Re: Unreliable steam?
Author: J
Date: 06-22-2017 - 08:31
I'll not disagree with any of the proceeding comments - yes steam locomotives have rescued diesels more than once but cannot provide HEP. They are equipped with independent brakes and I recall reading that adjusting the valves can provide some retardation.
The bottom line is does the steam locomotive owner want to treat their expensive locomotive as a piece of regular revenue equipment? Does the Class 1 host want to risk tying up operations with an on-line failure?
In 1929 the average train was 35.4 cars totaling 804 loads. (Lima introduced its A1 Super-Power locomotive ion 1925). Latest data for 2015 shows the average train weight at 3,562 tons and 58.8 cars.