This is WW&F #9…I have helped to restore her and am now learning to fire her.
Last week I kindled a fire in her belly and raised steam for some testing before this weekend’s events
I didnt fire for the weekends trains but did ride along as a brakeman, helping passengers get aboard and depart…All aboard!
It was snowing pretty hard and cold too!
Wow! I am jealous.
That’s just too cool.
Photos have me wondering how much snow ice might have caused issues with brake rigging on steam locos of all gauges back in the day.
While passing insomnia time on You Tube last night I came across an upload of a maybe 1980s British training video on snow effects on train braking, especially the axle-mounted disk brakes.
Great stuff Eric. Love those little Locos.
Eric, Good stuff… It’s official YOU’R HOOKED!!! Trains will never be the same again…
I am sure the snow ice and cold did have quite an effect on operations!
Yesterday’s trains did quit a bit of slipping. Backing the little diesel onto the turntable was surprisingly difficult, the couple inches of snow was enough that the wheels just spun, we had to take a run at it and add some sand…keep in mind that the turn table is dead level!
The steamer pulling the three coaches and a caboose slipped quite a lot on the first run. James the engineer found he could rely on the engine to keep pulling even while slipping a bit as long as he was still moving.
On the first run of the day, I felt a bump, and the conductor swept through the train to signal the engine crew to stop the train. it turned out that the couplers on two borrowed cars were quite worn and had come under coupled. We use safety chains so all we had was a sharp jerk. We set the caboose back into the yard.
getting to the running gear to lubricate it was hard with all the ice…and hard to see with the thick steam!
Great photos Eric. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful, great stuff, and it must be great enjoyment. Dave says you’re officially hooked, but I’m officially jealous.
So beautiful!
