I had previously donated some memorabilia to the museum and I was invited to tour their facility and be 'reunited' with the very first locomotive I had worked on.
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What a marvelous facility, the volunteers are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and personable. Their workshop is on a par with that of a Class 1 railroad. Check out their website, they have a lot to offer.
http://www.rmne.org/
Let me light that up for you.
Nice! I've gotta get up there one of these days!
Flintlock76 Let me light that up for you. http://www.rmne.org/
Thank you. I'm trying to post a picture without success.
You're welcome! Can't help you with the picture posting I'm afraid...
Flintlock76 You're welcome! Can't help you with the picture posting I'm afraid...
I got lucky
I see the picture. You handsome devil you!
I'm talking to the RS-3, I can't say as much for the guy standing nex to it!
Flintlock76 I see the picture. You handsome devil you! I'm talking to the RS-3, I can't say as much for the guy standing nex to it!
Did you work on it at the museum or earlier?
daveklepper Did you work on it at the museum or earlier?
No, I was the fireman on it in 1963. My first railroad assignment. 11:55 P.M. East Class #3
You might have been a fireman on one of those trips.
On one trip I had a meeting on a Sunday at Christ Church Greenwich, and the meeting ran late, and I missed the last mu to GCT to get the Owl. The church secretary called the NH Dispatcher at NH and he agreed to have the train stop at Stamford so I could board.
On another occasion, see the C. B, Fisk Organ website, the organ firm had a special car on a Sunday afternoon Boston - NY train so Boston music lovers could attend the inaugural recital of their organ at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Westerly, R. I. But a freight derailment closed the line between Rt. 128 and Pawtucket, and we detoured via Blackstone and the Framingham Branch and caught only the second half of the concert.
Say 243129, did you ever run that RS-3, and if so, what was it like?
243129 daveklepper Did you work on it at the museum or earlier? No, I was the fireman on it in 1963. My first railroad assignment. 11:55 P.M. East Class #3
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
daveklepperYou might have been a fireman on one of those trips.
I might well have been.
daveklepperOn one trip I had a meeting on a Sunday at Christ Church Greenwich, and the meeting ran late, and I missed the last mu to GCT to get the Owl. The church secretary called the NH Dispatcher at NH and he agreed to have the train stop at Stamford so I could board.
The New Haven was very accommodating, the 'old style' customer service/relations no longer exists.
Flintlock76 Say 243129, did you ever run that RS-3, and if so, what was it like?
Yes I did in both freight and passenger service. Not very operator friendly as the 'F' end was the long nose forward, poor cab design and typical of ALCO, lots of smoke.
Murphy SidingWhat were a fireman's duties in 1963?
'Apprentice engineer' , lookout, trouble shooter on multiple unit consists, steam generator operator, learning as you go in all classes of service thereby creating a ready reserve of engineers. A far cry from today's inadequate hiring, vetting and training procedures. However Arbitration Award 282 eliminated that form of training.
Thanks! So I guess you're an EMD fan?
Flintlock76 Thanks! So I guess you're an EMD fan?
Absolutely!
Just shiny things. Oh well.
As I recall the railroad Museum is located on the few remaning strectches of the New York and New England Railroad which was a fast main line at one time of the "White Train"
243129 Flintlock76 Thanks! So I guess you're an EMD fan? Absolutely!
Good to see you are still out and about, and staying active in retirement.
Did you ever get a chance to work on ALCO PA's? If yes, what were they like in comparison to an E-unit?
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
SD70Dude 243129 Flintlock76 Thanks! So I guess you're an EMD fan? Absolutely! Good to see you are still out and about, and staying active in retirement. Did you ever get a chance to work on ALCO PA's? If yes, what were they like in comparison to an E-unit?
Never a big fan of ALCO, smokey, noisy. Not sure what you mean by E-unit.
ALCO is the trailing unit below. NH bought them and GE's in the 60's. Both junk from an operator's standpoint.
243129Never a big fan of ALCO, smokey, noisy. Not sure what you mean by E-unit.
FA's were ALCO's freight cabs, PA's were their passenger cabs.
Similarly, the F units were EMD's freight cabs, the E units their passenger cabs.
The freight units were B-B's. Both the ALCO and the EMD passenger units were A1A-A1A.
