@Hot Water posted:Advertising crap fro Alco, back in the day.
Not really crap, Jack. The reciprocating and rotating parts were deliberately over-engineered by Jeffers and his design team, in conjunction with ALCo’s engineers for a theoretical speed of 80 MPH.
This was done to prevent rod and other running gear failures in the speed range the engines were expected to operate in.
in 1948, the class was still assigned to their original territory, Ogden-Green River and had a speed limit of 45 MPH for both Frt and Pass.
Later, they were operated at up to 60 MPH on the long descending grade from Hermosa to Laramie.
In his book “Big Boy” Kratville said that the strategy worked well, as there was never a rod failure recorded over the road for the entire class.
Over-engineering was a common practice in those days. If you look at bridges constructed at that time and their replacements now, you will see that the component members are much lighter and thinner on the newer structures. Both computers and advances in metallurgical science have made this possible
