Many times when I browse through information on steam locomotives in the process of being built, they will mention two types of testing: one being out on the high iron, and the other being at the facility on speed rollers. I have never seen a picture of these rollers before. Do any photographs exist?

The other name for testing on rollers is stationary dynometer. See this image of the LNER (UK) `Cock o' the North' on a Dyno in Vitry France.


about 2/3 of the way down this page http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r062.html

The reason you don't find many photos of stationary dynos for locomotives is that they usually use dynamic ones mounted in cars being towed by the locomotive where they can monitor the engine through sensors on the engine and other sensors on the car's draftgear and wheels.

Rich C.

Well, let's see what we can find:

First batch up is all Altoona:

http://www.billspennsyphotos.com/photos ... 00x660.bmp

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jej8liB5dG4/T ... G_5139.jpg

http://www.billspennsyphotos.com/photos ... 00X710.bmp

http://www.billspennsyphotos.com/photos ... 00x660.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GHFx2o0cFW0/T ... G_5137.jpg

http://www.billspennsyphotos.com/photos ... 20800x.jpg

http://www.billspennsyphotos.com/photos ... 20800x.jpg

From a model railroad forum; scroll down for two photos of the Altoona plant. One of them appears to be of the machinery when it was part of the display at St. Louis in 1904:

http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.as ... hichpage=2

Altoona plant in action at 1:18 (portion of a PRR publicity film):

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=48a_1319759136

I wonder what it would have sounded like in that plant with an engine on the rollers!

British Railway test plant at Rugby--great soundtrack!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iET3Vbjl2vs

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/locom ... ng-station

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms ... tation.htm

http://www.traintesting.com/images/9201 ... 0plant.jpg

Great Western test set at Swindon; this appears to be in the shops themselves, and not in a special building:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... hway,_1928).jpg

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Steam_Loc ... /Chapter_X

Photo link to a shot on the previous page; automatic click-on doesn't work for some reason, but you can copy the whole thing and put in the address bar, and it works there, or you can blow it up from the text page above.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/File:Ahrons_(1921)_Steam_Locomotive_Construction_and_Maintenance_Fig45.jpg

A find--a page on the Mechanical Engineering department at Perdue, with a photo from the inside of that test plant there.

https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/About ... index.html

Links to related threads:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34656

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34657

They can be portable too, if your locomotive is small enough. This set was built by Doc Blumle several years ago and has worked fine under several 6 and 10-ton locos.