cudaken Sparkie has told us it is his time to cross the Rainbow Bridge. . .
Sparkie has told us it is his time to cross the Rainbow Bridge. . .
Ken: I was in your shoes just two weeks ago. A very tough decision but it is better than the suffering. Stay the course.
Richard
Tinplate ToddlerThere is a lot more to firing a steam engine than just to shovel coal into the fire box. Proper firing is an art, aimed at matching steam generation with steam consumption while at the same time keeping coal consumption as low as possible.
Ulrich,
Thanks for sharing that film! I have always wondered about the intricacies of how a steam engine is fired. Now I know.
Something that wasn't really touched on in the film was how much coal a fireman might have to shovel during a single trip. Despite the amount of coal being limited each time coal was added to the firebox, over a few hours the total amount is considerable! At an average of six shovel fulls every two minutes, that's 180 shovel fulls per hour. What does a shovel full of coal weigh? I'm guessing at 10+ lbs. That's 1800+ lbs. per hour, or roughly 7200+ lbs. in a four hour trip! Betcha those guys were in good shape. Does anyone have more accurate numbers?
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critterSomething that wasn't really touched on in the film was how much coal a fireman might have to shovel during a single trip.
Somewhere, maybe it was one of my PRR Keystone magazines, I seem to recall reading about tests the PRR conducted at the test plant in Altoona where they weighed the maximum amound of coal that could be hand-scooped. I believe 4.5 tons per hour was the figure stated. I'll have to do some digging.
The unions and railroads got into some fired-up () discussions about the installation of stokers on larger engines. PRR certainly didn't want to retro-fit many of their existing locomotives with stokers. Even the first K4s were built without stokers.
When it was finally determined that with the larger firebox sizes and steam horsepower requirements of more modern locomotives coming along it would have been impossible for a human (PRR even used two firemen on some runs) to keep up with the demand. I believe the ICC in 1939, required stokers to be provided on locomotives over 160,000 lbs on drivers. Railroads had about five years to retrofit older locos.
Good reading here:
https://prrt1steamlocomotivetrust.org/bookclub/download.php
There will be a test on Monday!
Ken, I wish you, Sparkie and all concerned that things work out OK for you folks. You have a lot to deal with lately!
It was good to chat with you —
Regards, Ed
Good Morning!
Zoe, coffee in an IV bag for me , please. I hardly caught any sleep last night.
Dave - your calculation is quite close - for an engine of the size USRRA Light Mikado pulling a fairly light train with hardly a grade. Add load and a grade and the fireman will have to add quite a few shovels. Increase the size of the engine, i.e. a bigger grate area and a larger boiler and firing without the help of a mechanical device sich as a stoker becomes a back breaking affair.
Ken - I am sorry to hear about Sparkie bound for the rainbow bridge.
Back to British railroading.
Standardization came fairly late to British Railways. Prior to the grouping into the Big Four, Britain had a couple of hundred (!) railway companies, each favoring their own design. Only locomotives built after 1923 where somewhat standardized, at least each of the Big Four companies had their own standards. Real standardization took place after the Big Four were amalgamated into British Railways in 1947, who developed a few standradized engines ton replace the in some instances 75 year old engines still on the roster. There was a distinct need for replacements, as war time neglect had taken its toll. Unfortunately, the appearance of standard engines on British Rail metals coincided with the dawn of the Diesel age, so only a few new steam engines were built. Some of those engines saw less than 10 years of service. The extreme variety of different locomotive types added to the early demise of steam in Britain.
Time for Railway Roundabout 1959!
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Ken, there are new diecast 1968/69 dodge chargers coming out, aren't those the ones you like?
https://www.pwrs.ca/product_search.php?f_Scales%5B%5D=1&f_ProductTypes=null&f_Keywords=dodge+charger&f_HasSound=0&f_HasDCC=0
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Ken,
Trod the path you are on about three weeks ago. No matter what, it is a hard decision--We somtimes do things for ourselves, rather than for our friend. Not at all ashamed to admit that when Shelby breathed her last I cried like a four year old. My neighbor helped me wrap her in a fine cotton sheet, and placed her in the ground.
