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To me its the sound and seeing the side rods moving.From a very slow at first to a blur.Seeing the locomotive leaving a trail of smoke hanging over the train.Funny I did not like steam locomotives at first but as time went on.And seeing the steam locomotives that where around during the 1930s and ww2.I still have my very first railking erie berkshire.Although it does not have all the bells and sounds.It can pull a good size train.I have had a railking C&O pull a 43 car freight train.So how about you guys out there?

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Steamers appeal to me for so many reasons.  The sounds of the drama: The working machinery at rest, compressors, steam releases, the bell, the whistle, the squealing brakes, the thunder as the giants move the track and ties at speed.

Then there is the architecture.  Everything is Huge.  Functional yes, but with personality I don't have the right words to adequately explain.  Certain elements just grab me.  I'm a fan of PRR because I like the belpaire fire box.  On other steamers I am drawn to the elesco feedwater heater on the top front of the smokebox. Exposed tubes, pipes, resevoirs, drive rods and so forth.

But I also am fond of some diesels. S-2 switchers and EMD F units.

Steam is, cool. So to speak.  LOL

I have been interested in steam propulsion since I was a kid. Born in '63 I never saw a steam loco, steam roller, or traction engine in revenue service, but all hold an attraction to me. Even steam cars. It's fun to watch videos of Jay Leno driving his steam vehicles around on modern city streets.

As a steam nut and a train nut, steam locomotives are the ultimate for me though. The sight of them working, the sounds... as some have said they seem to be alive. There must be something captivating about steam locos that affects non-train people too. What is the first thing most people say to a baby to describe a train, "Choo Choo." Thomas the Tank Engine has entertained countless numbers of kids over the years. And kid's toy trains? I've never seen a Play School SD45.  I guess Chuggington is the first diesel-centric kids program/merchandise I've seen, but even the name evokes steam power!   LOL

Regarding steam locomotives, I especially like their mechanisms and I am in awe of the power (enthalpy) of steam. I read somewhere that the energy in the expanding steam of the J3 Hudson at 275 psig boiler pressure was so immense that it bent the side rods.

Unlike a diesel, when a steam locomotive moves, there is lots to see. Do you notice that when a steam locomotive passes by, onlookers backup in fear of the mighty engine? Not so with diesels.

A lot of things. So much more interesting than a diesel or electric. Side rods churning, the smokestack (Lionel knew diesels didn't smoke in the 50's and I learned from them), the size, the weight of the die cast model, and lots of other stuff.

And then the beautiful styling on the streamlined art deco steamers of the late 30's. The Dreyfus Hudson, the Daylight, Southern Tennessean, Empire State Express, Blue Goose, B&O Cincinnatian, Reading Crusader, etc.

And lastly, the realization that they really changed the game. Think about the alternatives to the early steamers for transportation. Horse and buggy. And then the Model A on quasi-roads. And when Berkshires, etc. were first being run, cars and trucks went from stoplight to stoplight on the highways (no interstates), with nothing near the speed or capabilities of the trains.

And then came the interstates and airplanes and...........

Gerry

Last edited by gmorlitz

All of the above...but as a kid back in the late '40s-early '50s, it was a wave. Standing at the Hollis, Long Island station platform for hours on end, most if not all steam engineers or firemen would return my wave. After diesels took over, maybe half. 

Although it nice to see "tourist RR" steam today, it's not the same as seeing it roaring past at 80 mph with a "Limited" in tow.

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Last edited by Joe Hohmann

I have only owned 3 steamers: an MTH railking 2-8-2 and now 2 tin-plate "O" gauge steamers (no diesels that I know of in tin-plate).  I have owned 9 RK diesels.

Not saying I don't like steamers but on my Christmas layout the diesels tracked much more reliably than my steam engines.  The front 2-wheel truck seems to be the occassional culprit.  My diesels glide thru switches, my steamers 'bump' thru them.

BUT.... I love watching my steam engines so much more!!!  Sounds, Smoke, Side-rods, sentiment for me (I;m 70) plays a roll in it too!

- walt

Matt Makens posted:

Steam engines are ALIVE!!!

Very well put Matt. I'll agree, these are living, breathing works of engineering masterpieces for the technology of the times. I often wonder if I were an old steam crewman from the past. Seeing these engines moving down the tracks brings tears to my eyes, knowing we'll never go back to those days. One of my earliest pictures of me at about 8-10 months, was with a windup clock works train set at my grandmas.

The late steam era in the USA is when we were at our best. We had high speed rail back then, many of the late steam era engines routinely ran 100mph or more. When you stand next to one of them today it seems impossible.

Unfortunately I never saw a steam engine in service, I was born in 1963 so watching a NYC Hudson or Northern run on my layout let’s me relive that time.

Steam engines have a personality  each has its own smells sounds and noise 

Hissing of steam the smell of smoke and oil , clang of the rods spinning of the drivers

Always appreciated the side trips to visit steam on our yearly summer vacations to visit family in western Pennsylvania Used to drive my folks crazy if  saw a billboard advertising penn view mountain,wannamaker kempton and sounthern and of course Strasburg 

 

 

 

 

Everything that has been said so far is the reason I like steam.  Just one more thought, if I may.  To me, just the fact of placing a steam boiler on wheels and engineering it to move.  And then the skill it must have taken to be in the engineer's seat and control this huge moving boiler.  

Pennysnut said it well.

Steam locomotives need water, coal or oil fuel, a wye or turntable to turn them, a roundhouse to service or repair them, frequent stops to water or fuel, and more.  All provide more things to model and operate when running.  When running more valve gear and rods moving, smoke and noise, steam whistles beautiful sounds, coal tenders and trains in their era needed cabooses !
In the age of steam, millions were employed.  It took thousands to repair and service the engines at the roundhouse.  Every 200 miles or so were facilities to water and fuel the trains or provide food for riders of passengers trains or to room the passengers at hotels.  Railroads were the largest employers of the time and almost everyone had a family member working for the railroad or knew someone working for the railroad.

Charlie

Last edited by Choo Choo Charlie

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