Steam Locomotive
Friday, February 2nd, 2001
Has anyone ever driven,rode in the cab of, or worked upon a steam locomotive?
I am a railway buff and am a big fan of steam locomotives, especially foreign ones, since they are different than the ones in America, where I live. I would just like to know what the experience of being around , riding, or driving an operational one is like, having never done so myself. (although i’m making plans for it)
Yes. The opportunity to run steam is indeed hard to come by, and any engineer who says they wouldn’t jump at the chance is either being untruthful, or not a true engineer at heart.
In general, they are hot, dirty and require some physical exertion to run. Fun for a day or two, but I wouldn’t want to use them in service on a day to day basis.
I was fortunate enough to have been chosen as a fireman pilot in April, 1981, when the UP’s 4-8-4 Northern class #8444 and Challenger class 4-6-6-4 articulated #3895 when they traveled from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Sacramento, California, for the grand opening of the California State Railroad Museum.
I piloted the fireman from Sparks, Nevada to Norden, California, the top of “the hill” of SP’s famed Sacramento Division, on the Challenger, and the fireman on the 8444 from Norden to Roseville, California. Great stuff. I wish I had a dollar for every picture of the crew that was taken.
I was again fortunate when able to run, for a day, McCloud River Rail Road’s No. 25, a small Prairie class 2-6-2, and SP’s #4449, also a Northern class GS-4, for a distance when this locomotive traveled between Klamath Falls, Oregon, and Dunsmuir California, in 1986, as it was headed for the Olympics with full Daylight livery behind.
To put it in a nutshell, a diesel electric is pretty much a cold, impersonal lump of steel. Not so for an engine under steam. The cross-compound air pumps are the heart beat and can be felt as they shake the engine. The hiss of steam and the whirring of the dynamo is its breath. The water is its lifeblood, the fuel its food. The bark of the exhaust is its speaking voice, while the whistle sings. They perspire, with the odor of hot grease and oil, and they definately have their own personality.
I wish you well in your endeavor to climb aboard, run or ride on one. I guarantee it’s the most fun you’ll ever have with steel.
The BEST OLD STEAM LOCOMOTIVE VIDEO from Sibley, Iowa 2008 PART 1
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