@kgdjpubs posted:Think of shotgun blasts. That is close. I'm not sure where you are, but find the Reading 2102 Iron Horse Rambles excursion schedule at Reading & Northern in eastern Pennsylvania. Find a spot between Tamaqua and Barnesville, PA on the morning leg, or between Jim Thorpe and Haucks, PA (near Barnesville) on the afternoon leg. Pick a trip when they have a long excursion. Find a crossing, and be prepared for a show like you've never seen before. Or, better yet, ride the train and get a seat near the front. The 2102 and 2101 are identical, and having seen a lot of engines running, a Reading T-1 under load is as loud as anything I've ever witnessed.
Interesting. I'm in NJ, and do plan on getting out there at some point. I have to see what the schedules are as well as figure out when it is best to have time to get out there.
@Rich Melvin posted:Kgdjpubs, your "shotgun" analogy is a good one.
Watch and listen to this video. It's only 37 seconds long, and I actually did it for video illustration purposes. However, listen to the "shotgun" exhaust as the engine accelerates. Now picture yourself in the cab as those blasts resonate off the hillside to the right and come back into the cab. And imagine listening to this almost constantly for two hours or more.
This is why I can't hear very well today without hearing aids.
Rich, was this an uphill/grade run? I imagine if it isn't, that it is tamer than the stresses of the grade runs? Granted it is still loud as heck. My grandfather had this mean blue Ford tractor that when running certain equipment, would be a ton louder than normal because of the stresses of what the equipment was. You could try and talk right next to him on one side by the fender and it would be almost impossible to hear what either of you said. Granted I would wager that the tractor is somewhere around a car motor revving, and the exhaust from a steam locomotive closer to a jet engine. Heck, what do I know though.
