How do dynamos work, what was Smith valve gear, were there instances where cast iron was used for tires?
If you have the opportunity, please take a look at a new feature on our web site. It provides an avenue to acquire accurate data in reference to steam locomotive technical questions and problems. When a quesiton is addressed it will be supported by information published by the industry from 1839 thru the present, copies of which can be provided as may be practical, understanding that some books and documents are damaged by attempts at copying. In any case bibliographic references will be supplied. We are excited about this capability and ask that you give it a "test drive". As usual, we appreciate your participation and comments.

Respcetfully,
Dave Griner
www.wasatch-rr-contractors.com

for installing threaded staybolts in their high pressure (280+ psi) locomotives?

So where did you run across Smith valve gear? I only have found it used for a limited time on a few Glover engines sent to Haiti.

dave

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"Three, Sire!"

Forty-two. (^_^)

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

... an African or European swallow?

(Man, if I had a nickel for every time this message board got sidetracked ("put in the hole"?) by Monty Python movies...)

By the way, if you want a direct link to the above mentioned contact form, use this one right here.

Also note that we have overhauled the main page and made some other changes which may require your bookmarks to be updated.

After a very computation time (approximatly 7.5 million years),Deep thought (the hypercomputer) arrived at the answer to the ultimate question. The answer was 42. That's it! That's all there is!

Nice to see some other Douglas Adams fans here.

Hey look, it's the old man from scene 24...

Well, Matt, I aim to make it irrelevant.

New technologies perhaps may be introduced but established practice in this industry will not become irrelevant!

All technology both historical and modern are relevant. With SP 3420 the front flue sheet weld was done with a technique that was new to the industry in 1948 but hardly even known by 1990. Preservation is not only of the hardware but also of the tools and techniques used to maintain and operate a railroad. A few of my recent favorite statements were by “experts”. One stated that the only way to make injector cones was with a CNC machine. I thought there was not a CNC machines in the 1800’s when injectors were developed but perhaps I am wrong. The other was a consultant who announced to his client in a public meeting that he needed to go to South Africa to study water treatment. I knew of both tourist railroads and other industries that used water treatments in their boilers.
The machines we love did not just appear one day. It was skills and technology that brought them into the world we know today. Preserving the technology and skills that created and maintained our beloved machines will be just as important as the machines themselves.

Respectfully,
Robby Peartree

why don't you expound upon the virtues of the Magic Arrow with which you take aim?

Matt A

Basically, Matt, as you have done with your projects, there are advantages gained with welded attachments not achievable with traditional threaded ones. As was mentioned by Mr. Mizer, there will always be a place for traditional methods, but in the case of commercial use applications (outside museums) economy and reliability outweigh replicating inferior designs.

I have been researching fillet welded staybolts, and my findings up to now may be found on our website. The primary virtue of the method is to perform a mechanical function efficiently at the least cost. In this case, it is an improvement to a full penetration weld by reducing the weld heat-affected area in the breakage zone. There is also less bending stress from welding heat imparted to installed staybolts because of the reduction in weld material needed in the application. The same advantages of a full penetration weld are achieved with less consequences and greater reliability.

Testing has been conducted in the US that suggests the fillet weld fails at a lower tension load than a threaded and beaded bolt. Though this may be true, what I have learned from research is that bending stresses and not tension stresses are the primary cause of breakage in normal service.

If you would truly like your question researched, I would be happy to give it my best effort. I do, however, find it an unusual request as you implemented a new practice for boilers in this operating pressure range at UP. I can only assume you did this through their engineering department with a reference back to the previous practice. I hope that our offer will be taken seriously, as like all of you, our free time is precious to us. We offer our time in a sincere way to give back to the community.