Train Stuff

Used to get a steam engine come up the valley here on it's way up to Syracuse for running tours up into the Adirondacks. I agree with William, I'll that a steam whistle over a diesel horn any day. A truly beautiful sound.

The trail owner died a few years ago and the line has been abandoned. Now, the closest I get to hearing anything like it is exhaust whistles on some of my customer's cars.

These pix are of a four reed (chime) type that were more common. There are bigger units, but they are rare because they need a lot of exhaust volume from something with a big motor, like a big Locomobile, or Stutz, to work. Not as loud as a steam train whistle, but the bigger ones can still be loud enough to have people very perplexed about just what is coming around that bend in the road.

Or, have you jump a foot in the air if they let loose with one of those big whistles while your near the car !

I sure do miss that steam engine though. That's one coal stove I'd love to shovel coal for just for a ride !!!

Paul

I run F40's all the time on the Southern Tier (Erie RR). I learned to run trains on steam and 6ET brakes. I'm one the last few at my job who knows how to power brake. I am trying to teach it to some of the younger engineers.
I tell you what. They are a far, far cry from the stern, competent, proud men that trained me.

wsherrick wrote:They tuned them a little different for each railroad. This is a Reading six chime. To me one of the most beautiful whistles.

Wow that is awesome! I could notice the change in pitch at the end of the video after the train had passed due to Doppler effect...

Wsherrick, you think just maybe those young men need a stern, competent proud man to train them? Nothing personal might just be the way a lib reads it. I know what your talking about, I taught hands on journeymen classes for a while.

samhill wrote:Just for the heck of it I looked up the horn on Craigslist & they are Leslie Supertyfons doesn't give much info other than they are loud & that they work.

Heheh, Leslies are the least desirable.....NathenAirchime are the real deal.

Ed, I kind of figured that they look much like the ones that are on the local train engines in the steel mills. The person even has them listed as antique so I figured that they believe they have something special. Wouldn't want to scare the cattle anyhow they chase me as it is at times.

Sir Herrick your not the only that can power brake. I myself was taught by New Haven and Penn Central engineers (sorry I had to throw that in). I definitely agree with you though. The current atmosphere of railroad management has the newer kids scared to death to use the big brake. I could care less. It's my train I'll run it how I see fit. I have more time than most of the newer managers anyway. Half, nah three quarter's of them wouldn't even know how to use a manual lapping brake valve. How about manual transition? I'm very fortunate at my young age(35)I was able to be around and learn from alot of old timers.
Here's some pictures of the kids and railroad stuff. Wife and I needed a break from the house and headed north to my friends railroad. I use to work with the engineer that ran the Roger Williams Bud car set when it was actually in revenue passenger service. He didn't like it.

Few more. The picture of the GP7 is another one of my favorite locomotives. The railroad I work for still has a GP-9 in work train service, but it's getting harder and harder to find them in actual revenue service. Note the sheetmetal above the radiator shutters over one of the cooling fans. Cold weather option. Directed hot air from the radiators into the engine compartment. Enjoy Matt.

Thought I'd add this to the cool train stuff thread...

I service an account called the Station Inn. The owner is into trains. An older friend of his had this light buried in his garage for decades. Its the light off a steam engine locomotive. He refurbished it and its a conversation piece in his restaurant..

I thought it was pretty cool..

Nice Lightning. Matt

Nice photos Matt.
At least someone else appreciates the traditional way of doing things.

Lightning, if that place has a long hallway I could see a use for a smoke machine & a train horn.

Wsherrick, you think just maybe those young men need a stern, competent proud man to train them? Nothing personal might just be the way a lib reads it. I know what your talking about, I taught hands on journeymen classes for a while.

Well I don't know bout the Railroad industry, but it's getting tougher and tougher to train the little shites that come out the Nuke training pipeline in the USN. They don't feel like they have to learn, and you can't coerce them anymore (wall to wall counseling). And that's this little L libertarian's take on technical training in the current world.

As for big diesels, the MAN diesels I saw on the USNS Sacajawea were pretty darn big, like 3 decks high with 5 foot diameter pistons. There were 4 of them and they made 6MW each, 6.6 KV 60Hz. That was stepped down to 5 KV and run thru a Variable Freq Drive that was the size of a small cabin. The individual water cooled thyristors were as big as a desk. The 2 Main propulsion motors were 15000HP each, in tandem on a single shaft. The Ship was good for 26Kts.

My boat only had a little diesel, a 38H Fairbanks-Morse, only 880HP. Hated that thing, the governor was squirrley, controlling it as the Electrical Operator was mostly wishful thinking and an aggressive policy of hope...

My father in law worked in the car shop for the Reading Railroad all his working life. When they closed the shop, they were throwing out all of the blueprints for the locomotives and cars so he brought them all home! Want to build a steam engine full scale??? He tried to donate them to museums but no one wanted them so he's hanging on to them. Some day ........

tjnamtiw wrote:My father in law worked in the car shop for the Reading Railroad all his working life. When they closed the shop, they were throwing out all of the blueprints for the locomotives and cars so he brought them all home! Want to build a steam engine full scale??? He tried to donate them to museums but no one wanted them so he's hanging on to them. Some day ........

Make sure those drawings are preserved. They are priceless.