload the motive power to the point of stalling - with todays train size and power potential - the power can physically pull the train apart if it stalls.
The romance of large machines doing ever larger jobs still exists.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
"Bless me Father, for I have sinned..."
I have to admit it, at my last visit to my local hobby shop I broke down a bought an O gauge Williams F-7 set in Atlantic Coast Line markings, with the passenger cars as well.
I don't know, I'm a steam freak from the get-go but there was something about that set that I really liked, the purple and silver finish, the sleek look, I just had to have it.
Oh well, I can rationalize it by saying I'm supporting my local hobby shop!
Anyway, I see what you mean in that "Photo O' The Day," no apparant movement, no smoke, no LIFE. At least they're "Superman" diesels.
"WHAT?" you say? Well, Lady Firestorm and I call the old cab units "Superman" diesels. Remember the opening of the old "Superman" show, with the REAL Superman George Reeves? The color shows with the head on shot of an Espee cab unit? Hence, "Superman Diesel."
When I was in high school around 1970 we used to call those old big blocky cars from the early 50's "Superman Cars" as well, but that's another story.
Johnny- Thats too funny! I remember that issue very well. It was not my favourite by any means. Sorry it was not me...but I wish I had thought of it. It took me some time to warm up to the diesels. With the older diesels it was more a case of "you don't know what you got 'till it's gone" whereas with steam that did not happen. It was just in your face shock and sadness. I knew what we lost and couldn't believe it.
Miningman The Classic Trains Photo of the Day is a great feature and creates good topic material as well. In some instances it brings back memories and moments that we have forgotten about. Todays POTD shows a B&O F7 quartet, a nice perfect A-B-B-A lashup. Now it took me a long time to come around and appreciate the F7 or any covered wagon or pretty much anything else diesel for that matter. Over the years we have come to cherish the first generation's of all the various builders, with their great paint schemes, bulldog or chieseled noses, some lasting seemingly forever and others vanishing far too soon. This picture however stirred in me a long forgotten disgust with the diesel. Nothing romantic about it at all. They all looked the same. They had zero character. No whistle, no steam visibly working, nothing moving...and that horn...a sick cow, or a simple "blatt" ...are you kidding? Is all this for real? ..you need 4 of these things to replace my favourite steamer, that was faithful, built way before the war, got us through the war, and showed no signs of complaints or slowing down. It was as beautiful as ever and the newer steamers...holy! ...the future and how exciting. These things just did not cut it. Awful. Boring. Bland. To make it all worse it's on a coal run. Something wrong with that..you should not bite the hand that feeds you ..or give it the finger. I recall those memories looking at this picture. Its been a while. Still feels ok to think that way.
The Classic Trains Photo of the Day is a great feature and creates good topic material as well. In some instances it brings back memories and moments that we have forgotten about. Todays POTD shows a B&O F7 quartet, a nice perfect A-B-B-A lashup. Now it took me a long time to come around and appreciate the F7 or any covered wagon or pretty much anything else diesel for that matter. Over the years we have come to cherish the first generation's of all the various builders, with their great paint schemes, bulldog or chieseled noses, some lasting seemingly forever and others vanishing far too soon. This picture however stirred in me a long forgotten disgust with the diesel. Nothing romantic about it at all. They all looked the same. They had zero character. No whistle, no steam visibly working, nothing moving...and that horn...a sick cow, or a simple "blatt" ...are you kidding? Is all this for real? ..you need 4 of these things to replace my favourite steamer, that was faithful, built way before the war, got us through the war, and showed no signs of complaints or slowing down. It was as beautiful as ever and the newer steamers...holy! ...the future and how exciting.
These things just did not cut it. Awful. Boring. Bland. To make it all worse it's on a coal run. Something wrong with that..you should not bite the hand that feeds you ..or give it the finger.
I recall those memories looking at this picture. Its been a while. Still feels ok to think that way.
Johnny
Well, I have to agree with much of what you said. I do look upon most diesels with disdain. It was they who replaced our beloved steamers! How dare they? So boring. No personality.
I do like the sound of the Nathan 5-chime air horn. To hear one of those screaming by at a grade crossing at speed must have been really somthing. I say "must have been" because I really never had the privilege of hearing those on a regular basis.
I do love steam. I have an HO scale layout at home. Loosly based on the New York Central circa 1946 / 1950, in the outer areas of the System where Steam is still King. My motive power consists of Niagaras, Mohawks, Hudsons, Mikados, etc. I have one lonely diesel on my pike. An Alco S-1 switcher which I say to visitors was brought in "for evaluation". ;}
Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep 'em rolling. John.
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