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Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, August 15, 2021 4:05 AM

Think big, not small

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, August 15, 2021 4:12 AM

Big referring to the locomotives or the raioroads involved or both?

Big locomotives: they were 2-6-6-0s or 2-8-8-0s.  Mallets

Of the three  RRs I mentioned, did I get at lest one right?

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, August 15, 2021 9:19 AM

Big locomotive, big railroad where it ended up.

Interestingly enough, it turns out that both Franklin tender boosters and Bethlehem auxiliary locomotives were used, the dates suggesting this was a comparative test.

And -- this will likely give it away -- a number of the tender boosters, after removal, were in fact applied to articulated locomotives.  Bonus points if you know the wheel arrangement and road numbers -- but no guessing, I want specifics!  Still more bonus points: there was something notable about all the engines that received the tender boosters, likely associated with their being the ones chosen to receive them: what was it?

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, August 19, 2021 12:04 PM

A last try before giving it up:

All of the tender boosters were reused, all of them going to be used with the same type of locomotive (but different classes).

How big can you get before articulating?

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, August 23, 2021 10:46 AM

The locomotives were early 4-12-2s, certainly not the kind of power I'd slate for tender boosters (although conventional trailing-truck boosting, on a single locomotive axle with complete, balanced disengagement, might have made somewhat better sense).

All nine sets of tender booster were applied to tenders for 2-8-8-0s.  I do not have records of their success or lack of it in that application.

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, August 23, 2021 2:58 PM

Builders photo of UP 9000 doesn't show a tender booster or even an obvious trailing truck booster (though the trailing truck had a higher load than the drivers!)  My usuak go-to steamlocomotive.com doesn't mention boosters at all.  UP's 2-8-8-0s had relatively short Vanderbilt tenders with Bettendorf-style trucks to fit on existing turntables.  I haven't found a photo of one with a tender booster.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, August 23, 2021 8:33 PM

Initial reference to tender boosters (and origin of the question with railroad name) was in the Modrl Railroader Cyclopedia coverage of the Nines.  I subsequently found the reference to booster types and tender drawings (yes, they're said to exist both for the Nines and 2-8-8-0s) at Utah Rails and here:

https://history.nebraska.gov/sites/history.nebraska.gov/files/doc/uprr-sg010.pdf

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, August 23, 2021 8:41 PM

Looks like 8 of the 4-12-2s (9701-9707 and 9062), the first six with Franklin boosters, the last two with Bethlehems.  I would guess that the turntables had been lengthened by the time the longer tenders were applied to the 2-8-8-0s.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, August 23, 2021 11:18 PM

Here is the reference page I used that mentions the 2-8-8-0 application; this indicates there were nine (1+1+7)

https://utahrails.net/up-steam-roster/up05-1915-1962-14.php

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, August 24, 2021 6:09 PM

My oops   9700 was also booster equipped.

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Posted by Overmod on Saturday, September 4, 2021 11:57 AM

With this site dragging and becoming randomly available, and my not having a suitable 'replacement' question ready -- anyone can ask another question to keep this thread alive in the meantime.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, September 5, 2021 3:44 AM

I'd post a question, but I have one on the other thread that requires an answer that is as obvious as the previous one that was answered by all three systems having more than one track gauge.  I have to doubt that people want to answer my questions.

Please go tyo the other thread, read the question and hints, and answer the question.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, September 6, 2021 10:40 PM

rcdrye got it.  Once he was asked to get it.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 5:54 PM

How about this...

This train that finished its life with a dome car pulled by a PA-1 had its origin in trains that included a reilroad-owned 4 section coach-sleeper.  Give the railroad(s), the endpoints and the best-known name for the train.

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Posted by SD70Dude on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 2:17 AM

Rio Grande's Denver-Craig, CO "Yampa Valley Mail".  The "Mail" was dropped at some point, and the train also lost the rest of its name before the end came.  

It started out as the nameless passenger service of the Denver & Salt Lake (originally the optimistically named Denver, Northwestern & Pacific).  Carrying the sleeping accomodations on a mixed train probably wasn't conducive to actual sleeping.......

Also, sometimes there were two round-ended domes to go along with the PA:

https://railpictures.net/photo/576330/

https://railpictures.net/photo/567186/

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 7:32 AM

D&RGW had three of the six domes built for the Chessie (the others were sleeper-domes that went to B&O).  The Yampa Valley got them after the Royal Gorge was discontinued.

