Steam in Cab

Thanks for the photos. That fireman was in the 2nd volume of the video "How to Run a Steam Locomotive," as I recall.

Yes, nice photos. However, I did NOT see any "steam in cab", i.e. steam leaks. You should change your title to something like "Photos Inside the Cab of 2472."

Well hot water, I will be SURE to get your OK before I post anything else on the forum. Don

Excellent photos, Don.  By all means do not change the title.  Matt

scale rail posted:

Well hot water, I will be SURE to get your OK before I post anything else on the forum. Don

No problem. I'm always happy to assist.

Hot Water posted:

scale rail posted:

Well hot water, I will be SURE to get your OK before I post anything else on the forum. Don

No problem. I'm always happy to assist.

And one thing you don't want while running a steam locomotive is steam in the cab.

Rusty

Wow. See how quick a good thread can get ruined. Great photos, any video from the day you could share? Keep them coming!

Kinda disappointed.  The pictures are nice, but from the title I was expecting to see some fancy high dollar model train engine with smoke emissions coming out of the engineer's cab.

Kind of a new feature only on the very top line units which already have steamchest, whistle, smokestack and number board steam emissions. 

Jameszz posted:

Wow. See how quick a good thread can get ruined. Great photos, any video from the day you could share? Keep them coming!

Let's put it this way:  I've had "steam in the cab."  The packing between the boiler and steam turret blew out on 1630 creating an uncontrollable steam leak that filled the cab.  There was no warning.   And this at the east end of IRM's mainline. 

Nothing to do but dump the fire, run the injectors and try to limp back to the steam shop.

Rusty

The gauge shows pressure, and you can see fire through the peephole. That's steam right there, folks!

smd4 posted:

The gauge shows pressure, and you can see fire through the peephole. That's steam right there, folks!

Well, yes, there is a steam pressure gauge in the cab, and there are quite a number of operating valves which control steam pressure & flow. However, there is NO "steam in the cab" as THAT would be an FRA defect.

Hot Water posted:

 However, there is NO "steam in the cab" as THAT would be an FRA defect.

Really? So if I open a tri-cock and let steam into the cab, that's an FRA defect?? How about if I blow down a water glass and steam seeps up into the cab through the floor?? FRA defect?

smd4 posted:

Hot Water posted:

 However, there is NO "steam in the cab" as THAT would be an FRA defect.

Really? So if I open a tri-cock and let steam into the cab, that's an FRA defect??

Nope, as it is NOT a "leak". But, you knew that anyway.

How about if I blow down a water glass and steam seeps up into the cab through the floor?

FRA defect?

Nope again, as it is NOT a "leak". But, you knew THAT too.

Ah. You didn't mention a "leak" being a defect, just "steam in the cab."

smd4 posted:

Ah. You didn't mention a "leak" being a defect, just "steam in the cab."

Well,,,,,,wouldn't "steam in the cab" be a leak?????   Every locomotive I ever worked on did NOT have "steam in the cab". Even when AFT 4449 broke a small boiler tube, we still didn't have any "steam in the cab". It simply put the fire out.

hot water, please knock it off. I put my pictures on this thread because I thought folks might like and enjoy them. So how about you stop blowing off STEAM. If anyone else would like to post cab pictures I and others would love to see them. Don 

scale rail posted:

hot water, please knock it off. I put my pictures on this thread because I thought folks might like and enjoy them. So how about you stop blowing off STEAM. If anyone else would like to post cab pictures I and others would love to see them. Don 

OK, how about this "in cab" picture? Taken 1984, eastbound on the Southern Pacific main line, SP 4449 handling the New Orleans World's Fair Daylight, at 65+ MPH at full throttle, and hooked up in the "company notch" (notice the steam chest pressure gauge).

There you go, HW. Join the show. By the way I road the Daylight in 1952 behind steam. I was eight years old and still remember everything, even the smell of the dinning car and double heading over the grade. Worked on your picture a bit. Don

Hot Water posted:

Well,,,,,,wouldn't "steam in the cab" be a leak?????  

I thought I provided two examples of "steam in the cab" NOT coming from a leak. 

HW: NICE cab shot! Is that you at the throttle? Also glad Don was able to lighten up the photo!

Tinplate Art posted:

HW: NICE cab shot!

Thanks. That was taken with my Pentax 6X7, with 120 Kodak color negative film. Doyle McCormack asked where my camera was, and then took the shot.

Is that you at the throttle?

Yes. I was the oldest member on the 1984 4449 Worlds Fair Daylight crew, at 42. That was 35 years ago.

Also glad Don was able to lighten up the photo!

Yes, I just discovered that, it certainly looks much nicer and with more detail. Thanks to Don.

HW: THANKS for the additional info! During that summer of 1984, also at age 42, I was firing and running Ex SR 2-8-0 722 at TVRM in Chattanooga, TN for 11 weeks. I was fortunate to work with two retired seasoned steam men: Bill Chandler, former Road Foreman on the Southern Railway, and Billy Byrd, former Traveling Engineer with Seaboard System. Both men fired and ran steam back in the day on their respective railroads and each put in 43 years of service. Learned a lot about firing and running steam from those two gentlemen! 

NICE shot HW! That must've been thrilling. I remember Ross Rowland saying something along the lines of...

"I've driven racecars, I've flown airplanes, but nothing comes close to running mainline steam at track speed." That was in an interview on "The Roundhouse" podcast.

TrainMan1225 posted:

NICE shot HW! That must've been thrilling. I remember Ross Rowland saying something along the lines of...

"I've driven racecars, I've flown airplanes, but nothing comes close to running mainline steam at track speed." That was in an interview on "The Roundhouse" podcast.

Well, coming from a MUCH more famous source, i.e the late Steven E. Ambrose, who accompanied the UP 1999 doubleheader of 844 & 3985 enroute to Railfair '99 in Sacramento, after riding the cabs of 844 and 3985 at track speed ascending various grades westbound, "I've been in nuclear submarines, various jet aircrafts, huge naval ships, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, compares to THAT!!!!!!". Mr. Ambrose was hosted by the UP, in a business car on the rear of our pretty long passenger train, and we had dinner and refreshments a number of times with him and his wife, as he was doing research for his up-coming book "Nothing Like It In The World" (which I have a personally autographed copy of). He was truly a fascinating man, and really took an interest in the operation of the doubleheader and all the servicing & maintenance involved.

I saw the World's Fair train the first day out of Portland.  Then rode it later westbound Houston to San Antonio.  Glad I did both.   An era gone by on Class 1's.

Now was there steam in the cab of AFT 4449 from the time she ran through the crossover switches the IC officials forgot to tell you about until the Amtrak special got back to Portland?

Dominic Mazoch posted:

I saw the World's Fair train the first day out of Portland.  Then rode it later westbound Houston to San Antonio.  Glad I did both.   An era gone by on Class 1's.

Now was there steam in the cab of AFT 4449 from the time she ran through the crossover switches the IC officials forgot to tell you about until the Amtrak special got back to Portland?

No. There was no escaping steam vapor in the cab. Why would have been?

How about a video of my 1st ever cab ride.  This was taken at the Huckleberry Railroad aboard US 152.

Ambrose's book on the building of the transcon is a classic, and like the title, is unparalled.