Here y’are , Ric --detail
I hope this helps . Mike
Thanks Mike,
Yes, its pretty obvious and I guess if the fire box was hung back further, not only would the engine be longer, but might need a set of wheels under it to help hold the weight. The whole thing is just something I never put much thought into. Those engines just always look out of balance to me.
The thing that puzzles me is , why did they not just add another “section” of boiler ? The whole boiler could then be dropped down lower . I suppose it is the result of making the train fit a particular loading gauge , though how much more it cuts in on a curve with just another six feet of boiler is questionable . Interesting point , though Ric , needs a bit of thinking about .
Maybe the firebox had to be pretty deep . Is it a mountain engine ?
I hope my next photos will produce some interest too .
Mike
More detail-----how about that ding on the buffer beam ? How’d it get there without damage to the cylinder?
Looking at the damage I’d say that someone backed a truck (lorry) into the thing while it was parked there. Looks fairly fresh as there is no indication of any rust. A dint that big would definately have cracks in the paint which should show some surface rust. The bottom ding looks like a bumper ding while the top one looks like something was sticking out of the bed of the truck and caused the ding. Probably a healthy MOW truck. It definately looks like the locomotive was sitting as there is no scuff marks to indicate the locomotive was in motion at the time of the ding. Also the evenness of the ding looks like a poke rather than a strike.
Warren ,
I tend to agree with you , it does look like a single angled blow .
Appearances are quite deceptive , are they not ? I always assumed that the buffer beam was a substantial girder all round . The ding proves otherwise . The round bit is just window dressing .
Mike
looking at the ding again, I’d wager that the upper ding was caused by a bumper mounted vise. A lot of heavy maintenance trucks use them.
Warren , do you have any pictures of such mountings ? I am very interested in the maintenance aspect of engineering . There have been a lot of field jobs that are claimed as new inventions in later years , I have seen vises mounted as you describe on military field recovery vehicles , both Brit and American , in fact when I was a lad , the American tank park at the end of our road had a couple of Diamond T’s , and I used to reach up to play with the vise handle on the front bumper . Until I got a large blue blister when it slid down and pinched my finger . I tried desperately not to cry , but the Army chaps wouldn’t let me play with it again when they saw the tears . Nice chaps , I now realise they missed home . So they played with kids like me who showed an interest in mechanical things . They even showed me how to “field strip” a rifle , but I could hardly lift the thing , let alone push out some of the pins . Another time , I was shown a Browning being stripped , and they put a cloth over it . I thought it must be secret , but they said it was to stop the springs dinging out and hitting me .
Then one day they were all gone , no warning , nothing . That would have been June 1944 . I often wonder .
Mike, it’s probably best you never know…
The next time you go to a memorial, remember them too…dead or alive they served…in more ways than just combat. Here are a couple pix of maintenance trucks that I found quickly. The green truck is very similar to ones used around here…especially with the utility/phone company. The crane would be replaced with a cherry picker. The white truck is very similar to the Hi Rail trucks used by the BNSF though the vise is usually a bit more substantial. That one looks a little dinky. On the other hand the bumper size and vise size would be about right for the ding on the front of the locomotive.
Thanks , Warren , they were just the sort of shots I was thinking of . I think it would be a good idea if we could put up more of support equipment photos such as yours , I do know that a few of the “sitees” are interested .
These bits of support equipment may not be glamorous , but are as much part of the modelling of a railway as the weeds we stick in at some cost to patience .
Mike
Mike Morgan said:
Ray , yes , the shopping centre of Cabazon is in some of the shots he took from the quarry .Ken ,
Martyn saw a lot of trains when he couldn’t stop . When he did stop , there were none . He has one shot of two BNSF diesels taken from the driver’s seat of his hire Jeep—super looking vehicle , it had 28 miles on the clock when he hired it —,the BNSF things were partly obscured , I may post the shot . As I said before , if anyone is interested .Mike
Mike,
I guess I just got lucky the times I was out there. Coming from Vegas back to San Diego I drove south from Henderson and picked up I-40 from Needles, Ca to Barstow, Ca. Seemed every time I saw track there was a train not to far distant. And with all that open space you could see them a good ways off. It was just a matter of waiting a few minutes till it got closer. Martyn did get some great detail shots. Much appreciated!
The american lingo for a “hire Jeep” is a rental. Funny the places you’ll drive a rental and wouldn’t dare with your personal vehicle…
Ken ,
Martyn timed his arrival at grade crossings to be held up by the back end of a long train , so sat waiting until some kind souls --including a policeman in one case --told him the frequency of traffic was about one an hour . Well , with his future wife in the car , and not being selfish , he drove on . I personally would have suggested she might like a light sleep for an hour . But there we are . His other views were distant ones across miles of desert scrub . He wanted to go to downtown LA where he had been told they do street running , but he was advised against it on the grounds that he might have to walk back without his brand new Jeep . And no wallet . He probably did the right thing .
Anyway , there are more photos to come , I have to concentrate a bit to do the movement of them . Hurts my head . Thus done in batches .
Mike
And for those who like nudes -------
And back to clothed ones again .
The different wheel sizes on that rear tender bogie aren’t quite so apparent on this shot , are they ? More to come , hope they are not boring you . By the way , this place was completely deserted . A photo of its location will be included soon . The pics download and can be blown up to see extra detail —taken by a modeller with this in mind . He still has some kidney stones left and claims to sand blast the toilet each time he goes for a pee . Good skid remover .
"Mike Morgan" said:Just the thought brings tears to my eyes... :( Hopefully he will be back to normal soon.
and claims to sand blast the toilet each time he goes for a pee . Good skid remover .
Mike Morgan said:Ah, we'll just call him Machine Gun Martyn from now on........;)
He still has some kidney stones left and claims to sand blast the toilet each time he goes for a pee . Good skid remover .
'ere’s the place where thay woz took . Over the fence to the left . Boulder City Station .Rental Jeep on right
But the fence didn’t keep the grafitti artists off the carriages .
and here through the fence is a dizzle
More to come Mike
MOW Hi Railer .
Pretty Blue Diesel . Not a clue which sort
Is that a NW-2 ??? Looks like my USA one.
Ed
And what are those funky things atop the stacks? Mufflers??? Quite unusual.
JR
Odd coincidence , is this not the same bogie as is referrred to in another thread ? See Rolling Stock Thread