Wife was devestated as it was her companion dog she acquired when she was fighting her second bout with cancer.
At the end of this month a replacement pup will be arriving, she has already named the pup Agatha, "Aggie", I go with the flow. She isn't aware that I am also making arrangements to pick up a rescue dog to go along with her. My male is 6yo., and male dogs have the propensity to kill a pup. With an older female around this lessens greatly, this other female just had a litter of pups, and I am sure she will keep him in line. Puppy breath, and the pitter-patter of little feet, been almost thirty years since that has been heard here in the fish house, kinda looking forward to it.
Prayers for you and you wife Ken---hard sleddin ahead, I know----!
hope things are progressing for your move, while it can be a challange, focus on the end result. Best to Petra--
Bear,
Thank you for the aircraft pictures, what gets scarey is looking at some of them and remembering when-------getting old sucks--the mind,(what little is left) is more than willing, but there is this body thing,-----?!??!! Starting down Jeffery's path, lost a large chunk of meat this AM, went to the Dr. office, and have been started on pill form of anit-fungal med, and will start antibiotics behind that. Big chore is getting woodshed built, and filled before snow flies, not far off.
Prayers and thoughts to those in need, time to turn in.
herrinchoker
Mornin'....
Janie, I could use a pot of dark roast coffee, please.
Ken, so sorry to hear about Sparkie! You are good to not make him suffer longer. After recently having two kitties put down and staying with them to the end, I can tell you it is peaceful and quick. Do stay with him and pet him as it happens. You'll be glad you were with him until the end...... It is always so hard to lose a loved pet! You are in my prayers today.
Will keep your daughter in my prayers as well. Hopefully they caught it early if it is cancer.
7
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good Morning. Like Ulrich, I didn't get much sleep last night -- loud thunderstorms through the night. I finally gave up trying to sleep. Even with all the noise, there was not much rain.
Ken, you have a lot on your plate lately. I am praying that things will calm down and go better soon. Remember that you have quite a few friends here who are supporting you.
Brent, I have a friend who collects diecast cars. He is not married -- his house is full of boxes. He donated several of his prize cars to our school auction, and they brought quite a bit of money.
Back to work on the layout. Such drudgery!
York1 John
Today my daughter is getting married. I'm in New Hampshire for the ceremony.
I have crossed paths with some of the tourist railroads several times, and am now only a few miles from the Cog Railway myself.
I think I've figured out a solution for reconfiguring my layout in its new home.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasleyToday my daughter is getting married.
Congratulations to the newlyweds!
Good Afternoon,
We are finally getting a rain shower here.
Ken, sorry to hear about Sparkie. It is always a very hard thing to do.
Nothing to report, just the usual stuff going on.
Once the rain lets up I will be off to do a little shopping including some oranges for a red squirrel that is addicted to them. He just came by and I could see him on the branch of the spruce tree that is close to our back door where we put a half orange. He was licking the branch stub where we put them. It is amazing to watch him eat an orange. It takes him a day or so as he just takes small pieces at a time.
CN Charlie
Good afternoon .
Ken .... I am very sorry to hear about Sparkie. He has been a great campanion for you.
Herrinchoker .... Sad to read about your loss of Shelby three weeks ago.
Mr. B .... Congratulations to your daughter and her new husband.
CN Charlie ... Interesting about the squirrel ...
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Evening.
Funny, the squirrel subject is front and center here. I didn't know red squirrels like citrus. My buddy Erv just told me a squirrel story. He actually had two of them but I will save the second one for later.
A couple days ago his neighbor was trying to fix a remote controlled monster 4x4 truck. He got really pissed off and threw it down in the lawn. It was garbage day and he threw the monster truck into the garbage out on the street.
Erv went across the street a while later, pulled it out of the garbage and found the remote control was in there as well. He took it in his garage and fixed it.
He has a bunch of nuisance squirrels that rob his bird feeders and create havoc in the backyard.
