Deggesty Whoever named the place to the reporter must not be able to talk clearly--or are both names pronounced the same? Or does the reporter need an earwash?
Or the person speaking to the reporter said one thing, and the reporter unconsciously substituted a place name they were familiar with....
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Yes, yes, and yes. Listen to the voice of experience.
(One small note: the oil-firing nerds in the United States traditionally call it a von Boden-Ingles burner, after the guys on the Santa Fe who developed it, but it's the thing he described. It was a very successful design, and many railroads still use it as robust and simple.
A reasonably good early reference for oil firing as it was practiced immediately before WWI is here. Much of the early theory and practice is as good today as it was then.
I don't blame you for getting out of steam -- what the accident at Mentor didn't warn about, the one at Gettysburg (which could have been dramatically worse had the engine not had certain Canadian safeguards against crown failure) did. At least we got the NBIC ESC and the current Part 230 out of it! On the other hand, I do have to mention something that a recent poster on RyPN uses as a post signature:
Best answer to the Canadian Pacific fireman's exam question (found in the company archives)- What is steam? - "Steam? That's just water that's gone crazy with the heat."
Sounds like a eventful day for you NDG.
Back to Mining for a second.
I worked at the Frood Mine, and been underground in several of the ones mentioned in the article. A big part of a Geologists job underground is grade control which means identifying and clearly marking what is ore and what is waste rock.
Please note Joseph V. MacDonald ( Mikes dad) and Donald Douglass in the bottom pictures.
The second Cherry St Bridge is a rather odd duck, it looks more like any number of railroad bridges with which I'm familiar than a vehicular bridge.
NDG Oil Firing. Years ago, before the Internet, I helped move cases of the old ' Railroad ' Magazine that were being donated to the Museum. In an issue from 1946? was a good article on the development of oil firing as applied to steam locomotives. From what I remember, oil firing was developed in the late 1890s in North America and in the oil field areas of Eastern Europe, and detailed how the Burners, Drafting, fire box bricking and design were worked out. The Navies were converting to oil at the same time. The only Firing I did with Oil was with an Ingalls Van Boden Burner at the Firebox front. We burned used oil from the mines, which contained EVERY Liquid known to chemistry, which was terrible, or great, depending on just how much actual oil was in the mix. One batch produced a BLUE Flame and a light blue smoke all the time and burned the lungs. I had to go to the hospital to get respiratory relief in Emergency. It was decided, then, to fire with Diesel Oil, a better move, as fuel consistent. Concomitant with this decision the steam heat coils in tender tank were disconnected, and the inline oil superheater steam beneath left cab side disconnected to prevent boiling the oil on way to burner. With poor oil, the fire would go out at speed on the road. The Engineer shut off, and, usually it would relight off the bricks with a Bang, which surrounded the rear of the engine below the mud ring and the inside of cab with flame. Yank open throttle, and proceed onwards to the smell of singed hair and eyebrows. Looked GREAT from trackside. I loved it and would laugh at the Fireman, who was S---ting himself if it was his first time. The burner could be lit with as little as 5 PSI on steam gauge, making sure to blow out all condensate in Burner and Blower lines and preheating them to prevent gouts of water putting out fire before bricks got hot. After steam lines clear and hot, I would use Firing Valve to put about a gallon of oil on bottom of Firebox. Throw in lit oily rag. Shut and PIN Fiire door. Open Blower a bit to create Draft. Open Firing valve a small amount, then GENTLY open Atomizer Steam. A small WOOF! a gush of flame, and she was lit. Usually. Balance Oil, Blower and Atomizer to fill Firebox w flame and raise steam. Constant adjustment necessary as pressure rose, Steam and Bricks got hot. Steam @ 150 PSI is c. 350 F. Piping same temp and will BURN flesh instantly if not lagged. Another crew was Showing Off and had Fire door OPEN. The fire went out and relit with a BANG!! A child was near the door and was lightly singed. Fire had to be watched thru 50 PSI. One could tell by sound of burner what was happening. Care had to be used with oil, as fire could be forced and flame made hotter than steel plates of Firebox could conduct heat thru to water inside, esp if scale on inner side of sheet. The sheets could bag between the staybolts, and pull off latter if became soft. Anyway, A job for younger men than I. The Case Tractor that blew up in Ohio finished me for steam. A while ago. Thank You.
What great stories you have, that describes our experience perfectly as well. But thankfully we've never burned mine waste oil.
The oil flame is usually a yellow-orange colour, I shudder to think of what must have been in there to turn it blue. Leading candidates are Lead, Arsenic and Copper... ...no wonder it gave you breathing problems!
