PDJetta
Top Post Dawg
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2003
- Location
- Northern Virginia
- TDI
- '04 Jetta GLS TDI Pumpe Duce Platinum Grey w/ Leather
This may be stretching the "General Automotive" category a little, but what is the oldest fuel consuming machine you've ridden in, on, or been transported by? For me, it was an 1875 Baldwin 4-4-0 wood burning locomotive with tender, 100% period perfect and mostly original. It has a kerosene lamp for its headlamp. It has a steam-driven air pump for the air brakes (I had no idea air brakes existed in 1875). You can see the air compressor on the right side of the locomotive.
This is one of three such locomotives in the country and the other two are non-operational and in museums. Last summer I took a 45-mile trek through the Colorado Rockies, with a 3,500 foot climb, from Durango to Silverton, CO, in a period coach and caboose pulled by this locomotive. Words cannot describe the experience of this trip, with several photo stops. This locomotive made the neatest sounds. Nothing on this locomotive was electrical. Nothing!
Before we got into the mountains, people lined the tracks to watch the locomotive pass by.
This steam locomotive burned about three cords of yellow pine and stopped to take on water three times during the trip.
For a lot of the trip I stood behind the tender, on the front platform of the coach, being showered with embers and watching the locomotive being fired. It was quite loud, but luckily I wore some good musician's ear plugs.
The smoke was not bad smelling at all and lighter than a coal burner. In fact, it smoked less than I thought it would. The wood-fueled locomotives were a true rarity because in 1875, about 80% burned coal, which has four times the energy for the same volume of fuel. Oddly, you never saw much steam being exhausted. I later realized it was because the air was so dry (I am from the humid east coast) and the steam simply did not condense in the air.
The week this privately-owned locomotive was at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad was going to be this locomotive's last public appearance because its owner does not want to pay for the FRA boiler re-certification needed for passenger service. Here are some pictures I posted to my album:
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98304&title=img-02155&cat=all
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98309&title=img-03824&cat=all
Going full bore up a decent grade, at about 15 mph. This is the locomotive's owner, Dan Marcoff, who keeps it and its tender in a big garage at his house in Nevada. The locomotive and tender are transported by two "lowboy" tractor/trailers to the scenic railroad.
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98306&title=img-03114&cat=all
Time to refuel. Everybody gets to help.
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98307&title=img-03473&cat=all
The throttle valve shaft packing leaked. Someone wrapped the red rag around the shaft and it did not do anything. You can see where the water has flowed across the firebox door.
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98308&title=img-03721&cat=all
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98310&title=img-04192&cat=all
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98305&title=img-02395&cat=all
The coal-burning locomotive on the right is from 1925. It is the type the D & S NGR runs for the tourists.
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98311&title=img-04532&cat=all
And here is a video someone on our trip put together that pretty well conveys what the locomotive looked like and sounded like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MnDBhzMc7Q
Edit:
Here is a picture of the Eureka with the kerosene headlamp burning:
http://www.steamphotos.com/Railroad...9726_xbRCtn#!i=1065524337&k=Dt9JWLF&lb=1&s=XL
Here is the Wikipedia entry for this locomotive:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Locomotive
--Nate
This is one of three such locomotives in the country and the other two are non-operational and in museums. Last summer I took a 45-mile trek through the Colorado Rockies, with a 3,500 foot climb, from Durango to Silverton, CO, in a period coach and caboose pulled by this locomotive. Words cannot describe the experience of this trip, with several photo stops. This locomotive made the neatest sounds. Nothing on this locomotive was electrical. Nothing!
Before we got into the mountains, people lined the tracks to watch the locomotive pass by.
This steam locomotive burned about three cords of yellow pine and stopped to take on water three times during the trip.
For a lot of the trip I stood behind the tender, on the front platform of the coach, being showered with embers and watching the locomotive being fired. It was quite loud, but luckily I wore some good musician's ear plugs.
The smoke was not bad smelling at all and lighter than a coal burner. In fact, it smoked less than I thought it would. The wood-fueled locomotives were a true rarity because in 1875, about 80% burned coal, which has four times the energy for the same volume of fuel. Oddly, you never saw much steam being exhausted. I later realized it was because the air was so dry (I am from the humid east coast) and the steam simply did not condense in the air.
The week this privately-owned locomotive was at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad was going to be this locomotive's last public appearance because its owner does not want to pay for the FRA boiler re-certification needed for passenger service. Here are some pictures I posted to my album:
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98304&title=img-02155&cat=all
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98309&title=img-03824&cat=all
Going full bore up a decent grade, at about 15 mph. This is the locomotive's owner, Dan Marcoff, who keeps it and its tender in a big garage at his house in Nevada. The locomotive and tender are transported by two "lowboy" tractor/trailers to the scenic railroad.
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98306&title=img-03114&cat=all
Time to refuel. Everybody gets to help.
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98307&title=img-03473&cat=all
The throttle valve shaft packing leaked. Someone wrapped the red rag around the shaft and it did not do anything. You can see where the water has flowed across the firebox door.
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98308&title=img-03721&cat=all
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98310&title=img-04192&cat=all
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98305&title=img-02395&cat=all
The coal-burning locomotive on the right is from 1925. It is the type the D & S NGR runs for the tourists.
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=98311&title=img-04532&cat=all
And here is a video someone on our trip put together that pretty well conveys what the locomotive looked like and sounded like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MnDBhzMc7Q
Edit:
Here is a picture of the Eureka with the kerosene headlamp burning:
http://www.steamphotos.com/Railroad...9726_xbRCtn#!i=1065524337&k=Dt9JWLF&lb=1&s=XL
Here is the Wikipedia entry for this locomotive:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Locomotive
--Nate
Last edited: