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Locomotive gears.

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Posted by John WR on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 6:37 PM

Johnny,

Burn the book.  

John

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 10:04 PM

John WR

Johnny,

Burn the book.  

John

Why? are you serious?

Johnny

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Posted by erikem on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 11:49 PM

Deggesty

John WR

Johnny,

Burn the book.  

John

Why? are you serious?

You might want to do it before Something wicked this way comes...

- Erik

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, December 20, 2012 3:13 AM

Don't forget Baker, and what about Carprotti?

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, December 20, 2012 6:27 AM

And who could forget the Gresley Conjugated Valve Gear used by three cylinder engines.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, December 20, 2012 6:50 AM

On the diesel side, consider the Maybach engines used in the Baldwin lightweights and the KM locomotives on Rio Grande and SP.  Also, the Voith transmissions used in the KM and Alco diesel/hydraulic (torque converter, actually) locomotives.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by John WR on Thursday, December 20, 2012 8:07 PM

Johnny, 

Abso-#######-lutely.

John

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, December 20, 2012 9:51 PM

John WR

Johnny, 

Abso-#######-lutely.

John

Why? Are you afraid of a book that provided valuable information to be used in the maintenance of steam locomotives--and can still be of value to operators of steam locomotives?

This book belonged to my father, who operated a locomotive crane in the ACL's Tampa shops.

Johnny

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Posted by beaulieu on Thursday, December 20, 2012 10:01 PM

As one John to another things are getting a bit deep around here. How deep you ask? The Frog says "Knee-deep"

The American who supervised the building of the first American steam locomotive built and operated in America was Horatio Allen, and the locomotive was named the Best Friend (of Charleston). It was built at the West Point Foundry in West Point, NY. It was shipped to Charleston, SC and operated for the first time on Christmas Day 1830. It was destroyed by a boiler explosion on June 17, 1831, reportedly after the Fireman grew tired of the safety valve popping off with a shrill whistle, whereupon he prevented it from opening again, earning himself the first railroad Darwin Award in the US.

William Huskisson MP for Liverpool in England garnered the first Darwin Award in the world for standing in the gauge of a double track mainline while talking to the Prime Minister of England who was seated in a train standing on the other track when a train approached on the track he was standing on. He was knocked down and one of his legs was severed and he bled to death before he could reach medical assistance,  on September 15th, 1830.

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Posted by John WR on Friday, December 21, 2012 7:16 PM

Johnny,  

I'm afraid that I did go beyond my usual reasonable limit in my response to you.  Sometimes I get kind of upset by people who insist on the truth.  I hope you can forgive me.  

John

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Posted by John WR on Friday, December 21, 2012 7:26 PM

Perhaps I should quit while I'm only knee deep.  

Thanks for your historical notes tragic though they are.  

Shortly after the Camden and Amboy began running from South Amboy, New Jersey to Bordentown Cornelius Vanderbilt was riding the train on a trip to Philadelphia.  There was a train wreck; it left Vanderbilt with a punctured lung, a painful injury, although he survived but he was put off railroads for a while.  He did survive.  Ultimately he decided to buy the New York and Harlem which operated a horse car line--Harlem was then the suburbs.  He wanted to extend the horse car down to lower Manhattan.  After doing this he came back to the steam cars which the NY&H ran beyond Harlem up into New York State.  From there one thing led to another.  

Cornelius Vanderbilt, despite his achievements, never qualified for the coveted Darwin award.  He died of natural causes in the late 1870's I think.  As he lay dying his children and grandchildren gathered around them and sung hymns including "I Am so Poor and Needy."  He was the richest man in the country.  

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, December 21, 2012 10:09 PM

John WR

Johnny,  

I'm afraid that I did go beyond my usual reasonable limit in my response to you.  Sometimes I get kind of upset by people who insist on the truth.  I hope you can forgive me.  

John

John, I accept your apology. I trust you are aware of the use a of a smiley or two if you want to show the presence of humor or some other emotion, especially if a reader may misinterpret your own feeling.

Johnny

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, December 21, 2012 10:14 PM

John WR

Perhaps I should quit while I'm only knee deep.  

Thanks for your historical notes tragic though they are.  

Shortly after the Camden and Amboy began running from South Amboy, New Jersey to Bordentown Cornelius Vanderbilt was riding the train on a trip to Philadelphia.  There was a train wreck; it left Vanderbilt with a punctured lung, a painful injury, although he survived but he was put off railroads for a while.  He did survive.  Ultimately he decided to buy the New York and Harlem which operated a horse car line--Harlem was then the suburbs.  He wanted to extend the horse car down to lower Manhattan.  After doing this he came back to the steam cars which the NY&H ran beyond Harlem up into New York State.  From there one thing led to another.  

Cornelius Vanderbilt, despite his achievements, never qualified for the coveted Darwin award.  He died of natural causes in the late 1870's I think.  As he lay dying his children and grandchildren gathered around them and sung hymns including "I Am so Poor and Needy."  He was the richest man in the country.  

Cornelius Vanderbilt was quite a businessman, indeed. He also may have been aware of how much his material riches counted in respect to his relation with God, and requested that his family sing as they did.

Johnny

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Posted by John WR on Saturday, December 22, 2012 11:01 AM

Johnny,  

You may be right about Cornelius Vanderbilt.  I've read some things about him but I don't recall reading about his religious beliefs or whether or not he had any.  

Certainly his family was not left "poor and needy" in the material sense of the words.

John

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