That tour of Ogden sounds amazing too, what I would give for access like that! Glad to know that your trip went well, and that 2816 is still safe inside, even if the current corporate climate doesn't let her run.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Until now I thought the CN 100 logo was lazy and uninspired.
Now it all makes sense!
The American Old Maud was an 0-6-6-0, the original large Mallet, and one of the famous trendsetting locomotives built here. It was named after a comic-strip mule of fabulous strength-- in my opinion, with considerable justice.
Some of those ATSF hinged-boiler engines were built using 'do-it-yourself' kits from Baldwin, eight-coupled forward engines 'easily' shop-coupled up to existing, say, simple 2-8-2s to produce Amazing Mallet Power! This was not actually as nit-witted as railfan stories usually make it out to be: the 'boiler' was actually a blend of glorified feedwater heater and superheater (including as I recall some Pielock-style reheat for the LP steam, which was an effect often BADLY needed on compound Mallets) while the new running gear 'used that steam twice' thriftily before blowing it away through an improved draft arramgement.
Or so went the theory. In practice things didn't go as expected, and the things didn't go as expected either, unless you count 'going West' as a euphemism the same as travel in the compass direction actually pulling a proportional load.
Unexplodable Jacobs-Shupert fireboxes of Wagnerian proportion did NOT help these exercises.
It does have to be said though that none of the hinged-boiler engines were particularly difficult to 'separate', so you would easily get them into at least 2 sections for transport. And by Allegheny or even Berkshire standards those might be relatively easy to transport...
From another thread this morning, a actual incident of string-lining:
Overmod jeffhergert If this is not set properly, the remote engine(s) will pull in the opposite direction of the head end. Well, not exactly; more precisely they may try to pull in the opposite direction, be 'overcome' by the head-end power (perhaps assisted by gravity), be damaged as a result, and then not be available for power or dynamic braking when expected. One of the famous Canadian 'stringlining' incidents (in 2005?) was attributed to precisely this.
jeffhergert If this is not set properly, the remote engine(s) will pull in the opposite direction of the head end.
Well, not exactly; more precisely they may try to pull in the opposite direction, be 'overcome' by the head-end power (perhaps assisted by gravity), be damaged as a result, and then not be available for power or dynamic braking when expected. One of the famous Canadian 'stringlining' incidents (in 2005?) was attributed to precisely this.
I believe you mean this one:
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/ENG/rapports-reports/rail/2005/r05v0141/r05v0141.html
This article sums it up quite nicely, if one does not have time to read the report:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/train-doomed-from-start-tsb-report-finds/article18140320/
So far that retired BC Rail Carman has only been half correct with regard to the abandonment of sections of BC Rail. A few years after the Cheakamus Canyon derailment there was a large washout and/or rockslide somewhere along that line, and it was not repaired for several months. During that time CN seriously considered abandoning the line between Squamish and Lillooet, but eventually decided to keep it in operation.
That would likely have been the first step in the eventual downfall of all operations between North Vancouver and 100 Mile House (with a continuing retreat north if mills close), there is not a lot of freight traffic at Squamish or Lillooet and practically nothing online.
NDG OT. Gondola Cable Failure, Squamish. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sea-to-sky-gondola-in-squamish-closed-after-cable-snaps-1.5242787 Thank You.
Glad that no one was hurt. This could have been way, way worse.
My favourite photo from DPM's Canadian Steam is the overhead going away shot of a streamlined CP engine (Royal Hudson? Don't have the book with me right now) departing downtown Edmonton with a passenger train, southbound across our High Level Bridge. Similar to this shot, but from above (the photographer must have been on top of one of the government buildings).
The south end of the bridge, showing the original triple-track arrangment. Today only the centre track remains, and is only used for the Edmonton Radial Railway Society's historic streetcar operations (the original steel trolley poles are still in use). There were several hair-raising streetcar derailments on those outer tracks over the years, but as far as I know they never fell off the side.
The High Level Bridge still has a undefeated record against tall trucks, either on this small north approach bridge or the main span.
A fellow volunteer at the Alberta Railway Museum made the news in this manner not long after he moved to Alberta 30+ years ago, he not only got stuck but managed to set his trailer on fire, by jamming it under the trolleybus wires.
Re High Level Bridge, Edmonton.
Streetcar rails lifted 1967 with CPR STEAM crane and tender from centre track.
When operating, streetcars ran on opposite sides of bridge so their DOORS opened onto CPR centre track rather than to outside of bridge.
Would be quite a trip when -35 F and windy.
