steam Locomotive Retirements (circa 1950)

QJdriver · **Posted:** Sat Jul 16, 2022 11:16 pm

Try Denver Digital Imaging for processing and other film services. There are indeed lots of us still shooting film. Too bad that nobody is making 35mm or 2 1/4 film cameras anymore...

superheater · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:54 pm **Posts:** 2606

NYCRRson wrote:

Quote:

Thanks for telling us the nature of the failure to understand the disruptive technology.

Again, read my posts slowly.....

Eastman Kodak FULLY UNDERSTOOD the disruptive nature of digital imaging......

The thing you neglect to consider is that EK already had an obligation to make the most profits possible for the shareholders....

If in 1990 (without your clear benefit of miraculous hindsight) the management of EK declared they where going to tear down all of the film factory and pour all of the profits of the company into a brand new "Mega Digital Camera Factory" they would have been sacked.

They would have left billions of dollars in profits "on the table".

Very convenient to second guess things decades after the fact....

I was there and saw the results of the decisions made, I doubt you could have done any better.

Your embitterment aside, exactly what sort of life deficit makes you so devoted to a corporate carcass? Must be a boomer loyalty thing. You are pretty dense to think they maximized shareholder value by getting a "going concern" letter from their external accountant, shocking the world and putting the next to last nails in their coffin.

I worked for Prudential (the retirement group, nine name changes in the ten years I was there) and my loyalty ended the day I cashed my last check. I am quite willing to acknowledge their stupidity in not understanding the flight from defined benefit to defined contribution plans and the fact they did astronomically stupid things. Now they sold the business to Empower.

We had the WEFICS project. Workflow Enhancement for Improved Customer Service (got in trouble when one of my more creative coworkers said it's not ambitious enough, we should be seeking unexcelled customer service and I was among those that chuckled) they ordered six foot wide roles rolls of butcher paper and everybody flowcharted their job. The executives walked around rubbing their chins, and commenting. All because some top level guy read "Reengineering the Corporation" and thought that it was practicable.

Then there was "mobilization" where vast throngs of people got together in the WTC to discuss the future of the company. My counterpart was from property casualty and we agreed we had almost nothing in common so we should enjoy the catered lunches at Windows on the World.

And then there were some of my bosses. One kept a copy of Machiavelli around and was fond of saying "the organization has a right to survive". It tried, by canning him five years ago. His nickname was "troll from the dark forest", because of his creepy sayings.

But the one I'm sure you'd appreciate was the one that was the master of insignificant and irrelevant details. One of our "internal clients" nailed it one day, asking me-"how is it that he knows about every blade of grass in intimate detail, but can't tell you how to walk across the lawn?".

As foe whether I could have "done better", irrelevant. However, you don't have to be a farmer to say "yep, that's manure".

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

QJdriver wrote:

In the mid 50s, Nacionales de Mexico did a cost comparison between steam and continued investment in diesels. Their idea was to buy up all the Van Sweringen Berkshires and spares they could get, and convert them to oil firing for long term use on the Queretaro Division. The diesels won out because the Berks would have required expensive improvements to track and bridges, but diesels didn't. Too bad, I bet the Berks would have performed splendidly burning oil.

Sammy -

I found this info very interesting. You mentioned that the reason the Berks weren't brought in was that the track and bridges would have required expensive improvements. Which got me to wondering what type of steam NdeM was using on the Queretaro Division up to that time?

Les

QJdriver · **Posted:** Sun Jul 17, 2022 3:12 pm

Les, NdeM used pretty much the same thing that US roads were using at the end of WWII, and many second hand engines went down there from the USA. Their best power were the QR-1 class 4-8-4s, which carried 240,000 lb on the drivers, and most of their eight coupled power was closer to 200,000. By comparison, a NKP 2-8-4 has 266,000 lb driver weight.

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

QJdriver wrote:

Les, NdeM used pretty much the same thing that US roads were using at the end of WWII, and many second hand engines went down there from the USA. Their best power were the QR-1 class 4-8-4s, which carried 240,000 lb on the drivers, and most of their eight coupled power was closer to 200,000. By comparison, a NKP 2-8-4 has 266,000 lb driver weight.

Sammy -

Thanks for that explanation.

Les

JimBoylan · **Posted:** Sun Jul 17, 2022 8:31 pm

To attempt to bring this back on topic, did the Kodak railroad in Rochester, New York retire its steam engines circa 1950?