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I Love Power!!!

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
This afternoon my wife and I dropped our daughter off at college. On the way home on the Interstate we looked up the road and saw a big black billow of smoke in the air. My wife asked me what it was and alls I could say was, "somethings on fire". We were right close to downtown St Paul and when we came over a knowl or hill I saw what it was, A big black steam engine, darn I wished I had my camera. It had about twenty passenger cars on it and the black smoke was just puring out of that thing. I know this thing doesn't come close to the power of today's engines but seeing that thing took me back to the days of the steam engines, well what my imagination would be anyway. But think about it, in them days that was a powerful machine. This was not one of the little ones but one of the larger ones I have ever seen. I would like to find out more about that one and will have to do some research as there must have been some city party or something going on. I just want to ride it.

murph:2gunsfiri:2gunsfiri:2gunsfiri:2gunsfiri
 

v8dave

Wizard
thcri said:
This afternoon my wife and I dropped our daughter off at college. On the way home on the Interstate we looked up the road and saw a big black billow of smoke in the air. My wife asked me what it was and alls I could say was, "somethings on fire". We were right close to downtown St Paul and when we came over a knowl or hill I saw what it was, A big black steam engine, darn I wished I had my camera. It had about twenty passenger cars on it and the black smoke was just puring out of that thing. I know this thing doesn't come close to the power of today's engines but seeing that thing took me back to the days of the steam engines, well what my imagination would be anyway. But think about it, in them days that was a powerful machine. This was not one of the little ones but one of the larger ones I have ever seen. I would like to find out more about that one and will have to do some research as there must have been some city party or something going on. I just want to ride it.

murph:2gunsfiri:2gunsfiri:2gunsfiri:2gunsfiri

Murph, as a certified train nut, it was easy to whip up a search to discover the following:
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"We are pleased to announce that our Fall Color #261 Steam Excursions along the scenic upper Mississippi River have been approved! [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The dates of the excursions will be Saturday and Sunday October 8 & 9 with a roundtrip from the twin cities to Winona and on to LaCrescent, Minnesota and return each day. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The excursion train will depart from the 261 shop complex at 401 Harrsion St. N.E. in Minneapolis at 8:30 am on both Saturday and Sunday."[/font]

You can read more at
http://www.261.com/

Dave
 

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thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
Dave,

That is pretty good. Now I will test you. Tell me about the Steam Engine on display at Two Harbors Minnesota? And what is different about that steam engine? And I sure wish that one would run today instead of being on display only.

murph
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
I just now walked in from a visit with my grandmother who isn't doing very well. Her mind is very sound, but at 94, her body is sadly wearing out. Anyway, my grandfather, her husband of 70 years, just passed away a few months ago. Our conversation today was completely about trains, since my grandfather worked for the L&N Railroad from 1935 through his retirement in 1979.

My grandmother told me with amazing detail of how his first engineer job was running an old "half worn out" steam engine. She told me of how L&N didn't even buy their first diesel locomotive until around 1939. Just to make this little story a bit more amazing, I just looked up the history of L&N, and sure enough, deep in their records, they report purchasing their first diesel locomotive in 1939!! She even told me that in 1957 or 1958 L&N began serving St. Louis, Chattanooga and even Atlanta. (I just verified that this occured in 1957!). She recalls these points in time well because for her they signified dates when my grandfather would be gone for longer periods of time out working.

I should have taken a small pocket recorder and recorded the conversation, dang it. I'll try to do so in the future. She even told me that in 1937 they bought a brand new Chevrolet for $739.43. It was their first new car. She recalled it well not only because of the huge amount of money it cost, but because she didn't like the choice of colors; black, black, or black! :D

Going towards one of the other threads, I wish I could have learned more from my grandfather before he passed away a few months ago. I don't intend to make that same mistake with my grandmother.
 

v8dave

Wizard
thcri said:
Dave,

That is pretty good. Now I will test you. Tell me about the Steam Engine on display at Two Harbors Minnesota? And what is different about that steam engine? And I sure wish that one would run today instead of being on display only.

murph
How about this page
http://www.steamlocomotive.com/mnsteam/

where it says:
----------------------------------------
Two Harbors

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/mnsteam/dir3.jpg Duluth & Iron Range No. 3 is on display at Two Harbors. It appears to be in very good shape considering that it has sat outdoors on exhibit since 1923. It looks somewhat like it did when it first arrived at Two Harbors in the mid 1880s, but the headlamp is one it acquired from it's second owner, the Duluth & Northern Minnesota.


The first 5 D&IR engines were built as wood-burners. This was because from 1883 to December, 1886 there was no rail connection with the outside world for the D&IR and coal had to be brought in by steamships. However,since the lake freezes over every winter, there was not a year-round supply of coal. The railroad needed to run all 12 months. If the coal ran out during the winter it would be a problem. For this reason two passenger,two switchers, and one freight (No.3) could burn wood for a back up. Those were the only engines they needed during the winter months. The ore hauling engines (class G) were thoroughly overhauled during the winter so they would be in perfect shape for the ore season. It is likely that none of the engines actually using wood for fuel by necessity. The one exception is possibly No. 3 during the very early stages of construction. They may have used wood in the others to conserve coal during idle periods. Wood in Two Harbors was readily available from the company sawmill. One of the cylinders on No. 3 broke and seized when it was last used on the D&NM in 1920. It was left that way and is still in that condition today.
-----------------------------------
How's that?

