Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="tdmidget"] The cylinder does not appear to be inclined. This would cause even more clearance problems. The cylinder and crosshead are horizontal and the angle is taken by the connecting rod. The longer the piston rod the shorter and more angled the connecting rod will be. The center cylinder will have to have a shorter stroke and thus less power making it much less attractive. [/quote] If you are talking about the photos I included above, I can tell you from being around that engine (The Alton and Southern #12) so much that it is inclined (Shocked me when I noticed, but it's true!). The whole cylinder is tilted about 15 degrees or so backwards, so that the rear end is lowered. The center cylinder on the AS #12 is the same size as those around it, and tilting it would produce a longer stroke for the shorter rod, which can be short because the cylinder has already taken the angle. [quote user="tdmidget"]The longer the piston rod the shorter and more angled the connecting rod will be. The center cylinder will have to have a shorter stroke and thus less power making it much less attractive. [/quote] If you tilt the cylinder, you won't have that steeply angled rod anymore, and without having to sacrificing the stroke of the cylinder. I am sure the Alco. designers ran into the same issues, and came up with the solution: Tilt it! I hope my above explanation makes sense, it is hard to describe complex systems over text.   Also, how many of the surviving N.American 3 cylinders have the tilted center cylinder? I know that at least one other, the UP 9000 has it's center cylinder tilted.   Loves the 3-cylinder "oddballs", -S. Connor
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag