Great and detailed response Mark!

Cheers, Jason

Are the problems with 4501's Hodges trailing truck the same as every other Hodges trailing truck, or is it just because it is an earlier version of the trailing truck?

Mark,

If that response were on Facebook I would click the "like" button. A nice answer that sums up the facts, and disputes the argument without question.

Indeed, a very interesting fact. Odd, really.

Makes one wonder......

By the time the 4501 was built, it was clear that steam may not be the clear future for the Southern.

Mark, do you or would you suspect that cost was a factor? Machining the dead blocks into the frame is a labor cost.....by far cheaper to to mill out the frame minus the blocks, then include them after. I would believe that this may be part of the answer....not so much which was better or more effective, simply what was cheapest? Spending large amounts of $$$ on steam this late in the game?

Thoughts?

Don't have a firm answer why, just my gut says, "don't weld them." However, as is posted, the point Mark made is hard to dispute.

Mark seems to me that even you question what is really best? Tough question, really.

Just happy to see you doing the work and bringing 4501 back.....welded or not, great work!

Cheers,

4501 was built in 1911. How would the Southern not have been considering steam? The Southern ordered new locomotives up to 1928 and rebuilt/modernized them to keep them running up to 1952. Internal combustion was not even practical for another 2 to 5 +/- years.

I think Mr. Rimmasch may have meant "rebuilt," as in the 1940s when the 4501 got some new frame parts.

All this reminds me--In Alfred W. Bruce's "The Steam Locomotive in Americal," he mentions that some engines would develop a settling to the rear. Bruce said such a locomotive was "ornery," with springs and equalizers going badly off level in the process. I can't help but wonder if such unfastened or loose connections between the equalizing system and the frame were the cause of this.

Ok! Thank you for explaining this to me J3a-614! I am sorry if I offended you John.

To clear the waters.....

No offense taken. Based on what Mark had posted, I assumed that the 4501 was part of later or even the last order of this class. The last orders of any class usually spelled out the fact that the RR was considering alternative styles of motive power, meaning bigger steam or even diesel. Indeed, I used the D word in my post, which, indeed, may not have been the case. However, larger, or different models of motive power may have been a determining factor for the Southern. To be very honest, until the last post, I was unaware of 4501's actual build date. I thought it was in the 20's but was not sure.

However, for lines like the UP (which I know a bit better) Steam was not the primary choice of motive power, even in 1930. Wars, rumors of wars and actual wars caused the UP to consider motive power that they otherwise would not have chosen on their own. (The Big Boys are a classic example). Even for the Southern in 1911, Material and supplies, timing and availability, limited man-power and so on may all have been factors. Who knows?

I enjoy these civil discussions of the past!

Very kindly yours,

JohnE.

4501 was actually FIRST of class for Southern.

A bit out of date, perhaps, but a reminder of the work that goes into keeping steam running, including our beloved 4501:

Tire removal. Two things stand out, at least for me. One is that the work must have been mighty hot that day--whew! The other is how quiet the shop seems. I've been in and worked in factories that seemed louder. Of course, this isn't to say that your ears aren't going to be affected by the noise that is there, but again, compared with a factory with an assembly line, or a big electric power station, this video and others I've seen of Chinese engines undergoing overhauls, seem peaceful, and not that noisy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=542H11Tj2Wo

From just over a year ago--this would be loud! Riveting in the mud ring and firebox sheets:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0joAAc0NiKE

Be nice to see a break-in run like this reenacted sometime. How many faces do you recognize in this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5iB-brCMgk