Dave
 

v8dave

Wizard
Dargo said:
I just now walked in from a visit with my grandmother who isn't doing very well. Her mind is very sound, but at 94, her body is sadly wearing out. Anyway, my grandfather, her husband of 70 years, just passed away a few months ago. Our conversation today was completely about trains, since my grandfather worked for the L&N Railroad from 1935 through his retirement in 1979.

My grandmother told me with amazing detail of how his first engineer job was running an old "half worn out" steam engine. . .

There is a RR museum that has a running L&N locomotive here:
http://www.kyrail.org/
The L&N 152 had a 100 year anniversary recently. Read up on this and prime your Grandmother about it, you'll get a bunch of information back I'll bet.

Dave
 
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OhioTC18

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
And here I was thinking along the lines of "Three Spot" and "Mallet"

The "Three Spot" carried the very first load of iron ore from the Iron Range to Two Harbors for shipment, while the "Mallet" is the largest of all steam powered engines.

Or the tug "Edna G"
The "Edna G." was the last of the working coal-fired steam tugs
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Don't know why but I was never really into trains.

All I know is I want a set of their horns for my truck! :eek:
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
227.jpg
No. 227 was one of 18 yellowstone-type locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Missabe Road during World War II, years 1941 and 1943. It was built in 1941, and named after the Frenchman who designed it- Mallet (pronounced Mally). Diesel engines were making an appearance around this time period, but were a relatively unknown entity. Since cost and logistics of fuel and maintenance supplies were not paramount on the design constraints list, the decision was made to stay with a coal burning steam locomotive. During its 20-year operating life, shortened by dieselization, the No. 227 hauled approximately 40 million long tons of iron ore from the mines on the Mesabi and Vermillion Ranges to the docks at Duluth and Two Harbors. Steam locomotives were rather expensive to operate, and the later proven diesel locomotives were a natural replacement, so the No. 227 was retired in 1960.
Weighing some 566 tons in working order, and stretching 128 feet in length, the No. 227 is one of the largest and most powerful steam locomotives ever constructed. Capable of developing 6,000 drawbar horsepower, it made routine work of handling 180-190 car trains weighing more than 18,000 tons. As a contrast, No. 227 had a pulling power of 30 times that of the WILLIAM CROOKS.
The engine was designed to operate efficiently at 45 miles per hour. When working at full power, it could consume some 10 to 12 tons of coal an hour and evaporate water into steam at the astounding rate of 12,000 gallons per hour. The amount of coal the engine used in one hour would be enough to heat a home for two winters. It carried 26 tons of coal and 25,000 gallons of water in its tender.
The No. 227 is an articulated locomotive, meaning there are two engines, which are hinged together beneath a single boiler. The articulated evolved because engines with four, five, or six coupled axles became more and more difficult to build and maneuver. By hinging the driving wheels in two sets, a much larger and more powerful locomotive could be built that could travel easier through curves. The boiler was attached to the rear engine, enabling the front engine to pivot freely from side to side. The boiler rests on a sliding plate, which transfers part of the weight to the front engine. Due to the lateral wanderings of the front engine, the boiler would swing far to the outside of curves.
No. 227 was restored for the Museum through the efforts of the DM&IR Veteran Employees Association, which contributed in excess of $8,000 toward the project. The DM&IR matched that contribution, performed all restoration, and donated the locomotive to the Museum.


6000 draw bar horsepower and it articulated. But what I was looking for and now I can't find it was I thought I read an article on this rig that it was actually converted to kerosene. But now I can't find that any more. I will have to look at home to see if I can find where I read that.

murph

 

v8dave

Wizard
OhioTC18 said:
So I win........:tiphat:

Yep, you caught me on unfamiliar ground. Now ask me about West Coast, UP or geared power and I'm more familiar.

By-the-way, RFD TV is being recorded for me off satellite TV while I'm here in Tucson. They have some great shows related to trains on there. Model trains, live steam model trains, electric trains--eventually they have it all.

Dave
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
thcri said:
But what I was looking for and now I can't find it was I thought I read an article on this rig that it was actually converted to kerosene and ran some time that way. But now I can't find that any more. I will have to look at home to see if I can find where I read that.

murph



I was actually looking for the train being converted to kerosene. I am sure I read an article about that but now I can't find it. So I will do some more research.

murph
 

Junkman

Extra Super Moderator
bczoom said:
Don't know why but I was never really into trains.

All I know is I want a set of their horns for my truck! :eek:

I have always loved trains... the real ones, but I did have a lot of Lionel because my uncle worked for them. I remember in 1955 going to the train station to see the new Lackawanna Phoebe Snow. I always enjoyed riding the train and sometimes as a child, I would ride the train to where my father worked and then ride home with him. If it were early in the day, the conductor would let me ride the train to the end of the line and then back to where we started and then to where I got off to meet my father. All of that on one ticket.
 
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