The train lost its RPO around 1963, but wasn't discontinued unitl 1968.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 9:50 PM

It must have been quite a sleeper ride on the original "Moffat Road" Craig passenger service, with all the swtchbacks traversed before the Moffat Tinnel opened.

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Posted by SD70Dude on Thursday, September 9, 2021 8:59 PM

The final batch of dome cars built in North America during the 'classic era' (pre-Amtrak/VIA, and certainly pre-Rocky Mountaineer) were ordered for a long distance train operated by two railroads.  They all wore the same paint scheme but one car was owned by and lettered for the other railroad. 

What year were they built, and who were the two railroads?

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

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Posted by daveklepper on Saturday, September 11, 2021 4:24 PM

Did not one car of each train, pssibly two, operate over a third railroad?   And several sets were required for the schedule, not just one set?

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Posted by Overmod on Saturday, September 11, 2021 5:54 PM

I cast my vote for the Wabash (and UP) City of St. Louis.  Domes built 1958.

A nifty question since none of the 'typical Internet sources' mention the cars.

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Posted by SD70Dude on Sunday, September 12, 2021 2:08 AM

Overmod is correct.  

I found out about this on the Utahrails site, they have a page listing all the foreign passenger cars that wore UP colours.  I was surprised there was more than just Milwaukee's equipment.  

A post in an old thread on the main forum listed them as being the last dome cars built.  

The Wabash car ended up on the Quebec, North Shore and Labrador, where it spent many years being pulled by RDCs on a regular basis.  Apparently it's still up there and is owned by Tshiuetin but is no longer in use.   

Greetings from Alberta

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, September 12, 2021 11:25 AM

SD70Dude
I was surprised there was more than just Milwaukee's equipment.

You can practically win money in bars with the equipment lettered 'Pennsylvania'...

A legitimate question (not a quiz question, because I myself don't know the answer) is how many cars in 'foreign' paint schemes that were lettered for Union Pacific there might have been?

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, September 12, 2021 7:20 PM

Overmod
A legitimate question (not a quiz question, because I myself don't know the answer) is how many cars in 'foreign' paint schemes that were lettered for Union Pacific there might have been?

The answer is few or none, unless you count various two-tone gray Pullmans.

The City of St. Louis domes were built by Pullman to a UP design that was executed by ACF for the 1955 order.  Both of Wabash's Pullman domes (203 and 202, a dome parlor built for the Blue Bird in 1952) ended up on Southern Railway properties, first by lease (from N&W, as 1613 AND 1602) and then by purchase.  1613's most famous job was on the Salisbury-Asheville train run by Southern after May 1971.  All four of Wabash's Budd domes were eventually purchased from Wabash successor N&W by Amtrak.

When N&W renumbered 203 to 1613 it relettered it NORFOLK AND WESTERN in UP paint.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, September 19, 2021 1:57 PM

Waiting for Overmod's question.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 4:11 AM

Still waiting

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, October 3, 2021 11:43 AM

Where did the question I posted go?

What was the first successful commercial use of single-phase high-voltage AC on an American railroad?  Give the year, the location, and the mileage involved.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, October 3, 2021 9:27 PM

24 July 1907. NYNH&H. Woodlawn in The Bronx - New Rochelle

What do you mean by mileage?   Total track mileage AC-catenary electrified?  Route from south-west start of catenary to New Rochelle Station?  Or to east end of New Rochelle yard east of the station?   Or include the DC[third-rail GCT-Woodlawn?  Or just pick any of these, whichever is easiest to determine?

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, October 4, 2021 6:27 AM

Generally considered to be the 4.75 miles between the junction at Woodlawn and New Rochelle. Opened first to New Rochelle, then Cos Cob, then Stamford.

The first single phase AC electrification beat NYNH&H's by about two years, on the Indianapolis & Columbus in 1905, a 3300 volt installation.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 3:58 AM

Wow!  Never knew about that 1905 install5on.

Catenary may have been extended to Cos Cob and test trains run. but actual operation required the extension to Stamford to open in October 1907.  No servicing facilities existed as Cos Cob.

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, October 6, 2021 6:12 PM

That first installation was built out to 82 miles, in 1904 according to Burch (who was writing only about a half-decade later!) and was quickly extended to 116 miles.

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