Well wasn't that Swiss locomotive interesting! I suspect they couldn't get the bugs out of it, especially concerning the scale issue, that and maybe the Swiss considered total electrification was just a matter of time, so why persue a dead-end?
I forget just where I read this, but supposedly steam experts said a little boiler scale was all right as it helped to seal the tubes, but obviously you didn't want a lot of it.
That gyro-monorail's interesting as well. I'm assuming there had to be some outriggers to keep it in the upright position when the gyros weren't engaged. I didn't see any mention of the same in either article.
You've got a couple of famous favorites there.
1) is the Brennan gyroscopic monorail, as seen here and here.. Those panels are the radiator for the gas motor. (Ask Mike to find you the picture of this running on top of a cable strung between two sides of a ravine, like the 'daughtermobile' on steroids, a field military demonstration which is, in my opinion, even today a damn amazing one).
2) is the Swiss Eb3/5 high-pressure locomotive of 1927. (See the joke about European heaven and European hell.) Those hooded scoops are combustion air intakes. Good coverage also on the Douglas Self site.
The jackshaft drive is not from a turbine, but a transverse three-cylinder steam motor, running off the nominal 850psi steam.
For years I had this confused with a Velox-boiler locomotive, which was 'not quite invented yet.' The Swiss made up for lost time with that, though. (In large part I joined the Newcomen Society to read Duffy's paper on the Velox; you can get the flavor of the thing as implemented in France, quite possibly responding to the Borsig 05 003 streamliner, from Self.)
I'm not even going to guess about that whacked-out monorail, but I blew up the second photo to the point of fuzzyness and it looks like some kind of jackshaft electric locomotive. Follow the main rod up to where the cylinders would be if it was a steamer and the rod seems to connect with an electric motor assembly.
Now just where it gets the juice from is anyone's guess. Maybe there's a generator and power source in the "supestructure?"
More strange things in Railroading:
1) What in the heck is this? Craziness! Is it real?
2) Steam? Diesel? Electric? Batman?
Well will you look at that! Thanks so much Ed. Who knew?
Miningman2) A Pennsy caboose. Was this the Pennsy trying its best to be humble, perhaps seeking alms or showing brotherhood with struggling railroads or just being cheap? Like the round windows though.
I just happened to stumble across an article in the PRRT&HS Vol. 52 #1, Keystone, regarding the conversion of seventy-five, 1913, X23 boxcars into "War emergency" cabin cars classed NX23 re-built in early 1943. The War Production Board did not allow for construction of all-steel cabooses for the duration and in order to fill the need Altoona made this conversion.
By 1947 nearly half the roster was reassigned to M-of-W work, two went to the Long Island and two more to the Western Allegheny. In 1960 the PRR sold two cars to a building supply dealer in Urbana, Ohio where they were used as an office and the other as storage.
Today, one of those cars is still in Urbana along the Simon Kenton Corridor (an Ex-Erie bike trail).
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM596B_Pennsylvania_NX23_Urbana_Ohio
Regards, Ed
Interesting! I wonder if that every happened?
B&M's 1964 ETTs still list speed limits for trains carrying milk. The Rutland also handed milk cars over to B&M at Bellows Falls until abandonment, though Rutland's New York milk trains were gone after about 1953.
I regularly drive NH 12 paralleling the Cheshire Branch from Bellows Falls to Keene. Tank type milk cars were not fitted with baffles. If they had been, milk shipped via the Cheshire would have arrived in Boston as solid butter.
Mike weighs in:
These two cars were the last milk cars built for service in the United States, constructed in 1957-1958 for the Boston & Maine railroad. 1910 was equipped with mechanical refrigeration, for transporting processed milk in one-gallon glass bottles from Bellows Falls Creamery in Vermont to Boston (the Creamery owned the refrigeration units carried by the cars). 1920 was designed for handling “raw” milk in the classic tall 40-quart cans, with crushed ice spread over the load. Both cars last were used for milk service about 1965, and wound up as company storage cars. Both were purchased from B&M in 1989. They look like low steel boxcars, but are equipped with passenger-style trucks, brake systems, couplers, and through steam heat lines. 1920 was restored in 1992, with the interior set up for display and exhibit space. Currently B&M 1920 is on display at Thomaston Station on the Naugatuck Railroad, while B&M 1910 awaits safe movement to RMNE.
