Originally Posted by chuck:
Pans's were used on a number of main lines but New York Central may have been the only line that they enjoyed any real success. PRR tried them out as did the B&O. The latter two had a lot of trouble with effectively scooping the water on the fly. They either didn't get enough or had issues with the force of the water doing damage to the tender tank.
Very true. The NYC really perfected the practice of taking water "on the fly" from track pans, at speeds above 80MPH. However, the whole concept was NOT to completely fill the tender, but to get enough water to provide a good reserve, plus get to the next track pan. The NYC PT class "centipede" tenders made taking water at very high speeds possible.