He filled the monster truck up with feed corn and parked it in the backyard. The squirrels come to eat out of the back of the monster truck and Erv runs them over by remote control. It doesn't hurt the squirrels and he is so surprised they come back to eat out of the monster truck again........ He runs over them again
He said it is quite entertaining and can't wait till I come over to laugh with him.
This isn't the first time he's pulled things out of the garbage and fixed them. He always eventually gives them back to his neighbors.
I need to thank everyone here for the prayers and support for my friend Ron. I am very unhappy to say nothing has changed. He is still unresponsive.
The surgeon believes he had a massive stroke is what caused him to fall off the ladder in the garage. Things do not look good for him and it saddens me. I will be going to my Train Club tomorrow. It appears unfortunately, we all could be saying goodbye to our good friend Ron.
There is not a finer man that I know. He is always positive. A man who always has something funny to say and only good things to say about others.
I want to say sorry to our friend Ken regarding his dog Sparky. Tough to deal with, I have been there more than once.
I cannot leave on a sad note. It's just not my style, so I am going to tell the second squirrel story. Erv learned this one on YouTube. He only does it in the winter not to injure an animal.
Erv's deck overlooks a park. He puts a spring loaded clay pigeon sling on his deck with a string to trigger it. He puts peanuts in the saddle of it. The squirrels that always raise hell with his bird feeders climb up onto the thing to get the peanuts. He pulls the string and launches them through the air about 25 ft and they land in the soft snow.
He is amazed on how they come back to try to get the peanuts again
TF
Afternoon Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a Please.
Took Sparkie to the vet today. OK you folks are going to think I am nuts! This morning he seemed a more alert and eat more of my chicken for his breakfest. I came in the house around around 9:45 and made my breakfest. He could smell me cooking knowing I would give him something when I came back to the bedroom to eat with him. I will be dang, he was sitting up in bed and looked all happy the way only a dog can do it.
I had my eggs and sausage and gave him more of my chicken. With this being his last meal I gave him a little sausage. With his IBS problems that is no no. But what the heck he only had a hour left anyway.
Got to the vet and he was very Alert and looked happy. Wife wanted to have the Vet check him out first and see what she thought. He is still losing weight, that is not good. But, his heart and lungs are in good shape. She changed his pain meds for the arthritis and how often he gets it.
We ask if it was his time. Said she would do what we wanted but there was no real reason to. He is still health for his age.
So Sparkie is home again. Motto of this story? Feed him more rosted chicken! Give him a chicken, he is good for another month.
Later, still have a dog and not smoking Ken
I hate Rust
Howdy ..
Ken .... Good news. No, we don't think ypu are nuts. .... Enjoy Sparkie as long as you can.
TF ..... Continued prayers for Ron.
I woke up early this morning and worked in the yard until about 11:00. I hauled a full truck of trimmings to the horticultural recycling center. The front yard looks great now. I have a lawn service for the basics, but I still take care of the trees and shrubbery.
.
I have not done anything else all day. I am now completely lazy.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 . I have not done anything else all day. I am now completely lazy. . -Kevin .
Well Kevin...... That's exactly what Saturdays and Sundays are for.
You do a little something in the beginning of the day to feel good about yourself. Then you just chill out and relax for the rest of the day or go do something fun.
Looks like you had the right idea to me.
Heartland Division CB&Q TF ..... Continued prayers for Ron.
Thanks Garry. All of Ron's friends have not given up here.
Hoping for the best. TF
Brunhilda, make that coffee in an IV bag and add my usual Sunday big breakfast of fried bacon, eggs, buttered toast & jams, a stack of pancakes & maple syrup, cheese and a small galss of OJ, please!
We were woken up early by a rather noisy marital dispute of our neighbours, which ended only when the police, which I had called, intervened and took the husband away, in handcuffs. The paramedics took care of the wife. Thank goodness their kid was with the grandmother all the time. Here is one "happily ever after" that ended prematurely and not any longer happily! Honestly, I can certainly do without such kind of Sunday morning entertainment. I wish we had the Denmark move already high and dry, but my hands are tied for the moment.
