CMStPnP So it looks like in the film that C&NW dumped oil on their ballasted Right of Way and somewhere in the video it mentions their oiled track............why would they do this?
So it looks like in the film that C&NW dumped oil on their ballasted Right of Way and somewhere in the video it mentions their oiled track............why would they do this?
This may have nothing to do with why the C&NW did it, but the Erie used to oil the track joints and plates to prevent corrosion caused by salt water dripping from the iced refrigerator cars.
What a beautiful train with those full diaphragms. And plus 100mph speed.
The reason for oiled track would be to keep ballast dust and othe debris from getting sucked up by a fast moving train and deposited on anyone sitting on the deck of an open observation car. I had a fast mainline trip on an open observation car some years ago, and I looked like I was in blackface by the end of the trip.
I don't know why this would have been an issue for the streamlined 400, since it didn't have an open observation car (or, for that matter, open windows). But the 400 wasn't originally streamlined, and pictures of the original train show an observation car with a short platform. There were also other, non streamlined trains on the route.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dck22HLQSDg
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