Just Love Steam Trains

Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
Even better getting to record them up close and personal.
Even better is to drive one ..........................

My son and I drove one for 11 miles from Ely, Nevada up to a copper mine and back.

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The Northern Nevada Railway. An engineer (female), fireman, and conductor were there to make sure we kept it on the tracks.

Without a doubt, the absolute thrill of a lifetime and worth every penny of it. All $2,300.00US of it.

Another one off the bucket list.
 
Sep 20, 2014
1,320
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
fun thing about steam power is you get 100% horse power as fast as you open the steam valve. there is no 'wind up' like a gas engine. also there is no combustion in the engine so everything is super clean.
Sort of. A steam engine could be either "geared" for speed or torque, not both. That is what killed the steam engine. Steam was actually more efficient than diesel, but they were loosing money on speed. If the engine had enough torque to pull a grade, it would max out on speed. Time is money and the loss in time cost more than the fuel savings. Diesel/electric really did have the torque in the low end, but you can spin the motor any speed you want.
I remember back in the 60s there was a certain train crossing we always used to like to cross, as once in a while you would catch and old Steamer near the south shores or Lake Erie. It was mostly flat, so they could get away with steam, although there was one section they would connect a helper engine for a short stretch where the grade was too steep.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Tesla surmised that a more efficient use of steam for transportation would be to use it to run the generator for electric powered trains. I'm guessing his idea came along a little too late to beat out diesel.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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Mar 31, 2013
234
O'day 23 Pa
got to stand on a bridge in the late 80s when LNER 4468 went under on her last run.
125.88 was her recorded fastest, though not that day of course.
Incredible engineering for the time in1938.
Grew up a stones throw from the Nene valley railway museum ( https://nvr.org.uk/ ) first steam train ride, and first bee sting! not sure which is the driving memory there.
 
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DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
first half of my life they had a ford trimotor plane 40 miles away at catabaw island. flew to the lake erie islands. i like them. never did it. waited to long.

don't wait dave.
Watched one of the old Trimotors yesterday flying around Mesa Az giving rides at $72 each.
It had markings that indicate it may have flown out of Port Clinton, Ohio at one time in its life.
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
We have a transportation museum downtown. This engine is on static display over Douglas Ave.
<rant> my wife's Cadillac turned itself into a steam engine Christmas morning. It has a blown headgasket and steam blows out the exhaust and under the hood

 
Sep 25, 2018
258
Catalina Capri 22 Capri EXPO 14.2 1282 Stony Point
Steam elevator???? On 22nd Street and 6th Avenue, there is a steam operated elevator from the basement to the first floor of a former department store (1890 vintage with the gas light fixtures still on the ceiling).. Pull a rope and it opens the steam valve and a small single piston steam engine rolls a drum of rope to pull the elevator up and down.
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
On the steam subject. Here's one of our Phantoms in a cloud of catapult steam and diesel smoke on the USS Midway. She was painted in celebration of the Bicentennial. You just can't beat steam for moving large objects in a hurry! The ship is pointed into the wind and under flight op speed.
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Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Here's one of our Phantoms in a cloud of catapult steam and diesel smoke on the USS Midway.
That is a steamship, right? Any nuclear aircraft carrier, battleship or submarine is also steam powered, isn't it?

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Well meet my late 5th cousin Fred Gurley, the CEO of that railroad.;)
The oldest steam engine in Disneyland is named for him.
View attachment 160637
Old #3 that I road on as a kid [ca.1959]!

No. 3 – Fred Gurley
Namesake: Fred G. Gurley (1889-1976)
President of the Santa Fe Railway from 1944-1957
Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In Service: August 1895 (Engine built in 1894)
Disneyland Service Date: March 28, 1958
Stack Design: Cap stack
Scale: Full
Gauge: 36″
Wheel arr./type: Forney Converted to 2-4-4T
Weight: 21, 600 lbs.

Color: Green cab / Red Wheels
Original Owner: Godchaux Sugar Company, Louisiana, U.S.A. [ pronounced God Shaw]
* The Fred Gurley is the oldest of any of the engines in the Disney Park railroads around the world having celebrated its 110th anniversary in 2004.

Whooot Whoot... All a board!
Jim...

PS: My Grandmother lived 15 minutes from Disneyland when I was a kid.:biggrin: Now where is my Mickey Mouse ears cap?
We rode the Sugar Cane Train in West Maui several times before it stopped operations a few years ago. It looks a lot like the Fred Gurley, which hauled sugar also.
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Mar 31, 2013
234
O'day 23 Pa
21st century fuel! steam....
Many moons ago I was an electrical engineer at a factory making polystyrene cups (solo)
The raw poly bead is blown into the mold and heated.
Anyone wanna guess the fastest way of heating the mold?
Why yes, tis steam, also means you can make the walls of the mold thin so getting rid of that heat is just as fast.
 
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Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
I have this old book called, 'The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration' by J. G. Heck.
It covers an extraordinary amount of subjects. One of which is naval history. Here is a picture of a page about steamship engines I thought you all might find interesting.
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-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
fascinating, how the hell did they engineer such things, 100 years ago?
Seemingly unlimited deposits of natural resources, vast amounts of concentrated wealth, complete disregard for nature conservation, and an intense interest in building more.

It is utterly amazing what can be achieved when you believe there are no limits.

-Will (Dragonfly)