Saw a video of a Bman 4-8-2 pulling 75 33ft hoppers right out of the box! Yes, a flat layout, but still, 75!!! Yup, gimme a steamer any day! On the real Railroads the steamers were called 'locomotives' and the other types were called 'motors' or 'engines,' indicating that even the rail guys didn't consider them real locos! Todays rails call them 'units!' Such an endearing term!
Isn't he an actor? Vinny Diesel? Diesels are so blah. They all look alike now. Kinda like our cars. There is no art to anything we COMMONLY drive. Same for diesel locomotives. Seen one, seen em all. . When steam came out with streamlining, everyone had to do it. That was art, power and exciting.. Now, it's all about something else. Could you imagine a whole new streamlined diesel? That would be interesting to see....... Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Kinda like steamers....other then the amount of wheels under them...they all look alike... Like Henry Ford said about the Model T " You can have any color you want, as long as it's black !"
Well, not to take too much of an issue with this post (to each his or her own, as it were), but the diesels were not "pulling" downhill. They were being "pushed" by those 143 cars. A steamer lacks the dynamic braking ability that diesels have, so leaving the steam engine out front could have been catastrophic: think burned out brake shoes on a runaway 143 car freight. The diesels were holding back the train.
Yeah, "...end of stream..." can be a problem once ya get older! LOL! I'm 66, and luckily, mine is still going strong! PERSONALLY...it's not "diesels" which are boring, it's modern railroading and modern diesels which are uninteresting. JUST SAYIN'.... Bob Gilmore
I think you hit the nail on the head. I grew up with steam, rode behind steam, been in the cab of steam, and none of it was ever excursion but simple work a day steamers. There tended to be some variety in steam besides the wheel arrangements when you were up close. But the consists that trailed behind them was the interest in that about every color and difference in height, length, and construction features could be found in a simple boxcar. Model steamers tend to be persnickety creatures needing careful handling and sometimes almost constant tweaking to get to run right at times. I have spent years messing with them and have had my share of frustrations. I also grew up with first and second generation diesels and there was again a lot of color and variation amongst them and they had back then the same varied consists behind them. In my doddering old age I have come to slowly prefer diesels in my modeling but limited to those first and second generation unit. Far less hassles of something getting out of whack and a lot easier to maintain. I have to agree that I find far less interest on the modern diesel and the boring consists that trail behind them. Everything looks the same. A unit coal train back in my younger days could have five of six different styles of hoppers with variations in height and capacity. A unit coal train today is just one long ribbon of the same color and size. Eventually I will have nothing but geared steam and diesel as the persnickety rod engines continue to develop issues.
And this is a neat reason steam is SOOOO fascinating. There is a camera mounted on the eccentric bracket! Provides a unique view of the valve gear. And makes the argument for steam so well!
Years ago, when MILW 261 was first back in service, Goodheart had filmed using a camera on a side rod. It produced an interesting sensation....
Now that there is the truth. I happen to like both and model the transition era. Problem is I can't get a stove that will haul a decent load of train cars up my 2% grades. The same goes for the diesels aka motors or "Units". So, we've been disguising box cars with engine chassis to get these trains up the hill. That or a monster lash-up of diseasels (spelling intended). If you don't mind I need to get back to the Train Shed and finish up insulating it. Then maybe this winter I can actually work out there and run some trains. Maybe have a friend or two over. That would take up all available space but I think we will be warm.
Rick, insulate and wrap them walls up! Then all winter is train time too!! Was the best move I ever made building in a seperate building for the trains, no cat or pet hairs, controlled dust levels ......... Yup, get r done!
I am 39 and I prefer steam. One of my earliest memories is riding in 1880's D&RGW narrow gauge equipment around Knott's Berry Farm.
Let's see if this works...my first Youtube video!....a double-wow...both steam AND diesel.... <iframe width="853" height="480" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Took this in 2011 at Wahsatch, the top of the Weber/Echo Canyon grade, just west of Evanston... Bob Gilmore
Please re read my post and while you are at it look up the definition of the word "usually". One more thing, people will come out to watch a steam locomotive and take pictures or video's but will they do so for a disease? Hardly.
Steam has a life of it's own and so many moving parts. Diesels all too often look like a boxcar with windows...
It's the "so many moving parts" that is worrisome. When things go south...they really go SOUTH !! Some guys can fix em...others (like me) make em a static display when they get fubar BTW...diesels can become shelf queens too or in my case...a FVM ESS44AC on the deadline...ready to start taking parts off it.
I agree, modern diesel doesn't stir much interest. But plenty of people were shooting pics of Royal Gorge Railroad's beautiful F7 AB set when we road it a couple of years ago.