O/T. Steam locomotive-L.A-San Diego!!!!!

Its been 6 years since we've seen steam locomotive action in SoCal.
June 1st, a Sunday, round trip from Union Station in LA to San Diego and back that afternoon. It dragging an Amtrak train down the coast and back.
Mark your calendar if you like machinery big, smoky and noisy.
Check this links at:

http://www.sbrhs.org/

 

When I was a kid I built a tree house in the wind break my Grand Dad planted years before so I could watch the steam engines p*** about 2 1/2 miles from our Ranch. I have always been impressed at the size, noise, and power of live steam. They are rebuilding the Virginia Truckee near here. Hope you all check it out when you come to Hot August Nights. It will be a While.

 

My 4 year old (SanDiegoJoey) would love to see that! I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the heads up.

-Joe

 

The article says it was built in 1928. And was developed for fuel mileage, 4,000 lbs of coal an hour! 1/3 better than the previous engine design!

Frank

 

Just a reminder. Its next sunday.........

 

There is just something about trains that has always captured me. As a kid I would love to see any type of train. My dad built us a huge train layout when we were young. I have always taken any photos I could of trains and related items. Here is a picture of a turnabout that is decommisioned in Milwaukee WI. I took this two years ago on a vaction to visit my Dad. These pieces of history won't last forever. This will probably be scaped to China soon. The picture is worth a thousand words. It depicts how the infastructure of America was built. Something we should all be proud of. Enjoy. thesneakytiki

 

Wish I was there. If you ever get to Cheyenne, Wy. go to the roundhouse at the railyards. They have a Bigboy, 1.3 million pounds of loco, largest ever built. The Forney Museum in Denver also has one.

 

thanks for the link , when my dad was alive he took us to steam town in bellowsfalls Vt every summer , have enjoyed steam equipment since ,

 

I am a steam Locomotive fan!

ATSF 3751 is quite a machine.

 

I was a fireman on our churche's steam loco during Christmas season, and engineer on it during summer camp, it was lot's of fun. They have three full sized narrow gauge loco's we use there year round.The Henry Ford used to have a huge steam loco, I thought it said it was the largest ever built.

 

Storm King, they also HAD a Bigboy. I'm not sure they still do, maybe. I forget all the stats, but I'm pretty sure they used around 100 gallons of water per mile. They were used to haul freight from Cheyenne, Wy. to Ogden, Utah. There's a Bigboy in Steamtown, Pa. also, not sure how it got there as they used a special track. I think there's 8 left of 40 built. Cheyenne also has a Challenger. It has 84 inch diameter drive wheels.

 

I shot this at Summit in the Cajon P*** in 1991.

 

our loco's pail in comparison to what you guys built over there, plus our rail system was a mess... three different gauges - the result of a very bad Irishman, a Scotsman and an Englishman joke.

wouldn't mind checking out a big boy or challenger one day, just something about the sheer size of them, brutally beautiful.

Victoria Railways had the Spirit of Progress - beautiful train, sadly all s****ped


Big Harry was the only one built (built for the Victorian Railways) and was one of the bigger locos used in Australia
http://www.railwaymuseum.org.au/whattosee_h220.html

Though in Australia we had Garretts

 

We've got "Mountain Thunder" running here in Western Maryland.
***berland to Frostburg-all the cinders (in your eyes you want)!
It's a 1916 Baldwin,#734.
Big coal-eating son-ova-gun....

 

For those who are going to find a place to watch the train, look at a Thomas Bros. map book or something similiar and follow the ATSF or BNSF, Metrolink tracks to find a location. It will be using the Santa Fe/Metrolink tracks through the Whittier-Fullerton area after leaving downtonn LA at about 8:00AM. It will be returning to LA later that day. See the link on the first post to get an updated schedule in the next few days.

