dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

My uncle sent this link to me from Youtube about a train engine. Like many people I like trains but have never seen an engine like this. It looks super modern even for today to me. I will be looking it up for more information. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZlFPsCc4y0

I just tried the link I posted and it is not working for me. I am pretty much computer illiterate but can normally copy and paste a link but apparently not this time. I think with the title from Youtube or the link posted others can probably figure it out so I will leave it as is. If you can let me know what I did wrong please let me know.

EDIT: I found out after I posted the link that it does seem to work.

Dennis

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

I looked up the engine and found it was made in 1950. I have included a schedule of events for those who might be interested.

Dennis

The Revolution of Steam
For Strasburg Rail Road, home to the revered Norfolk & Western Class M locomotive #475, hosting the Class J 611 is an unprecedented event.

“Reuniting 475 and 611 is a rare opportunity for railfans and heritage railroad tourists alike,” said Steve Barrall, station master at Strasburg Rail Road. “When the two locomotives are side-by-side, you will see, hear, and feel how the Norfolk & Western Railway revolutionized steam technology in under 50 years.”

The N&W Class M #475, a 4-8-0 locomotive, was built in 1906 by Baldwin Locomotive Works and put into service by the Norfolk & Western hauling freight and coal trains. Soon after, the railroad decided to design and build its locomotives using cutting-edge technology and engineering.

The N&W Class J 611 is the sole survivor of 14 Class J steam locomotives designed and built by the Norfolk & Western Railway. The locomotive rolled out of Roanoke’s East End Shops in 1950. Its mission was to pull the Powhatan Arrow, a 15-car passenger train, from Norfolk, Virginia, to Cincinnati, Ohio.

The special events at the Strasburg Rail Road include:

September 28-29: A Norfolk & Western Railway Steam Reunion
October 4-6: Railfan Photography Extravaganza
October 12-14: Rail & Road: A Transportation Evolution
October 19-20: At the Throttle of Norfolk & Western Steam
Tickets can be found at strasburgrailroad.com.

Bill 45

Dennis2146: Thank you for the movie of the train. Boy does take me way back in time like when I was four or five years old. My father would take me down to the Union Railroad Station in Utica, New York to see the trains come and go and get copies of the New York City newspapers.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thanks Bill. I am glad you enjoyed it.

Dennis

Paloviejo

The SC Railroad Museum arranged an excursion on that train from Columbia to Salisbury, NC and return. We got the tickets and really enjoyed the trip. Unfortunately it never occurred again.

badapple Loc: Twin Lake, Michigan

Thanks for posting. Very enjoyable to view.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thank you.

Dennis

Althefarmer Loc: Somerset, Ky

Fascinating train film. What struck me is that the Engineer had such a poor view of the tracks ahead.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.

As for the view, I have always wondered if the engineer ever has a good view. If there are any engineers, Train that is, can someone let us know what the view might be from an engine window. It seems to me there is never going to be a good view unless on a curve.

Dennis

stonecherub Loc: Tucson, AZ

Oh, man, that video is so loaded with meaning under the surface. I saw it years ago and have been looking for it ever since.

First, apropos of nothing, why do parents describe any train to their children as a "choo-choo?" Not only have they never seen a steam locomotive, they've never heard one, either. Where the hell do they get choo-choo train? TV? Their parents? Where? ... Just askin'.

On topic, the steam in modern times is a fad but the infrastructure is gone. The coaling towers and water towers that supported steam gradually disappeared after diesel took over in the 60s. The refurbished steam locomotives of today tow several tenders to carry the water they need, coal has been supplanted by oil.

This video shows that the skill is gone, as well. Several times, the drivers spin wildly as they break loose from the rails. Too much steam sent to the cylinder, applies too much pressure to the piston, which applies too much force to the wheel, causing it to break loose from the rail and spin. The guys who did this every day rarely, if ever, spun their wheels but those guys are gone! Nobody runs a steam locomotive every day for a living, anymore. Diesel is easy.

Here's a link to a Union Pacific puff-piece on the Big Boy locomotive with dual driver sets (very cool).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWNJ63C_0ts

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Glad you were able to see the video you had been looking for.

I am not sure why your rant about, Choo-Choo but I guess it is something you needed to get out for some reason.

May I respectfully suggest you do not post your video on my thread. You are certainly able to post your own thread and people will no doubt find it interesting. But to put it on my post is rude. Start your own thread.

Dennis

stonecherub Loc: Tucson, AZ

May I respectfully disagree? How does a thread on somebody else's website become "YOURS," exclusively? The whole idea of UHH is dialog, trading of information, about photography but other things as well, like trains. We're a community and the concept of exclusivity works against that. We're a voluntary community, we pay nothing to belong, the scut work being done on our behalf by others because they are willing to run this community. Been there, done that.

How does putting a link in MY reply, constitute "posting a video" in YOUR thread? The video is nowhere near UHH or you, it's on YouTube. I put the link there for other old-steamtrain folks, that's what I understand the internet to be for. Starting another thread would break the continuity and defeat the purpose of having a thread in the first place.

Finally, why do you think me rude? Why you were annoyed at something I think to be ordinary web discourse? I know how to be rude, I learned how to skirt the edge of discourtesy in SERE school, albeit half a century ago.

UHH on the Web is text-only communication and I am completely clueless about what you find wrong and why you are so proprietary about YOUR thread. I am eager to read your explanation, really.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

I think that generally speaking, the unwritten rule of the forum is that you don't post your photos in someone else's thread nor to you make changes to anybody's photos without permission. In the same vein, I post my thread for that one idea. If you want to post your video, then start another thread. Perhaps someone can join in to correct either one of us. I think it is rude not because I am angry; I am not angry at all, but because this is my post. Apparently you will do as you please.

Your experience in SERE school doesn't impress me a whole lot. Many of us on the forum have been in combat etc. That was then and this is now.

I was asking respectfully. If you can't accept that for whatever reasons you need then so be it.

Dennis

stonecherub Loc: Tucson, AZ

Roger, out!