Great Britain is hardly associated with really harsh winters with lots of snow, but now and then, Britain gets caught in a rather cold spell, resulting in lots of snow being dumped on the isle, causing bad snow drifts in the exposed areas of the Pennines and Highlands. 1955 was such a year. Here is the story of a steam train stuck in a snow drift at Bleath Gill.
And a wee bit o´ railway poetry!
Not really Shakespearean in quality, but nonetheless entertaining.
Have a great Sunday!
Good morning. No breakfast for me -- it's Sunday. One day a week I eat doughnuts for breakfast. They have them at the church after the service.
When we moved to our house 25 years ago, there were no trees here. We planted a bunch, over 30. The red oaks and the sugar maples are now very large and shade the house.
Our Natural Resources District gives away seedlings each year to school kids. My three daughters, in elementary school, brought home pine and spruce seedlings which I planted, thinking they would die. They didn't.
Now we have a row of huge pines across the backyard, which I love. However, over the past several years, the Austrian pines are being killed by a needle blight spread by some kind of insect.
End result is that I have a row of 30' to 40' tall trees that are dying.
Years ago, I would have cut them myself, but now at my age, I have to hire someone while I watch from a safe distance. The tree guy started to cut one dead tree Friday, and will finish tomorrow. The others will die over the next several years, so this will be ongoing. And expensive.
I wish I could burn the wood, but pine wood is not good fireplace wood. It burns, but it pops and deposits lots of gunk in the chimney. I tried it once, and ended up with several burned spots on the hearth rug.
It's probably time for me to get rid of my chainsaw and splitter. I buy all my firewood now from a former student.
Hope everyone has a good relaxing Sunday.
York1Years ago, I would have cut them myself, but now at my age, I have to hire someone while I watch from a safe distance.
I am just beginning this process. I have had a lawn service for a couple of years now. Previously I took pride in maintaining my yard. I told myself I hired them because I was travelling so much. In reality, I would never want to mow or edge my lawn again. I like the freedom of having someone else do it.
I hired a tree service last year to remove a palm tree, something I would have done myself as well. They were done in 30 minutes and it only cost a couple hundred dollars. It would have taken me all day.
I am paying to have a few more things done that used to be do-it-yourself jobs.
SeeYou190In reality, I would never want to mow or edge my lawn again. I like the freedom of having someone else do it.
Just curious -- do you have St. Augustine grass? In New Orleans, that's what we had. It was great because it grew no matter what, but if you didn't keep up, it was a bear to cut, and if you didn't edge it every week, you had a real mess.
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a please.
Nothing new to post about. Sparkie seems alert but now we are having problems getting to eat chicken. That means he is not getting his meds. He has eaten today but we are worried.
Later Ken
I have a friend who worked for BNSF. He said running a machine similar to this was the most fun you could have on the railroad. It may be what I need for all the trees in the backyard.
I don't know how to post a video, so here is the youtube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvAGPDtl_qg
Hi Diners,
Just checking in. Nothing exciting to report.
York-1: is that picture one of those machines that grabs a tree by the trunk, then the saw blade comes out, cuts the tree in half, then the gripper arm throws the tree in the chipper? Those are neat to watch.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
York1I don't know how to post a video, so here is the youtube link:
Easy — in the MR reply menu, just click the little filmstrip icon with the right arrow in it:
MR_clip by Edmund, on Flickr
— then a dialog box opens. Paste the YouTube address for that video in the top "source" box. Leave the other boxes blank.
MR_clip2 by Edmund, on Flickr
Paste the site address from the youtube page. Good to go
Cheers, Ed
York1I have a friend who worked for BNSF. He said running a machine similar to this was the most fun you could have on the railroad.
Hi John,
Thanks for the video. Very therapeutic I'm sure!!
They must gather the cuttings up. Otherwise you would think that they would create a fire hazard when they dried out.
Good evening all.
Zoe - A RBF please. Thanks.
Ken - Sorry that Sparkie the Rocket dog is having health issues.
York - Intersting video.
Brent - Hope the kid is doing better.
TF - Sorry to hear about your friend Ron. Hope that the best possible outcome occurs.