A lucky guess on my part, but it made sense.
1) How about a T1 caught with its pants down!
2) Well this is different. Built in Renovo.
3) Was this the last series of milk cars ever built?
That puts things in perspective, so thanks. Steam tractor events are pretty lively affairs. 1999 I came within an inch of buying one, and looking back now, thankfully a couple of fellas from Holland topped my bids and I gave up at 13,500. It required boiler work before being permitted and certified. They took it back to the Netherlands which I imagine was quite an additional expense.
MiningmanWell you get the idea. There are events for steam tractors.
The real 'problem' being that railroad equipment has so much more momentum, and such tiny contact patches with effectively sharp edges, and so little hp/ton and so many tons per effective brake that most of the events would either be safe and on the order of watching grass grow around a loading-down GE, or fodder for ... the folks who used to watch Indianapolis open-wheel racing, or NASCAR in the late '60s, the people there for the blood and circuses. Neither of these the 'target audience' for much fun.
Now, that's not saying there isn't an almost indecent amount of fun involved in steam tractor events (I just introduced my son to one in Ashtabula). You haven't quite lived until you take a turn in the 'car' during steam ploughing when the throttlemen show what the winches can do full-open. If you've watched them test the reverse on 3985, and then extrapolate that motion to hundreds of feet 'reach' ... well, yes, it puts the tame little zipline toward the Falls in perspective.
And yes, it would be worth building a 'replica' of the LeTourneau steam tractor from the Forties, just to put in a typical sled pull against the little 2000hp trucks you find there now. Even a Case 110hp does a number on their typical sled... be interesting to see what the restored 150 might do.
I should also be a little puckish, and think about building a steam-motored balancing machine to use for barrel racing, which I consider by far the best of the rodeo sports even regardless of the charm.
Quite a bit of fun to be had in the 'light steam' department!
MiningmanDid you get to the Stampede.
I was downtown to see the action there but I never did get the time to get down to Stampede Park.
Watching the TV coverage has been keeping me off the streets most evenings!
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Glad you enjoyed that Bruce. Did you get to the Stampede. All the big money prizes go today. Yee-Haw!
Think this is a better pic of that shopswitcher
Well ok but I'm not going up
MiningmanFrom Mike: 1912 Stampede
The stuff about the 1919 Victory Stampede was interesting too. There have been stories about that in the local media ever since the 100th Anniversary of the end of WWI last November. It seemed like a really good idea that didn't work out.
I think Veterans from all over rural Western Canada would have liked to have seen a reminder of what life was like before they served. What they didn't know was that they were on the cusp of a world wide recession and money was getting tight. And the Spanish Flu Epidemic was about to come.
In my own family's case my Mom's father served with the British Army before he immigrated to Canada. In the final years of her life Mom talked about problems they had on the farm when she was little, but they were British, so they had to keep a stiff upper lip, and keep problems in the family. One thing he did do though was get involved with the formation of the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Brooks, AB, along with local Canadian Veterans.
My Dad's parents were already in Saskatchewan and had gotten married the year before the war broke out. He was given a specific exemption from military service to continue farming and raise crops and animals to support the country.
Well... yeah! Tug of war would work. How about those spinning bells!
How about pulling a very heavy weight up a grade until you stall out or 'make it'.
Well you get the idea. There are events for steam tractors.
Even if it's just done on a demonstration type level.
Ok I'll drop it.
Crazy rodeo-type stuff with locomotives? You mean like this?