Some EMD F's were built with passenger capability (ie, a steam generator), most notably for the Santa Fe, which I don't think ever bought any E's.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 243129 Never a big fan of ALCO, smokey, noisy. Not sure what you mean by E-unit. FA's were ALCO's freight cabs, PA's were their passenger cabs. Similarly, the F units were EMD's freight cabs, the E units their passenger cabs. The freight units were B-B's. Both the ALCO and the EMD passenger units were A1A-A1A. Some EMD F's were built with passenger capability (ie, a steam generator), most notably for the Santa Fe, which I don't think ever bought any E's.
243129 Never a big fan of ALCO, smokey, noisy. Not sure what you mean by E-unit.
The ATSF had a number of E's the original streamlined Super Chief had a pair of E's for power. They used their F's for most Chicago-West Coast routes. The used E's on Chicago-Texas routes and the San Deiagns - routes without serious grade issues.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
These (FL-9) replaced the PA. The PA's were relegated to freight service and subsequently junked.
tree68Some EMD F's were built with passenger capability (ie, a steam generator), most notably for the Santa Fe, which I don't think ever bought any E's.
Be careful here.
ATSF had many Es, starting with the E1 (Winton 201A-engined) of which there were 8As and 3Bs. (These would be rebuilt into E8ms in the early Fifties, but derated to 2000hp to match the limitations of the reused traction motors)
They had a small roster of E3s (I think bought for a comparison with the Alco DL109 design, similar to what Milwaukee did) and 4E6A/3E6B.
These were principally used in the same areas the 3460 class Hudsons ran, the object being the same high speed. E units had two 12-cylinder motors and generators, and the extra length and weight is the primary reason for the use of the A-1-A trucks. (The Blomberg design was, indeed, better-riding than most B trucks at high speed, but ATSF was notable for knowing how to get high speed out of a two-axle truck, having experimented with idler axles as leaders at one point.)
Meanwhile, unless I am mistaken, none of the later F-unit cabs had steam generators! Nor were there FP7s. This in spite of ATSF relying more and more extensively on steam-ejector air conditioning in warm weather (and continuing reliance on steam heat in winter). So you can guess how hot or cold it may be by the number of Bs in an F-unit consist...
tree68FA's were ALCO's freight cabs, PA's were their passenger cabs. Similarly, the F units were EMD's freight cabs, the E units their passenger cabs.
The New Haven was famous for extensive 'dual-service' dieselization with the predecessor to the PA, the DL-109 series (there are a whole bunch of nit-picky little subdivisions by number, but most railfans recognize the body style by this number) which used a pair of turbocharged 539 'switcher motors' in place of EMD's 12-cylinder Roots-blown 567s to make 2000hp, and needed the same idler-axle trucks to spread the weight of the longer and heavier 'solution' for getting that power in a single unit. It is one of the great shames of preservation that one of these survived all the way into the Seventies in a New Haven yard, used as some kind of special vehicle ... and was then ungloriously cut up.
The wartime and postwar Alco 'push' was to get the required horsepower out of a single V-16 (with a heroic-size turbocharger) and that is what the PA provides, in a carbody shorter than anything with two contemporary 1000hp diesels can manage. It was still heavy, and was still given the idler-axle 'passenger' trucks, though. As noted these had pretty primitive lateral arrangements and had a number of documented 'issues' with making adequate long-term power out of the 16-244 engine Alco did catalogue a 251-engined passenger locomotive (the C636P) but nobody ordered one.
New Haven had no E units, or any reason for them: they were sold the special FL9s with one additional axle (to support the added weight of the electrical gear) and adjusted train length and speed to multiples of that locomotive's power. I'd be highly interested in Joe's accounts of running them, as my understanding was their Flexicoil trucks (lead, too, on all but the prototypes) were not exactly renowned for high-speed stability.
Note that New Haven also experimented with a couple of relative oddball units, including the 10-cylinder FMs that were so heavy they needed their own fifth axle. I suspect those were gone by the time Joe might have been in a position to run them.
Overmod I'd be highly interested in Joe's accounts of running them, as my understanding was their Flexicoil trucks (lead, too, on all but the prototypes) were not exactly renowned for high-speed stability.
Mod-man, now that you mention it I think we'd all like to hear a concise history from Joe of what he ran, when he ran it, and his thoughts about the different locomotives he ran, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses.
Nothing like hearing the story from one who was there.
Flintlock76 Mod-man, now that you mention it I think we'd all like to hear a concise history from Joe of what he ran, when he ran it, and his thoughts about the different locomotives he ran, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. Nothing like hearing the story from one who was there.
I ran everything from the New Haven 'fleet' up to and including the ACELA. Electric,diesel, Turbo Train, through freight,local freight,passenger, yard. Any questions you may have I would be happy to answer.....if I can.
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