UP Steam Turbines

[Anonymous]

I've been hunting for almost a year for a good elevation drawing of UP's Steam Turbines #1 & #2. I've all but exhausted my resources and all I've been able to come up with is a crude cutaway drawing showing the insides and no dimensions. Please, can someone help?????

[Leon Silverman]

I thought all UP Turbine locomotives were GAS Turbines. Pennsy and N&W developed Steam Turbine Engines because they were coal hauling railroads and didn't want switch to oil (diesels). Even if UP had an ample supply of coal, water availability was a problem in the dry Southwest. You cannot make steam if you have no water.

[Anonymous]

UP had Steam Turbines (they got the steam turbines in the 30s) long before they got their Gas Turbines. The were well publicized and got the attention they deserved, unfortunatlly, their poor reliability did them in.

[Anonymous]

Technically, the turbine from 1938 was never UP's. It was GE's and was experimental, on loan to the UP for evaluation. UP tested them and returned them within 12-18 month's - deemed a failure, in a manner of speaking. Water was not an issue with them as it consumed very little - it was a closed system (ie re-circulated/re-used the water) on that GE unit and I believe it only contained something like 3,000 gallons of water IIRC. Though it was a failure, unto itself, it gave GE valuable insight into developing the gas turbines that the UP did end up buying fleets of after WWII. So, outside of UP''s own 8080 / 80 coal fired turbine from the late 50's early 60's, all of the GE turbines that UP owned were gas turbine electrics (GTEL's).

For all of you turbine fans (pun intended), Pentrex offers many nice tapes with the UP's Turbines covered. You'l have to cut and paste the following:
http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=pentrex&query=Turbines&.autodone=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pentrex.com%2Fnsearch.html

Withers publishing has a very nice book on this subject titled UP's Turbine Era by AJ Wolff. See: http://www.witherspublishing.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=23&products_id=65

There's also another fine book with even more technical explanations and photos titled Turbines Westward by Thomas R Lee

Enjoy the hobby!

Greg

[jrbarney]

Emerald,
From the Index of Magazines, here's the citation for an article you might be interested in, even though it doesn't appear to include an elevation drawing:

The never-never train, Trains, July 1987, page 52 Union Pacific exhibition train ( FRONTISPIECE, "MORGAN, DAVID P.", STEAM, TURBINE, UP, ENGINE, LOCOMOTIVE, TRN )

You should be able to get a photocopy by contacting:
[e-mail]
Bob
NMRA Life 0543