Jimmy - Sorry that job didn’t pan out. Keep your head up and keep trying! You will find the right one for you!
Weather - Warming back up.
W*^k - Narrowly missed hitting an idiot driver on Saturday morning. Seems that not only was my doing the speed limit not good enough, my signaling that I am making a left turn means that it is okay to pass on the left in a no passing zone as I am executing said left turn...
I'm sure he would have made it somehow tried to make it my fault had I nailed him...
I missed hitting him by only about 6 inches, but did succeed (unintentionally) in making him go off-road due to his idiocy. (That's how I missed hitting him.... He swerved left the same time I cut back to the right.)
He never stopped, so I couldn’t yell at him at least. (Probably would have not looked good anyways, some guy in a marked company car shouting at an idiot who he just had unintentionally ran off the road... Although I would have kept it "G" rated from me at least. Worst I would have called him was a idiot, or a moron.... Maybe stupid idiot...)
Continued, but not while w*^king -
Today, some idiot narrowly avoided hitting both me (in my new [to me] car) and another car, as he was attempting to pass me on a curve, because 55 is too slow for him... (Same idiot??? Same M.O., and model and color of car at the very least...) He cut back in line behind me so close I thought he did hit me, so I did stop, directly in front of him in the road... He got mad and went around me blaring his horn like I was the one in the wrong... Not a scratch on my car, (I did check later on.) so he evidently did not make contact. (I did not give chase, as once he went around me I did get to thinking that I never did feel any bump... And I will not be the aggressor on any road. Defensive driver, yes. But never aggressive.)
These idiot entitled jerk drivers need to stay off the road!
Trains - WNYP, a local short line in my area known for their exclusively all Alco power, is indeed getting rebuilt GE AC power.... (Trains subscribers know this already.) One has been captured on digital film now.
And I just might have to custom paint one just so I can have one. Should be easy, as the one that has been released, it is black with yellow stripes and lettering.
So, I might just have to paint one of my undecorated GE units now... Seeing as I am proto-freelancing a short line that fictionally connects with them anyways, it could appear on my line, even if only as a run-through. (The two undecorated GE units were both slated to be my own fictional road before this. A short line with cast off GE power to haul road freights with, as well as lead NS run-through trains. Certainly plausible...)
Asthma - Good days and bad, last couple not so good, but have definitely been worse before.
Hope all are well, and all enjoy the night!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Good morning all.
Not much going on here in the wilds of W KY , look like it is going to be a scorcher.
Garry : enjoyed your pictures,
TF: Prayers for your friend.
Ken: hoping for the best for you.
Enjoying the videos and such.
The O scale GP9 died at the RR Museum. I opened it up and the reverse board had burned out. One of the bridge recifiers shorted and melted a relay. Luckily the motors survived. I have ordered a new board and new pickup rollers from Bachman ( since it is a Williams ) > The pick up rollers had siezed as well. I will lube the engine gears while I have it apart.
I found evidece of a mouse in the basement yesterday so I set up my Victor traps with yummy bacon. I checked this morning and the third trap had a mouse in it. I think I only had one, but where there is one there are usually more. I have left the traps set.
Hopefully that is the only one.
Good morning. Bacon, eggs, and a bloody mary while I wait!
Not much going on this week. Hopefully the tree man finishes today. I want to get that dead tree gone.
Ricky W, two close calls of the same kind -- you may not want to drive for a day or two. People that you describe seldom think anything is their fault. They also don't realize they only gain a few seconds for all their effort at passing.
Years ago I was west of St. Louis on I-70. Traffic was heavy. A young woman was intent on weaving in and out, passing on the right and the left, cutting in closely behind or in front of everyone else.
A few minutes later, she was by the side of the road with a Missouri State Patrolman. The angry look on her face made everyone's day!
up831is that picture one of those machines that grabs a tree by the trunk, then the saw blade comes out, cuts the tree in half, then the gripper arm throws the tree in the chipper? Those are neat to watch.
No, this one is more like a giant mower, able to cut trees along the track. I've seen videos of what you describe. That kind of machine is impressive.
Enjoy the day!