 

I love steam locomotives, piston aircraft engines, new and old race cars, basically anything that has pistons and rods, and pollutes the earth. The big locomotive in the Ford museum is a Chesapeake and Ohio, Allegheny type 4-6-6-4. If my memory is correct. It is not the largest steam locomotive ever built, but had the most tractive effort. more than UP Big Boy, which is the largest. I had a cab ride on the steam Loco in ***berland MD. in the late 80s. one hell of an experience, pulling hard up the grade to Frostburg. If you didn't hold on it would of pitched you out of the side of the cab, from the side thrust. Anybody in the east, go to the East Broad top RR. in Orbisonia PA. during the steam spectacular on Columbus day weekend in October.

Ago

 

Cool, I was going to ask if there were any operating Steam railways between San Fran and L.A. that we could take my son to have a look at in Oct as he is a bit of a fan, unfortunatly he never got to meet my dad who was a big fan and preservation man, his legacy is a very cool operating steam railway here in NZ (Glenbrook Vintage railway)built and run by volunteer's Dad was one of the founders of the deal and worked real hard to get it off the ground and keep it running, great place to have spent a good deal of my childhood.....

http://www.railfan.org.nz/

 

Have fun Doug!!! I'm a closet raifan myself!!! Big steam is awesome. Nothing like it!!!

 

I have been a railway man for 43 years and 36 of them as a engineer. My first 3 years was swinging a banjo (shovel) on steam locomotives. It was hard and dirty, no steam you did not get any where, a combinded effort between engineer fireman and machine. Teaches you respect for each other and the understanding of machinery, Thank god for General Motors and General Electric for making the job better and Hot Rodding for taking my mind off them all. In The Pilbara we move some of the largest trains in the world 24-7, such is the demand for iron ore. At present our company hauls 28 trains a day at 32,000 tons each loaded. To us its just another day.

 

When I was about 5 or 6 we took a vacation from Ohio to eastern Pa.. This would have been 1943 or 1944. We p***ed a railroad junkyard full of cars and engines stacked on top of each other just like cars. May have been a s****yard for the war effort I don't know but it was facinating to p***. I think it was in western PA on the south side of route 40 but that's too long ago to remember the details. Sure loved growing up in the steam generation and was sad to see it leaving in the 50's.

 

The Henry Ford has a Challenger, not a Big Boy. Big Boy is the larger of the two but the Challenger is close!! The still have it on display inside. The Big Boy was transported to Steam Town in pieces and re***embled on sight. They say the bridges on the east coast can't handle the weight of the Big Boy. I've seen them both in person and they are an awesome sight.

 

The also is a BIG BOY on display at the LA County Fairgrounds right smack in the middle of where they hold the LA Roadsters Show on Fathers Day weekend. Here it is just west of the NHRA Museum

 

How did we miss that Doug????....lol

 

Jody, There are several diesel and steam trains along the inside of the fence between the museum and the end of the drag strip. As you remember those security dudes weren't going to let us get into the interior of the fairgrounds (!).
They are accessable from inside the fairgrounds parking lot only.
The shrubs to the left of that photo I just posted of the Big Boy are the shrubs that line the fences along the street we were on...

 

No problem. I guess that gives me another reason to come back out and visit...

 

Also a railfan... 1:1 and HO.

There is a Big Boy at Fair Park in Dallas.

http://www.dallasrailwaymuseum.com/bigboy.html

 

heres the largest loco ever built. it was an underpowered p.o.s.,andit was so big it split the tracks on nearly every turn.

http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r097.html

 

It's a tossup for me....hot rods/drag racing, warbirds, and steam locomotives/trains....all of which are ****ed up with antique tractors. I guess that's why this forum is so interesting, a little bit of all of it.

For you L.A./southern Cal guys, a question.....how did the group or promoter or whoever, for the L.A. to San Diego trip get approval to run the steam loco with the amount of "pollution"/smoke it puts in the air, especially if it's coal fired? I'd think the CAFE board/et all in Sacramento would be going nuts.

 

Never thought I'd see this sort of thing on the HAMB, but yeah, these things are a kick. Here's a couple of shots from the weekend trip I worked a year and half ago (working for the railroad sometimes has it's perks).

 

Air pollution?

It's like electric cars...... no one asks 'How'd you get the 'lectricity??'

It'ssa 'Steam Engine' uses STEAM!!! WATER!!! What pollution??