Polish Locomotives

I came across this report on some of the steam locomotives still in use in Poland.

Even in Poland they have trouble getting enough steam coal having to look as far

away as Australia for suppliers.These are good looking locomotives and still in

service today.The report also highlights the fact that the roller bearing make an

appreciable efficiency increase in the operation of the locomotive.


http://www.interlok.info/BrienzLecture.htm


BigBarney

..I thought for sure this was a joke! (what a great title for a joke thread!!)

Maybe we could all send them our coal dust & they can develop an injection system for it.

Polish coal is to expensive in Poland? Do they have cap and trade there already?

My sweetie has a house in ne poland and they use coal. the equivelant of $300/ton for the bit.

they switched to the city supplied (coal fired) hot water heat system as there is a central monster boiler in the town and they sell the heated water to everyone. easier and cleaner in the long run for all.

When I was a kid, the steam engines were well on their way of being replaced by the Diesel Electrics, but there were still some the steam engines around.
The Rock Island Line, and The Burlington Route still had a couple steamers in use. Me and my cousin used to go down to the Burlington tracks at night
and wait for the 9:30 to come rolling by. There was a small trestle over a creek and we used to sit along the creek bank and wait.. On a still, clear, cool fall
evening, you could hear her coming from miles away. That particular stretch of track was probably arrow straight for three or four miles, so you could see her
coming for quite a while. First, if the wind was still, you could hear the whistle as she approached the crossing out on Rt.2-92, then you could see the little
yellowish dot of the light as she rolled closer. Soon, you could hear the cadence of the steam cylinders, then the sounds of the connecting gear, and the sound
of the wheels on the rails. To us, it seemed like a heartbeat and the "One-eyed-black-monster" was upon us. Steam, steel, and the whistle all enveloped us in
a cacophony of noise, loud enough that you could feel it right down to your bones.. From our position, you could see the orange flames coming out of the bottom of the firebox, almost like the pulsing of the beasts orange hot heart. Almost as quickly as it had started, she had passed us by, leaving us to the rhythm of the
wheels as they passed over the joints in the rail. At the end of the train, the lighted caboose passed by, leaving us with a disappearing red light, and smell of
hot iron, oil, steel, and coal. Some things, you can never forget.


Putt...

Putt, you have some talent with the written word! Reading your description I feel like I am sitting right there beside you on the stream bank, and I'm already nostalgic for that vivid scene that I never even saw.

Alright...Enough already!!!...There has to be a Polish Locomotive joke in here somewhere!!

I'll start with a few setups:

How many Polish Locomotives does it take to pull a 30 car train up a hill?
What is a Polish Locomotive made out of?
How do you stop a runaway Polish Locomotive?


(I'm a sick man!)
But I feel better already!)

Devil505 wrote:How many Polish Locomotives does it take to pull a 30 car train up a hill?

None? They only go downhill?

What is a Polish Locomotive made out of?

Plywood?

How do you stop a runaway Polish Locomotive?

I got nothing.... Maybe it will stop itsself when it reaches end of extension cord?

DVC500_at_last wrote:

Devil505 wrote:How many Polish Locomotives does it take to pull a 30 car train up a hill?

None? They only go downhill?

What is a Polish Locomotive made out of?

Plywood?

How do you stop a runaway Polish Locomotive?

I got nothing.... Maybe it will stop itsself when it reaches end of extension cord?

I like them!!

The "Runaway" is the best setup though.......I'll have to work on it

Got it!!

How do you stop a runaway Polish Locomotive?

You braid the hair (growing out of the wheels) together so it trips itself!!

(alright...pretty weak ...but at least it was quick!)

Your just showing your age Devil don`t you know that your not allowed to make fun of any country, group, jender, hair color, race or anything else that could maybe possibly be taken the wrong way.

Putt wrote:When I was a kid, the steam engines were well on their way of being replaced by the Diesel Electrics, but there were still some the steam engines around.
The Rock Island Line, and The Burlington Route still had a couple steamers in use. Me and my cousin used to go down to the Burlington tracks at night
and wait for the 9:30 to come rolling by. There was a small trestle over a creek and we used to sit along the creek bank and wait.. On a still, clear, cool fall
evening, you could hear her coming from miles away. That particular stretch of track was probably arrow straight for three or four miles, so you could see her
coming for quite a while. First, if the wind was still, you could hear the whistle as she approached the crossing out on Rt.2-92, then you could see the little
yellowish dot of the light as she rolled closer. Soon, you could hear the cadence of the steam cylinders, then the sounds of the connecting gear, and the sound
of the wheels on the rails. To us, it seemed like a heartbeat and the "One-eyed-black-monster" was upon us. Steam, steel, and the whistle all enveloped us in
a cacophony of noise, loud enough that you could feel it right down to your bones.. From our position, you could see the orange flames coming out of the bottom of the firebox, almost like the pulsing of the beasts orange hot heart. Almost as quickly as it had started, she had passed us by, leaving us to the rhythm of the
wheels as they passed over the joints in the rail. At the end of the train, the lighted caboose passed by, leaving us with a disappearing red light, and smell of
hot iron, oil, steel, and coal. Some things, you can never forget.


Putt...

i fully agree,this is something you will never forget!
i can still remember the first time i smelled the coal smoke and steam oil
i consider my self very blessed that i can experience it every time i place my hand on the throttle