Rusty Traque posted:overlandflyer posted:considering the number of casting patterns you would have to make, the number of specialized heavy machines that would need to be purchased along with the necessary physical plant, it would be ludicrous to make a single, full scale, large steam locomotive. take for instance the last Lima locomotives (super power) which were constructed with one piece cast frames. add to this the unavailability of ANY appliance manufacturer. injectors, air pumps, feedwater heaters, power reverse, headlight, classification lights, bell, whistle, etc, etc would all have to be constructed from scratch. two or three could likely be made with the only increase being little more than the cost of materials.
It seems the T1 Trust is going through the effort.
https://prrt1steamlocomotivetr...newsletter.php?id=16
Rusty
they say it themselves... not only did they consider inflation in their cost estimate, but added a factor of 7x that to cover many of the one-time costs i mentioned. consequently, if the initial locomotive comes in at $10M, especially considering that the labor is volunteer, they could build a pair for ~$11.5M. considering the huge amount of preventive maintenance steam locomotives go through in their lifetime, having a 2nd number could ensure that a working locomotive would more likely be available when needed.