Crossed same in a CP RDC 50 years ago ex CP Station on north shore after changing trains ex Winnipeg from CNR Downtown Stn. w chromed driver from CN 3805? in lobby.
Thank You.
Off for a 4-8-2 bike ride, and Starbucks.
SD70DudeI believe you mean this one: http://www.tsb.gc.ca/ENG/rapports-reports/rail/2005/r05v0141/r05v0141.html This article sums it up quite nicely, if one does not have time to read the report: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/train-doomed-from-start-tsb-report-finds/article18140320/ So far that retired BC Rail Carman has only been half correct with regard to the abandonment of sections of BC Rail. A few years after the Cheakamus Canyon derailment there was a large washout and/or rockslide somewhere along that line, and it was not repaired for several months. During that time CN seriously considered abandoning the line between Squamish and Lillooet, but eventually decided to keep it in operation. That would likely have been the first step in the eventual downfall of all operations between North Vancouver and 100 Mile House (with a continuing retreat north if mills close), there is not a lot of freight traffic at Squamish or Lillooet and practically nothing online.
This article sums it up quite nicely, if one does not have time to read the report: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/train-doomed-from-start-tsb-report-finds/article18140320/
I was up somewhat in that general area this weekend, in a somewhat disappointing attempt to capture traffic between Boston Bar and Ashcroft. (CN appeared to be doing maintenance, as I only saw about 4 westbounds all day.)
It has always struck me that construction of a cutoff constructed along the Fraser between Lillooet and Lytton would be a simple way of eliminating quite a bit of trackage, although much of it scenic.
I do need to go do the Cheakamus Canyon shots soon.
NDG FYI. CN Fatal. https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/cn-worker-dies-after-railway-accident-in-vaughan-1.4551508 Thank You.
Official Transport Canada blurb. RIP Brother Imraan Qamar.
ACCIDENT Accident/Incident Type: EMPLOYEE2019-08-15 02:00 Classification: 3Province: Nearest Town/City:ONTARIO CONCORDCN - CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO.HALTON Subdivision Mileage: 0.00Location:Details:DG Cars Involved:Train Operator:Yard Name:0MACMILLANInjuries:Fatal: 1 Serious: 0 Minor: 0Occurrence Summary:CN beltpak assignment was pulling a cut of cars on the west pullback track at MacMillan yard, mile 0.00 Halton Sub. A stringline type derailment occurred causing 8 automotive flat cars to derail some on their sides fatally injuring a CN employee that was riding the movement. No DG involved. TSB Investigators deployed. Please note that this occurrence has been elevated to a Class 3investigation.
Sad.
What are 'automotive flat cars'? Do they still use triple rack loaders bolted onto flats to transport automobiles in Canada?
Overmod What are 'automotive flat cars'? Do they still use triple rack loaders bolted onto flats to transport automobiles in Canada?
Just your normal, run of the mill, covered auto racks. Picture with the linked story. Probably can chalk that up to today's superlative reporting...
tree68 Overmod What are 'automotive flat cars'? Do they still use triple rack loaders bolted onto flats to transport automobiles in Canada? Just your normal, run of the mill, covered auto racks. Picture with the linked story. Probably can chalk that up to today's superlative reporting...
Mention of 'automotive flat cars' reminds me of when automobiles used to be constructed up frames, rather than unibody that is today's norm.
Both the Baltimore and Wilmington GM assembly plants got frames shipped in from A O Smith Company in Milwaukee. Frames would be loaded on 89 foot TTX cars - depending on the length of the cars that were being built upon the frames they would be loaded in two, three or four stacks of frames 10 12 or 15 high (I never counted - what would fit under the 17'3" height of the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore. From time to time a load of frames that was destined to the GM Plant in Doraville, GA would get mis-switched and cross identified in Willard and end up in either the Baltimore or Wilmington block of train 396 and make a mess in Baltimore - as the route to Doraville did not have the same clearance restrictions.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
I do remember frames being shipped to the Ford plant on TTX flats, complete with a tie-down frame lashed on top of the auto frames to hold them in place. Prior to that, frames were loaded almost vertically in specially-equipped gondolas.
CSSHEGEWISCHPrior to that, frames were loaded almost vertically in specially-equipped gondolas.
I remember them as well. I lived along the former CSX Saginaw Sub (nee C&O, now Lake States), which fed the auto plants in Flint and environs. A daily event.
NDGChanging a Crankshaft. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2drej_qeRSA
Those marine diesels are to a locomotive diesel as a railroad diesel is to my auto engine, about ten magnitudes in size or more!
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