There were thirteen cars, and based on in-house conversations it was felt that she could have handled them alone. However, we didn't want to flog her and with having No. 8618 on as the pusher, the switcher was pre-positioned to take over with switching at E. Strasburg.

You can't learn without asking questions. Ok, here comes the dumb new guy question:

With the advent of roller bearing trucks, wouldn't the tonnage that 90 is capable of increase? Less friction, less effort?

Ready to sit in corner with dunce cap on.

The guys who spew stuff like "coefficients of adhesion" in my circle are either away on vacation or at work right now, but a short version:

What you gain in the easier rolling abilities of roller bearings on the axles is lost, to a considerable degree, with the increase of weight on the wheels.

An old 40-ton hopper (call it 50 tons with car weight) put a little over six tons on each wheel. A modern 286,000-pound car puts just shy of eighteen tons on each wheel--on a railhead space about the size of a quarter or fifty-cent piece. That's a force of gravity and inertia as significant as the force upon the coupler knuckle, in calculations like this.

Oh, and that--along with the change to zinc-clad copper--is why your squashed pennies are much flatter than they used to be. <:-)

Steve:

Nothing dumb about that question ... IMHO plain bearings are usually only an issue from a standing start. I'm sure there would also be a measurable difference in the coeficient of friction for a moving car based on the ambient temperature, etc. But from the ballast level, once a good condition plain bearing car is rolling, its rolling.

We wouldn't have train lengths here that would make a measurable difference. As usual, other folks' mileage may vary ....

[[i] "Over Linn's dead body. He didn't want to get the SW-8, and certainly wouldn't approve getting another. What it can't handle, it can do in multiple trips or teamed up with steam."--Kelly Anderson

Well, now, there is a perfectly acceptable solution to this--use another steam engine!

I don't know if service cycles would allow the use of another engine that might have steam up, or if it would require the overhaul and/or acquisition of another locomotive, but that would be the way to go.

Oh, yes!! :-)

Alternately, could the Strasburg need something just heavier in general--like that Pennsy I1 up in New York? She would be at home in Lancaster County. . .could probably handle anything that would show up, and the passenger service wouldn't tax either her speed or steaming capacity.

By the way, how did No. 90 handle its rated load? Did it feel that it was at its proper limit, or did it feel that the calculations at Baldwin may have been conservative, i.e., could the engine have handled the train alone?[/quote][/i



Well the praises for Strasburg are never enough, but you raise a fun idea to ponder. With all their fine success with the 2-10-0 they have had, how about this one for an addition to their collection....http://www.midcontinent.org/collectn/steam/wi41.html

They freely state that the 2-10-0 is out of scope of their collection and they have no plans for the locomotive, even cosmetic preservation. Sounds like it needs a new good home.

Steve

With all their fine success with the 2-10-0 they have had, how about this one for an addition to their collection....http://www.midcontinent.org/collectn/steam/wi41.html

Mid-Continent freely states that the 2-10-0 is out of scope of their collection and they have no plans for the locomotive, even cosmetic preservation. Sounds like it needs a new good home.

I was thinking off the cuff on this last post, but then I started to think. It is no secret that Mid-continent has been looking for a qualified contractor to work on either the C&NW 1385 or the WC&C #1. Ship the sum of parts that make up the #1 to Pennsylvania, along with the 41. Hire Strasburg to rebuild the #1 and leave the 2-10-0 there as some small level of compensation for the work performed on the #1. ( I know that the #1 needs a lot more work than the 2-10-0 is worth, but something is better than nothing, just to find a good home for the 41 would be worth it, and Mid-continent would finally have a mission correct quality locomotive for their trains.) Who knows, someday Strasburg would have a matching pair of decapods in their fleet. Start the flame throwers.......fire away.
Steve

I'll credit this idea for thinking "outside the box" or innovatively, at least.

The only question would be, seeing as to the backlog of work already from both outside and their own stable of five steamers, it's possible that 41 could languish for twenty years or more......... maybe the freight business, should it keep up at this level, will financially justify an accelerated rebuild?

Thanks for answer to the question.

I think a little more steam power is really all they need...........Hmmmmm something small but has some power to assist with the cars........What would work?..........Maybe something in a 0-4-0 configuration? :)

Isn't there a partially completed 4-6-0 at Strasburg, just waiting for its Belpaire conversion? There's a Minarets looking for a home in Florida. Why not go for a Mallet - do the folks in Washington State need all of them?

Strasburg is better able then me and probably everybody else on this board to determine how best to equip themselves to do what they need to do, and then carry it out.

Can't we all please stop thinking wishfully and concentrate on acting rationally and maybe accomplishing something realistic instead? Harold Robbins said "Dreams Die First" which is healthy, and it is in our best interest to kill them with reality rather than encourage them.

dave

Strasburg is better able then me and probably everybody else on this board to determine how best to equip themselves to do what they need to do, and then carry it out.

I would never pretend to know more about their operaton then they do. I am absolutely sure that they can think for themselves.

Can't we all please stop thinking wishfully and concentrate on acting rationally and maybe accomplishing something realistic instead? Harold Robbins said "Dreams Die First" which is healthy, and it is in our best interest to kill them with reality rather than encourage them. dave[/quote]

The root of my off the cuff idea is that a lot of museums have more to take care of then they have the ability to do so.. What they may have other than liquid assets is extra equipment that may have value to someone else where trades may make the best from a situation. As Sandy stated, "the 41 may languish in Strasburg for another 20 years." I can assure you that it will certainly languish for another 20 years in North Freedom and at that time, it will be no closer to preservation than it is today.

That video of 90 on that freight was must see TV at it's finest! What is the ruling grade on the line, and what is her rated tractive effort?

I have to wonder, with #90 being such an important part of their stable for decades, if #41 was looked at when then went looking for a new locomotive all those years ago and ended up with #475. I know they considered several candidates.

Where the original video was shot is not the ruling grade.

Another video was posted last night which is just excellent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7BmVqkwr9Q

The mid segment in this second clip is just coming off the ruling grade at Beilers Crossing, prior to the Blackhorse Crossing, where the shot was staged.

.

No. 90 - James F. Rice, VP Operations
No. 8618 - Yours Truly