BUCK UP Sheldon! Just funnin' with you!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
As for the real railroads, I have a DVD with an old railroad training film from the '40's or '50's (can't think of the railroad that made it - perhaps New York Central) that the 'breaking point' (no pun intended) was 5 MPH. Any coupling above that speed risked damaging the lading inside the freight car.
When coupling to occupied passenger cars, many railroads required an engine to stop 10-15 feet short, and then crawl in for a soft coupling. For many years, when open-frame motors meant model engines didn't roll as smoothly as they do now, many model railroaders did that too.
I've seen many layout videos (even of the "Great Model Railroads" series) that shows rough coupling with the cars moving a lot after coupling. I think part of it is speed - modellers on a big layout with other many other people in an operating session maybe feel compelled to just "get er done" as quick as possible, and forget about making it realistic.
It could also be just that some people aren't that good at running engines / trains, or don't practice. I know when I couple onto a car, I try to make the car move as little as possible. In some cases if it moves too much (like a scale 10-15 feet or more) I'll uncouple and try it again until I get it right.
I like to set the speed and momentum of my engines so they all are as close to identical as possible. Once you get used to that, it's not that hard to do switching realistically. An engine like a BLI NW-2 will crawl along at 6-8 MPH is no problem, and you can learn just when to cut power to allow the engine's momentum to glide it into a soft coupling.
Just as a reference from personal experience, i say this.....
Back when i wore a younger mans clothes, my railfanning career was alot brighter than it is by todays standards. Once upon a time, there were rail crews out there that were actually not bothered at all by a railfan hanging around.
I was lucky that i came across one such crew. I wont give details as to where and when or crew names (so no trouble comes unto them for being friendly), but the scene is a large paper factory with a modest yard serving it.
The crew was, to me, very professional. The ground crew were hardened looking men fashioned by long hours of hard work in all sorts of weather. The engineer a grissled old man who narry spoke a word and very much resembled the actor Alan Hale (captain from Gilligan's Island). He would still answer my youthful questions.
As for his coupling prowess, to this day i have never seen any better. He had obviously mastered the technique of throttle/brake control. So much so that on more than one occasion, while in the cab, the "jostle" of coupling could NOT, i repeat, NOT be felt. He was that good! I asked quite a few times "did we just couple up?"..... he would glance over the control stand and just smile.
I know now, being older, this was experience at work. Yet being naive, i thought this was how it was done by everyone. Certainly now being older i realize this is something that most only strive for.
Sure there are training videos, and rules and regs that will state you dont couple to cars doing 60mph. So i think it is safely said, engineers mean to do it with kid gloves. However, as we know.... it doesnt always work out like we wish things would.
If i ever, EVER, get the chance to sit in the god seat.... you better believe i would do my best to recreate that old engineers habits. Not only is that how its spose to be done, but i think a fitting tribute to the rail crew who gave me the opportunity to step into their world. And certainly, as thanks to them, i would brag thats where i learned it from!
Before Alan Hale was the Skipper, he was Casey Jones. Seems appropriate to mention that.
PM Railfan Just as a reference from personal experience, i say this..... Back when i wore a younger mans clothes, my railfanning career was alot brighter than it is by todays standards. Once upon a time, there were rail crews out there that were actually not bothered at all by a railfan hanging around. I was lucky that i came across one such crew. I wont give details as to where and when or crew names (so no trouble comes unto them for being friendly), but the scene is a large paper factory with a modest yard serving it. The crew was, to me, very professional. The ground crew were hardened looking men fashioned by long hours of hard work in all sorts of weather. The engineer a grissled old man who narry spoke a word and very much resembled the actor Alan Hale (captain from Gilligan's Island). He would still answer my youthful questions. As for his coupling prowess, to this day i have never seen any better. He had obviously mastered the technique of throttle/brake control. So much so that on more than one occasion, while in the cab, the "jostle" of coupling could NOT, i repeat, NOT be felt. He was that good! I asked quite a few times "did we just couple up?"..... he would glance over the control stand and just smile. I know now, being older, this was experience at work. Yet being naive, i thought this was how it was done by everyone. Certainly now being older i realize this is something that most only strive for. Sure there are training videos, and rules and regs that will state you dont couple to cars doing 60mph. So i think it is safely said, engineers mean to do it with kid gloves. However, as we know.... it doesnt always work out like we wish things would. If i ever, EVER, get the chance to sit in the god seat.... you better believe i would do my best to recreate that old engineers habits. Not only is that how its spose to be done, but i think a fitting tribute to the rail crew who gave me the opportunity to step into their world. And certainly, as thanks to them, i would brag thats where i learned it from!
