Robby's remark about the 5021 having a poor factor of adhesion for the GCR profile is right on the money. OK for the rolling hills of SoCal and AZ, but not so great on the long GCR 3% hill.

Much the same for the T&P 610. A lot of power that would not be able to be put to good use. The class did OK when in Texas though.

A lot of thought usually went into locomotive design being a good fit for the particular road. The Frisco did particularly well in this regard.

Hi

Consider the following accident report of the 1939 accident report.

http://specialcollection.dotlibrary.dot ... elect+2316)

The train in the report was double headed with a 4-8-2 and a 2-10-2. The 3 percent ruling grade on GCR affects movements in both directions although the SB length is shorter. The branch is a mixture of operating conditions making it difficult for an easy motive power assignment. The locomotives that have a chance of operating solo on paper are articulates of the modern design. Think modern Challenger type or equivalent locomotive. The Santa Fe before the Crookton Cutoff was a challenging RR with the ruling grades of the time. The Santa Fe 2-10-10-2 found a home there.


Robby

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One of my German friends, who had completed the dampflokheizer training program once offered to the public by Deutsche Reichsbahn, took me to see the 18-201 three cylinder compound PAZIFIK in the Dresden roundhouse. Nobody was around, so I got down in the pit under her to look at the mainrod and valve gear for the inside cylinder. When I got back out from under there, I asked my friend how in Hell they changed the mainrods on this and other similar design locomotives. He told me that they got as many men as would fit under there, and everybody grabbed ahold of that sucker and stuffed it in.

Terrific memories and information, guys. Many thanks for sharing.

18 201 is an engine I've always wanted to see, and I've never been able to find out much about it. Is the center cylinder cranked to the first or the second driver? Is it triple Walschaerts, or Gresley valve gear for the center?

I have drawings, specs, and video between the frames of 18-201. It will take me a few days and at least a 12 pack to review everything, but I will provide an accurate, detailed answer for you.

I LIED. I reviewed everything I have, but I can't give you a very good answer about Dampf-Plus 18 201:

The third cylinder is the same size 570mm as the other two, and SO FAR AS I CAN TELL is on a horizontal centerline, but is forward of the outside ones. The center cylinder is rodded to the FIRST driving axle.

The valve gear is not Gresley. The streamlined nose located over the first pony truck axle contains the tailrod housing and front head for the third cylinder, which projects into an equipment locker containing the usual junk you carry on the road with you.

I will not go out on a limb and say that the third cylinder is controlled by a third Walchaerts gear, I can't see it clearly in any of my references. What I CAN tell you is that it was awful damn crowded under there, I remember wondering how they could turn a wrench or swing a hammer or get a pin or bolt out. However, there seems to be plenty of room around the second and third sets of drivers, as shown in videos of her running.

No doubt you are aware that the Krauts are quite clever and determined, and some of the most fanatical train freaks on the planet. There are books and videos and magazines dedicated to every class of German steam, which contain all the information anybody could ever possibly think of wanting. The video I have was included as a bonus in the Winter 2013 issue of Bahn Epoche, and was produced by Rio Grande Video. This is still available, try http://www.vgbahn.de for it. Besides Verlagsgruppe Bahn, there is also the Eisenbahn Kurier. These two companies are sort of like Kalmbach and Carstens. Both of them will have materials dedicated to the 18 201.

I can also offer that the 44, 58, and 01 classes are also three cylinder machines, covered in great detail by the German railfan press, with a good number of operational examples surviving.

To get copies of these materials, if you don't speak German or have a friend over there, I would suggest either Reynauld's in downtown Chicago, or Modellbahn Ott out east. Both of these dealers I will recommend based on pleasant personal dealings.

These DVDs are in the PAL system, while we in North America use the NTSC system. It is not necessary to buy an interformat video converter or machine. I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that an EL CHEEPO Memorex DVD player that I bought at K-Mart for $30 had the capability to play PAL system DVDs directly on my NTSC system TV set. This information is useful for Australian or Chinese steam DVDs, too...

I would also offer that the 18 201 is searchable on Google or YouTube, etc. These gizmos work just as well in German (or not) as in English. You might try different ways of entering the data for the engine, such as 18 201 18-201 Dampf-Plus 18 201 DR 18 201 br 18 201 br 02 201 18-0201-0

Hope this is helpful.