It is an interesting question, though. I has nothing to do with cut-off limit, estimated shelf life remaining for the boiler (why not just the last date shopped),...?
I googled the question and came to this site:
CNR Steam Locomotive Roster - Notes (trainweb.org)
Apparently, for CNR at least, each 1k of TE was designated as a percentage. So, maybe in the case above, 55% = Total TE for the locomotive.
Stix, what UP classes did that? In my experience they put just about everything BUT the FA or adhesion percentage on the cab (including weight on drivers and cylinder proportions).
In any case 55% isn't going to be a direct measure of adhesion, which would be in the range of 4 (or 25% weight on drivers) to mean something on the kind of engine pictured. About the lowest FA I know of in service is the N&W J, which I recall as being about 3.31; even that would be fantastically slippery if not handled with care and respect (and indicates that a large percentage of ihp was intended to be used fully only at high cyclic/road speed)
I'd be more inclined to speculate it's a practical 'derating' of something calculated, like PLAN or other ihp, for practical train make-up purposes, perhaps varying by division.
That wasn't a Canadian-only thing; some US railroads (U.P. for one IIRC) did it too.
Thanks Ed, that sounds reasonable.
Joe
MARTIN STATION...Now that's funny!
There's not much humour in the exchange rate for us Ca-knuckleheads, though.
Wayne
selector Oh, c'mon, Ed. You know better than that! Ans: it's the day's exchange rate for the CDN$ vs. the USD$. That's why those ratings were changed at midnight every night. Part of hostler's job was to carry stencil, two paints (Engine Black, White), and correct the exchange rate for next day's revenue hauls across the borders.
Oh, c'mon, Ed. You know better than that!
Ans: it's the day's exchange rate for the CDN$ vs. the USD$. That's why those ratings were changed at midnight every night. Part of hostler's job was to carry stencil, two paints (Engine Black, White), and correct the exchange rate for next day's revenue hauls across the borders.
Ralph
selectorOh, c'mon, Ed. You know better than that!
Could be the income tax rate of the engineer?
Cheers, Ed
I'm led to believe it is the tractive effort rating of the locomotive:
4070-Photo-Backups-261 by Edmund, on Flickr
i.e. this USRA Mikado would have a 55,000 lb. tractive rating.
Alco_USRA_0003 by Edmund, on Flickr
As shown above, tractive force is rated at 54,700 lb. and the GTW may have rounded it up to 55,000 using the % as a symbol for x 1000.
I could be mistaken. Others may step in with further information.
I was watching a video about Canadian steam engines and noticed on several engines below the cab windows there was a 53% or some other number painted on the cab.
I am curious as to what they are referring to. Any ideas?