Posted in The Great Steam Locomotives on January 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »
by Engineman Wook
To begin, the above picture, of one of my favorite compound steam locomotives, the Norfolk & Western Railway Y-series, is by Mr Bob Krone. It dates from 1958 and many more of the gentleman’s fine train pictures can be seen at:
Next, while frowsting it online in search of more technical information especially on the N&W Y6b, I am pleased to have (more…)
Posted in The Great Steam Locomotives on January 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »
by Engineman Wook
The pictures are sent by courtesy of Oz Pete from New South Wales where he worked as a fitter/turner (this is a mechanic and machinist in other words) on the NSW Railway. The first picture above is a 1952 builder’s photo of a Garratt steam locomotive, all shiny and new.
The second could well be called ‘All Clapped Out’ (like my dad’s Wellington in the war!) The general unkempt appearance and rust shows that (more…)
Posted in The Great Steam Locomotives on January 15, 2010| 3 Comments »
by Engineman Wook
I know little about these as they never found any use in North American steam. But anyway “Herb Garratt” sent along some nice photos last week from New South Wales, and writes:
“I served my time in the New South Wales Guv Raily, as a fitter/turner (a cross between a US ‘mechanic’, and a US ‘machinist’, I think?)
“I know the Y6b’s by reputation and pix, and they looked GREAT jobs.
“The only interesting modern job we had were the 60 class Garratt 4-8-4+4-8-4’s.
“Pix attached.
“Cheers,
“OP”
Essentially, Garratt steam locomotives offer radially articulated steam engines — or, more correctly, motors — fore and aft of the boiler & cab-section. It is as though you would set one pair of (more…)
Posted in Railroading History on January 7, 2010| 2 Comments »
by Engineman Wook
http://members.kos.net/sdgagnon/rm.html
“At 0330 hrs on December 12, 1989, Rolly brought [CPR The Canadian] Number 2 into Schreiber station for the last time. It was minus 30 degrees as Rolly stepped down from the VIA 6433 into retirement….” Engineman Rolly Martin had first begun work as a sectionman in 1947, the same year PRR fireman Paul Dietz was leaving his four-year wartime stint as fireman, down in Ohio. * And now forty-two years on it was the end of Martin’s career on the Canadian mainline, a working life that had seen the end of steam and complete dieselization.
Mr David J Gagnon of Ontario, Canada, has put up a very (more…)
Posted in HOW Some Of It Works -- The Technologies on January 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »
by Engineman Wook
There are a number of valve gear systems that are used in North American steam. The valve cylinders in both simple and compound setups are all-important in admitting controlled volumes of steam, saturated or superheated, to both faces in turn of the double-acting power cylinders that actually drive the rods to the crankpins. All of the systems make various compromises in their locations on the engines as well as motions, in order to provide both ease of maintenance and optimum power. This last by definition means concentrating preferentially on particular graphological phases of the steam cycle and, in turn, at different (more…)
Posted in Some Artists of Steam on January 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »
by Engineman Wook
http://georgebarr.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html
George Barr is a photographer who brings fine art values to the work. This is clear from his interpretation of the light and shade, and sheen and mass, of the steel drivers and rods in the picture above.
More of Barr’s work may be seen in his web log:
http://georgebarr.blogspot.com/
Another artist of steam locomotive photography is Wayne Leeman:
https://enginemanwook.wordpress.com/2009/12/07/some-artists-of-steam/
[Engineman Wook
[all rights revert to holders
[5 January 2010]
Posted in The Great Steam Locomotives on January 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »
by Engineman Wook
Here is a link to some more detailed technical description of what are, just now, my all-time favorite articulated mallet locomotives, the N&W Y series; the Y6a shown here finally was upgraded to a Y6b as told in the following narrative:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_%26_Western_2156
[Engineman Wook
[all rights revert to holders
[1 January 2010]
Engineman Wook 