@BillYo414 posted:All those cylinders though? And a whole lotta chuffing? Sounds pretty awesome regardless of whether they were doing any work.
That's interesting about the track! I didn't even think about that way; lotta axle putting down power to spread the load. That's a good point. I also didn't know we have used heavier rail in recent years. I would have thought, regardless of axle count, older rails were heavier strictly because of heavier engines.
You must understand that, back in the steam days, the axle loadings were NOT all that high (except for the C&O). Large steam locomotives generally had axle loadings of around 65,000 pounds to 70,000 pounds per axle (for the VERY heavy locomotives, while the C&O thought nothing of axle loadings of 80,000 pounds). While current high HP diesel electric locomotives (6 axle versions) are still about 70,000 pounds max. On the other hand, current freight cars at 286,000 pounds are over 71,000 pounds per axle. Thus, many current freight cars are "harder" on the track structure and bridges than the vast majority of steam locomotives.
It all comes down to axle loadings and Cooper Ratings for bridges (you try a Google search for Cooper Rating).
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