(Go full-screen if you can, the print's not too sharp.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q53AYdnZX8Y
From Mike: 1912 Stampede
Book says 40,000 came by train at half fare.
Did you know? ... bull and bucking bronco riders cannot touch the animal with their free hand, that's why you see them desperatly trying to hold it up freely swinging in the air. Outriders in the chuckwagon race must stay within 150 feet of their wagon and ride the distance.
All the finals tomorrow for the big bucks. Calf roping & tie down, bull riding, bronc riding, bareback bronco riding, steer take down, chuckwagon races, barrel racing ( the American gals are cleaning up and they are gorgeous! , gotta luv the kids teams and the wild pony catch 'em and ride 'em. So much more.
Are you saying you can't do a simple drop off and pick up without derailing and huge mishaps? Suppose we have to get well qualified people then. Regardless I'll be mocked into eternity. Sigh
Overmod-- Very interesting about the throttle. I thought it was the one thing that worked well but now have seen the reality.
Good to hear the T1 trust has a handle on it.
Overmod Miningman We need a new event proposal-- Come one, come all, to the Alberta Precision Scheduled Railroadeo! See all the excitement of modern vulture capital operations together with the best downhill-fast safety-last practices of the golden age of steam! WATCH as teams compete for the fastest flat switch, risking their lives as they board and depart equipment as fast as possible! THRILL to full-speed acceleration contests with tied-down safety valves, featuring the best spine-chilling promise of nineteenth-century steamboat racing! DELIGHT to the competition of who can run the longest train divided into the most pointless expedient blocks! Plenty of authentic beanery cuisine, and watch for our cooking reality show on preparing cordon bleu nouvelle cuisine dishes on a shovel within a strict time limit! You won't want to miss the thrills, the chills, the spills as history comes to life writ large just for YOU red in tooth and claw!
Miningman We need a new event proposal--
Come one, come all, to the Alberta Precision Scheduled Railroadeo! See all the excitement of modern vulture capital operations together with the best downhill-fast safety-last practices of the golden age of steam!
WATCH as teams compete for the fastest flat switch, risking their lives as they board and depart equipment as fast as possible! THRILL to full-speed acceleration contests with tied-down safety valves, featuring the best spine-chilling promise of nineteenth-century steamboat racing! DELIGHT to the competition of who can run the longest train divided into the most pointless expedient blocks! Plenty of authentic beanery cuisine, and watch for our cooking reality show on preparing cordon bleu nouvelle cuisine dishes on a shovel within a strict time limit! You won't want to miss the thrills, the chills, the spills as history comes to life writ large just for YOU red in tooth and claw!
And for the final event, all contestants must RERAIL anything and everything they have derailed, no matter how many pieces it's in! No cranes here folks, just good old-fashioned elbow grease, 200 lb hunks of metal and whatever junk the crew can scrounge up!
You'll experience the AUTHENTIC feelings of passenges whose train has been stopped by a derailment, and who knows, maybe the crew will "request" YOUR HELP in fixing the mess! Don't hold back, JOIN IN THE FUN!
PUZZLE at the pointless nonsensical arguments of whose fault it is, when everyone knows the junior brakeman will get to haul those pesky RERAILERS around! All while the conductor CRACKS JOKES with the crowd and samples all those fine shovel dishes!
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Wish I could say the beans were a parody... see the Newswire for the real thing, in some ways funnier.
(1) is surely a shop switcher, probably 'repurposed' from something older. One of the IC mavens will tell you why it carries a 'road' type number.
(2) might be something from WWII days, a boxcar repurposed as a caboose or perhaps guard car for military trains. Those portholes are certainly snazzy but I'm not as sure about the paint...
(3) The keystone opens at midnight as the blackbird takes wing...
Seriously, the pictured item is just a typical multiple throttle... in fact it was one of the great problems for the T1 since as built you couldn't install one for both engines, and the company couldn't figure how to put two full sets of progressive poppets with one header. Hence the need for Wagner-throttle trim on the forward engine in the rebuild.
