Steam in the 21st Century

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Klinger, I was only stating some points that show steam won't come back, if I have any wrong, it was my mistake. For the safety one I was still thinking along the lines of all of the moving parts. Plus there might be steam and a lot of heat when lubricating at a service stop.

Jib, I actually have talked to an engineer of the Great Lakes Central (what T&SB turned into) and he said when NKP 765 came for a visit and they double-headed it with 1225, he was asked to help them with the train. When all of the passengers were off ( because when there are passengers on board they are limited to 25mph. without a license [ I think it was a license]) they took the two Berks and got them going between 40 and 45 mph., the engineer said it was just an awesome thi8ng to see and hear.
 
Lets just leave it to what you believe and I believe end of story. Nevada lets just talk pm ok before this thread goes into a bashing session as they always go to that very fast.

Well, whatever. The information is still here for reading; you can refuse to believe it all you want, but it is still here and still has valid points.

But I suppose that we can nevertheless agree to disagree.

Regards.
 
Alright:D Sure steam costs a lot but the tourist that want to ride it, will pay for itself in no time. Building the ultimate machine I love it:cool:. I would love to see your railroad the first ever railroad in over 50years to build steam instead of diesel thats history right there folks.
It will not be a railroad company, but a mining company with railroad. I plan to use steam with diesel SD-9's for backups. The railroad will be around 20 miles in length and haul around 40,000 tons of Iron Ore everyday, once operations are in full swing. Just to let you know it is not in Minnesota.
 
Jib, I actually have talked to an engineer of the Great Lakes Central (what T&SB turned into) and he said when NKP 765 came for a visit and they double-headed it with 1225, he was asked to help them with the train. When all of the passengers were off ( because when there are passengers on board they are limited to 25mph. without a license [ I think it was a license]) they took the two Berks and got them going between 40 and 45 mph., the engineer said it was just an awesome thi8ng to see and hear.

My good friend and I are both members of the Steam Railroading institute. He was there for that trip, but I was out of town. I wish I had been there for that trip. But the time I had read about was before Train Fest 09. And I was wrong, its was a 60 car freight.

I know its from Facebook, but its the only place i have found this video so far. But jump to about 2:10 and they talk about it. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=636363031707
 
It will not be a railroad company, but a mining company with railroad. I plan to use steam with diesel SD-9's for backups. The railroad will be around 20 miles in length and haul around 40,000 tons of Iron Ore everyday, once operations are in full swing. Just to let you know it is not in Minnesota.


I agree that how diesels should be used as backup instead so when steam needs to get overhaul they have another engine ready to go. I think thats what they were built for all along as for backup power instead of main line power.

Its going to really come down to when somebody will give it another shot
 
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Now I am for steam, but at the same time I see the economic reasons why we cant have a full 100% steam program. It takes at least 2 people to crew a steam loco, not counting the conductor who would make 3. And the maintenance cost too. EVEN if you made a locomotive that was able to lubricate its moving parts all the time, there would still be considerable maintenance costs.

Even at the museum I work at our model steam locomotives receive more work then any of the others due to the amount of moving parts. And these are just model trains.

On the real ones the stress from heating a boiler and keeping it under pressure is allot on the metal. And even when lubed, moving parts still wear out. Now the one major advantage to steam is the fact that they can and will burn any thing. So you could have green steam and burn BIO fuels. But that would not off set the operating cost by much.


But like I said when I joined this topic, steam for SOME major passenger trains would be nice. Nothing that needs to be there in a hour, but some thing that goes cross country. Thats my idea.
 
One thing we can do is dream, so I think it would be awesome if NS brought C&O #1601 back to life. Or even if the Henry Ford Museum Restored it for service, regular or excursion, what I would give to see an Allegheny run.
 
One thing we can do is dream, so I think it would be awesome if NS brought C&O #1601 back to life. Or even if the Henry Ford Museum Restored it for service, regular or excursion, what I would give to see an Allegheny run.

I think they suffer the same problem as the Big Boys, in that track clearances have change since their time. I once heard there was talk of restoring a Big Boy, but when the people looked into it they had no where to run it because it would not fit. The RR had replaced singles, putting them closer to the tracks. New bridges had been built that where too narrow and some reworked tunnels weren't wide enough.

Now out off all steam, I do not like articulated locomotives. But I do make an exception for the Alleghenies's. They are some sexy locomotives. And I would love to see one in action, at least, larger then the scale ones.
 
The Alleghenie at the Henry Ford Museum was in running condition win it was put inside, I got to see a move of them doing it, it will never come out, it was pushed by a SW7 on to a short piece of track that bulldozers had to move the track, like a turntable but just track on the ground. Some one also did not check the door hight, it was to short, they had to remove the brick top to get in.
 
The Alleghenie at the Henry Ford Museum was in running condition win it was put inside, I got to see a move of them doing it, it will never come out, it was pushed by a SW7 on to a short piece of track that bulldozers had to move the track, like a turntable but just track on the ground. Some one also did not check the door hight, it was to short, they had to remove the brick top to get in.
Huh, never heard that, still, one can dream. Sounds soft of like the SR-71 B at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, they brought it into Kalamazoo in pieces on I think 5 semi's. Then they assembled it outside and moved it into the building, after that they finished the building behind it, but I think if they wanted to they could get the SR-71 out.
 
It is not impossable to bring back steam again on America's railroads. With improvments and redesigns to the locomotives today the sky is the limit as what people can do. All it needs is a determined person with money and a small railroad of sorts and prove to the big railroads that steam locomotives are just as cost efficient to run and maintain as diesel locomotives. I will bet that steam will ride the rails again by the end of the century. You can count on that!
 
No, not really.

The last country to build steam locomotives in any number was China, but building there has now stopped.

The locomotive Tornado, built in the UK was a one off (and used for special services only), as are the other 'new build' locomotives here in course of construction.

They are not experimental in that they are designed to be replicas of famous classes of locomotives which did not make it into preservation.

While they may se modern methods of construction - welded instead or riveted boilers, for example, or have the modern gizmos necessary to allow them to run on the modern railway, they cannot be called experimental. The last engineer to really consider advancing steam loco design was the Argentinian, L.D. Porta, but he died in 2003 and those experiments have, for the moment, died with him.

I believe that South African Railways did either build, or consider building, a loco to his design, but that fell by the wayside when that company gave up steam haulage.

Have fun,
 
Steam by far is the most amazing piece of equipment we made and thats what cool about it, is the fact that the way it runs cool vs diesels lack the fun and amazement steam does. Nevada I will gladly run you route with honor if you make one! I think the next wave of steam will prove diesels other wise long live steamers of america:D. There was some people that made things and they were the only ones that believed it could happened and they proved the world wrong they were right. So I say don't let others put down work when do you really know for 100% sure it can't be done.
 
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Steam died do to yearly operating cost and that has not changed or is likely to change. A steam engine is just less efficient than an internal combustion one, that's physics and can not be fixed. A steam turbine is mush better but only if it is big to big for a loco. And I love steam, I have a real live steam loco but they are never coming back.
 
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