 |
Re: Outside frame steam engines.... Why?
Author: Kevin Madore
Date: 02-15-2018 - 14:22
synonymouse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry, forgot about the gila monster. But the
> modern WP&Y locomotives were inside frame clearly
> by management choice. Perhaps they did not care
> too much about the outside frame K-28 470's the
> Rio Grande gave up to them during the war. IIRC
> the Rio Grande did not want them back either and
> they were shipped to Seattle to scrap. And of
> course there were the inside frame WPB design
> locomotives which were originally supposed to be
> meter gauge for Iran that ended up in Alaska at
> the same time. Did not one of those go to No.
> Carolina?
I think it is important to note that there was a significant gap in time between the acquisitions of the outside frame, 60-class engines and the arrival of the MacArthurs and 70-class engines, so there could indeed have been a change in power strategy. I don't have any way to know this, because all of the folks I talked to up in Skagway joined the railroad long after that happened. I know that the present-day crews definitely prefer the 73 to the 69, but the reasons they cite have nothing to do with the frames. The 69 is no longer superheated, so it needs water support at Glacier. The 73 can make it all the way to Fraser on one tank. The 69 also has poor ergonomics. She has a deckless cab, so the Engineer and Fireman sit astride the boiler and cannot see each other, which is pretty important on an oil-fired engine. Also, the Fireman cannot see his fire, other than a glow reflecting off the oil tank. The Fireman on 69 can often been seen craning his neck to look at his stack, because there's no other easy way to tell if he has the fuel-air mixture adjusted correctly. I am pretty certain that the railroad would like another 70-class back, but as of right now, there are none available.
I believe that the other engine class you mentioned were the Class S118 MacArthurs, an inside-frame, 2-8-2 design, that I believe came from the military. Yes, the Tweetsie Railroad in NC does still have one. There is another active MacArthur at the Dollywood amusement park in TN. The folks at White Pass indicated that the railroad was not particularly impressed with the performance of those on the hill and in fact there is one in Skagway that the railroad has no interest in restoring.
WPY 195
/Kevin Madore
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry, forgot about the gila monster. But the
> modern WP&Y locomotives were inside frame clearly
> by management choice. Perhaps they did not care
> too much about the outside frame K-28 470's the
> Rio Grande gave up to them during the war. IIRC
> the Rio Grande did not want them back either and
> they were shipped to Seattle to scrap. And of
> course there were the inside frame WPB design
> locomotives which were originally supposed to be
> meter gauge for Iran that ended up in Alaska at
> the same time. Did not one of those go to No.
> Carolina?
I think it is important to note that there was a significant gap in time between the acquisitions of the outside frame, 60-class engines and the arrival of the MacArthurs and 70-class engines, so there could indeed have been a change in power strategy. I don't have any way to know this, because all of the folks I talked to up in Skagway joined the railroad long after that happened. I know that the present-day crews definitely prefer the 73 to the 69, but the reasons they cite have nothing to do with the frames. The 69 is no longer superheated, so it needs water support at Glacier. The 73 can make it all the way to Fraser on one tank. The 69 also has poor ergonomics. She has a deckless cab, so the Engineer and Fireman sit astride the boiler and cannot see each other, which is pretty important on an oil-fired engine. Also, the Fireman cannot see his fire, other than a glow reflecting off the oil tank. The Fireman on 69 can often been seen craning his neck to look at his stack, because there's no other easy way to tell if he has the fuel-air mixture adjusted correctly. I am pretty certain that the railroad would like another 70-class back, but as of right now, there are none available.
I believe that the other engine class you mentioned were the Class S118 MacArthurs, an inside-frame, 2-8-2 design, that I believe came from the military. Yes, the Tweetsie Railroad in NC does still have one. There is another active MacArthur at the Dollywood amusement park in TN. The folks at White Pass indicated that the railroad was not particularly impressed with the performance of those on the hill and in fact there is one in Skagway that the railroad has no interest in restoring.
WPY 195
/Kevin Madore
