I loved and hated 316 (201). She is a barking little beast, good to go up Oakland and Fairchild as long as you set her up right BEFORE you began the climb. I REALLY hated her deckles cab, and that engineers' seat between the cab sides and the boiler, which meant (since I am a bigger man) you either stood the whole way running her, or you stuffed a big thick cotton towel between your thigh and the boiler to keep yourself from being parboiled. Didn't like her whistle much, and really wanted to put a five chime on her , but......

316 is a good mill, but you have to run her right, and it helps if you really like her too. I ran 316 for the entire 2013 season. She was quite reliable and only missed a few days of service - mostly from bad repairs that had to be re-done. When we painted her and got her out in late 2012 I ran for a the last few weeks of the season. She did well with a 4-car train, but clearly worked hard on every hill. Nearly every hill was a "throttle back into the tank" proposition. The basic method of firing was "when the engineer opens the throttle, turn on the injector, and leave it on until the closes the throttle, then run it some more, you need all the water you can get, fire her like hell".

In the past most of the engineers hated her, to the point that when a valve gear pin came loose, the engineer continued to pound the engine until it broke something major and severely disabled the locomotive. Lots of bent and mangled valve gear resulted. It got put back together but the valves were not very square and the highest she could run was about 2/3 of way up from the corner.

316's links and blocks are ahead of the #2 driver with a transmission bar ahead to the rocker shaft ahead of #1. The valve stem has a support bushing at the rear of the stem with a pin connecting through a bearing block on the stem to the rocker. There was a interesting collection of shims associated with the bearing block which I started trading around in a quick attempt the trail the valves and get her to run a bit more square. Ultimately, I was able to get her to hook up about 5 more notches toward center, which made a big difference in how she could handle a train. The first day I ran her after adjustment, she seems to have a bit more power under her. We started up the hill from the Neches River trestle, I put the throttle into the tank and settled in for the 17-18 mph slog up the hill to Mewshaw.

316 came to life and began to accelerate up the hill. I kept waiting for her to top out and finally somewhere above 25, I had to ease off the throttle. The rest of the way to Rusk, every hill now required her to be throttled back. The 3% climb to Oakland Crossing, which had been a 12 mph slug out with the bar down about 50 % was climbed at nearly 20 mph until the last 10 cars, when she lost ground to 18 - still hooked up high.

We had been using about 4000 gallons of her 5300 tank each way across the RR. WE got into Rusk and my fireman Robert went back to check the water and said we had used only 3000 gals.

It was a classic example of Stephenson Valve gear giving more lead, the higher it is hooked up.

We had turned 316 into a good engine. Well I thought she always was a good engine, now she was a GREAT engine.

Yeah, that deckless cab was tough to deal with in August - especially when stopped. But I really liked the old girl and she never "bit" me once. She had some issues with her bizzaro upside down spring rigging (the springs are below the drivers) - mostly it was worn out. But she rode real well. Because of her keyhole firebox, and the #3 driver axle being below the firepan, the burner was too far to the rear of the firebox, leaving a big dead air space ahead of the burner, and it didn't have enough flame travel to atomize the oil well with out having the fire drum pretty hard on the hills.

When we discovered the firebox issues as a result of her new boiler being built with 3/4" firebox and wrapper sheets, we had no choice but to set her aside until someone coughed up some cash to repair her boiler (which had less than 425 service days on it).

It broke my heart. I miss 316.

I assume the ultra thick firebox is causing stress cracking?

Is the thick firebox also the obstacle to getting the 4-6-2 back into service with the new boiler?

So 316 is out of service right now pending firebox repairs?

Yes and Yes.

Yes.

Mr Knoob,

I remember meeting you and Kim Phillips in Denver way back in the late 80s, before 201 came into either of our lives, when I worked for BN. It sure sounds like you've done a great job with her, and paid some heavy dues, and I very sincerely wish you the very best of luck with her. She looks like I always pictured her under the TSRR paint, too. Mucho Bueno Sabor.

Now, please don't take this the wrong way, a fella can feel like he's been bit, or not I guess. But I would damn sure feel snakebit if I spent all that money for a new boiler, and had that teakettle running like a Swiss watch, and THEN had to park her until I raised another pile of money and did a bunch more work to replace her brand new firebox. Matter of fact, THAT sounds just like 201 to me.

It's interesting that you said she rode well. I guess you must be talking about 25 mph, and I would say that she rides like a Caddy at that speed compared to a China Rail JS, for example. Back in the late 20th Century, we had a track foreman named Jimmy Mosely that kept the TSRR in much better shape than the 25 mph speed limit required. I remember one Friday afternoon after we put the train away, that Roger and I were elected to deadhead 201 back to Paleyville so she would be available the next morning. Then, we got to drive back to Rusk in the company truck, then drive back to Palestine in our own trucks before calling it a day.

So, we opened her up much as we dared long about Jarvis, truthfully we both wanted to she what she'd do. No doubt we can all agree that 201 is capable of far bigger and better things. We didn't have functioning speed recorders, but my guess is we might have been going 45 mph when I got terrified because she nearly threw me out the window. It happened a couple more times before Roger got her pinched down, and of course he wasn't scared because he's crazy. On a real mainline railroad 201 might be good for twice whatever speed we were going, but on the good old TSRR, following the timetable speed is the thing to do. I'd suggest hanging on, too.

Yes, and I'd suggest not standing in front of the firedoor. It funny that nobody has mentioned her endearing little traits, like exploding during cab tours, or catching on fire during fire up, or the way she has to be hooked to the air compressor using the biggest air hose in town or she'll take all day to make pressure, or what happens if you forget the special condensate drain on the line from the firing manifold to the turret when changing over from air to steam.

What is really very brilliant is your observation that her burner is too close to the door sheet. There is definitely something very, very wrong with the way she is set up. I know that the Mopac engine crews were much better at their jobs than we are today, and that they also used heavy refined oil for locomotive fuel. While the off road diesel that TSRR uses is excellent, based on my experience firing locomotives with ship fuel in Guatemala, I suspect that 201 might have behaved better on that type of fuel.

Anyhow, you mention not enough flame travel --- well you should stand by the track when she blasts up Fairchild !!!! The problem is that the flames do not develope until they are half way out the damper, looking for enough oxygen to finish combustion.

201 never exploded or caught fire on me, but I always started my shift an hour early just in case. If I started on time, something always happened. It seems like every time I went to a different part of the shop for any reason, I would have to drop everything and sprint back over to 201, pull the pin, clear the white gas out of the firebox, and relight that little bitch.

Under that lovely paint job, I just know she's still 201. I LOVE THIS ENGINE, TOO. Please don't get me wrong. But you should know that she likes to start the dry pine needles on fire along the ROW, and she has caught on fire from the cab to the cowcatcher at least once that I know of. Ask a fella named Weldon Wallace, I bet you know him. Oh yea, when you lift the pin, the fuel doesn't cut off, you have to close that globe valve on the tender to put her fire out.

Maybe you fixed all that, I hope you have, and you're hard working and smart if you did. But, just be aware that if you have a fire under 201 which melts the rubber fuel hose going to her tender, it's all over.

Please, humor an old man. You guys watch yourselves on 201.



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