FAR more interesting is the thing at the other end of the linkage driving that cam ... but it isn't made by the Superheater Company so doesn't show. That's the Franklin Precision air throttle actuator, a thing of charm and beauty that will figure importantly in 5550's actual operation now that all the ham-fisted old heads have moved on...
Not quite the spirit of it all I had wished for but it's not going to happen anyway ever, so its moot.
As the poet said " thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season".
The beans part is a good idea though!
More very strange things
1) I think this is Illinois Central but maybe not. Is this a saddletank? On top? Not very good visibility for the engineer. Has has very high number as if its part of the mainline fleet.
2) A Pennsy caboose. Was this the Pennsy trying its best to be humble, perhaps seeking alms or showing brotherhood with struggling railroads or just being cheap? Like the round windows though.
3) So they hid the throttle in the keystone? Secret message. Don't think so but was this throttle one of the few things that worked well with the T1? By the way Elesco made out like a bandit up here in the Dominion as their Feedwater Heaters were applied to just about everything that moved and had a whistle.
All the foregoing may well be easier on the HORSES?
Thank You.
MiningmanWe need a new event proposal--
Switching set outs and drop offs .. best time. Creative whistle competitions, grab your caboose and crew and fly off in a side to side race with eliminations, best times to a final. Keep a clear stack, steam up and fire high!
Come on guys show some luv here. Dude, your locomotive could be the pride of Alberta. Perfect fit with the Stampede.
So the Saddledome is appropriately named for more than just its appearance!
Really enjoying watching the Stampede this year. Got to luv those 3 kid teams, boys and girls, trying to get on a wild pony, getting dragged at the end of a rope through the dirt all around the arena, hanging on, they don't give up!
We need a new event proposal-- get all active working steam locomotives in Alberta and open it up to any steam from anywhere and have pulling contests, time clock races and side by side sprints. Black smoke penalties, slipping penalties, stuff like that. Iron Horse events!!
Fits right in there with Cowboys, Wagons, Steers and Bulls and the Wild West.
Thanks for the clip. The rodeo scenes are filmed where the present day Saddledome is located. Instead of seeing the tops of houses, or a few buildings, highrises form the backdrop in almost every direction now.
This clip, and the talk of Hatton back on Canada Day, has really had me thinking about my Mom. The Stampede is all about recreating the old west, but she could tell you first person accounts of almost everything in the film, including who played what music. Even though my Dad grew up in small town Saskatchewan, she sometimes made it seem like he was a big city kid!
Bruce, NDG, Dude, cx500 and for all us out in the West: Mike found us this fascinating clip of the Calgary Stampede 1945 by the National Film Board. Chuckwagon race was fierce! Great line " if you break your neck you're disqualified".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsErtXx1MEw
Of course all steam, some electrics, lots of streetcars throughout the land and ten years to go before the Great Purge!
Was wondering what that centre track was all about and how people got to it! So thanks Dave, they don't, it's the express track. Duh on my part. Water elevator eh? Still a few operating here and there but mostly as display. They can make some eerie noises like the Titanic going down, moaning and groaning. Must be great memories for you.
NDG-- yes I recall the lines 'humming' and the telegraph at the station. Can easily see how one can miss those things. Even with modern cell phones we still occasionally get dropped calls and no service areas. In those cases there is nothing as hard line telephones getting scarce as I try to find a phone booth. Think we have one in town, inside a building, does not take money either, need a valid pre pay card thingie.
Bruce-- Chuckwagon races live are truly a sight to behold. Nothing makes you stand up and hoot and holler like the start of a chuckwagon race going around those barrels and shooting out like fully charging steam locomotives.. now that's horsepower. Have fun and enjoy the food and the races. ( watched the qualifying for the semi finals yesterday but on the TV, and not the same at all.. helps if you've seen it live, then you can imagine a bit). Wish the heck I could go, perhaps better health next year.
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