Much the same as what I described above - that happens at Strasburg a dozen or more times a day, most every day, for a good part of the the year, for the last 40-50 years now.
Sheldon
ACY Before Alan Hale was the Skipper, he was Casey Jones. Seems appropriate to mention that.
Im quite glad you did mention this. This is my learned fact for the day. I was totally unaware Alan Hale was Casey Jones. Thanks!
Douglas
"Much the same as what I described above - that happens at Strasburg a dozen or more times a day, most every day, for a good part of the the year, for the last 40-50 years now.
Sheldon"
I was just adding to the heap. Paying a little tribute to that long ago crew.
Was this Casey Jones in a movie? I would like to see that.
While the engineer handles the throttle and brakes, it's really up to the trainman/switchman at the joint on how hard it's made. Good, consistent car counts and the "that'll do" signal at the right moment is the difference between a soft or hard coupling.
Crews that work together on a regular basis in the same general area, such as in a yard or on a local freight, get a feel for one another. The groundman knows how his engineer will handle the train/engine when he gives (either by radio or hand signal), "5 cars." The engineer knows 5 cars today means 5 - 50 foot cars, the same as it did yesterday and the day before. Not 5 - 50 foot box cars yesterday and 5 - 89 foot auto racks today.
Also, once you've made the joint, don't forget to stretch it to ensure the pin dropped and it's secure. Many rules today call for that. Nothing more funny (or exasperating depending on your point of view) than coupling up, making the air and once you start moving have the train go into emergency. All because it looked like the coupling made, but really hadn't.
Jeff
Alan Hale's version of Casey Jones was a TV series that lasted about 1 or 2 years in the mid 1950's. His engine was Sierra no. 3, and Casey got transplanted from the I.C. in Mississippi to some (unnamed?) railroad in the Wild West. It was NOT a documentary, but it was fun.
ACY Alan Hale's version of Casey Jones was a TV series that lasted about 1 or 2 years in the mid 1950's. His engine was Sierra no. 3, and Casey got transplanted from the I.C. in Mississippi to some (unnamed?) railroad in the Wild West. It was NOT a documentary, but it was fun.
Casey Jones.....Steamin' and a-rollin'.....
Casey Jones........You never have to guess.....
When you hear.......the tootin' of the whistle....
That it's Casey at the throttle of the "Cannonball Express".....!!:D
(Sign of a misspent youth, remembering TV theme songs....!!)
May your freight ALWAYS roll smoothly...and ON TIME!!
I brought this up thinking that Roger Awsumb and Alan Hale Jr. could maybe be mistaken for each other. However, I have proven to myself that there were two Casey Jones shows for kids.
PM RailfanIf i ever, EVER, get the chance to sit in the god seat.... you better believe i would do my best to recreate that old engineers habits.
Simply put you would be fired if you did that.
Real railroading is gone replaced by hampering rules and regulations railroading where you must stop before making a joint to ensure the knuckles is open.You even need a tool to set or release a brake wheel..There's a peeking tommy watching your every move you make and making a minor mistake can cost you your job or some street time.
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Mark Here ya go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_GkBh5SxU4
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
The actor who played Alan Hale's fireman was Dub Taylor, and he sure didn't look like Sim Webb!
"Simply put you would be fired if you did that." -Brakie
Of that i have no doubt. So much has changed in the last 40 years that ya cant even ride the cab no more. Theres no one to wave to that waves back, and railroads dont hire foamers. Thus, why im not a railroader.
Douglas,The majority of the engineers I worked with on the PRR was former steam locomotive throttle masters and they knew how to get every bit of horse power out of their locomotive(s) and they knew how long they could peg the needle in the red zone before damage would accrue.The beauty is how they ran their engines by sound and feel.They would know if their engines wasn't working quite right just by the sound.
IMHO the younger (none steam era) engineers on the Chessie(C&O) had lost a lot of that skill.Pity.
ACYAlan Hale's version of Casey Jones was a TV series that lasted about 1 or 2 years in the mid 1950's.
Here you go. Somehow that show seems familiar to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGMnDOsGVQ
I did not remember that the fireman played by Dub Taylor was named Wallie Sims. That sounds like a combination of the name of Sim Webb, Casey's actual fireman, and Wallace Saunders, who wrote the original song. Who'da thunk it?
t.
I used to work the loading dock of a large discount store and unloaded lots of trucks. I can remember numerous time raising the back door of the trailer and having merchandise spill out which had toppled from the pallets because of a clumsy driver. I imagine hard coupling would do the same thing to the contents of a boxcar.