[N&W] Re: Water Buffalo?

nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Mon May 31 15:31:31 EDT 2004


I hear a Z1 was towing a dead K3  and went about 48 MPH causing the K3's
driver to bounce for about 14 miles???  In "Hooters on Blue Ridge" you can
see several J's with the arrow on driver #3.  I thin I also saw some on a
Pocohontas Glory tape too.

<< How an arrow
 > pointing at the edge of the counterbalance would assist in circumference
 > measurements is beyond what little mechanical comprehension I have.>>

OK.  stop the engine with the arrow pointing straight down. put a mark on
the rail.  then move the engine til its pointing down again.  put another
mark.  the distance between marks is the circumfrenceof the heavy
counterweighted driver.  a 67" driver and a 66.75" driver will have
different circumfrences.  measure the distance between the kinks in the
rails and find the closest matchs.  of those, look at the times each engine
went by the location and compare to when it was first noticed.

[Mark Lindsey]
_________________________________________________________
Since it is NOT possible to statically or dynamically balance ANY steam 
locomotive's driving system to perfection, ALL drivers will experience 
unbalanced loading and have a variable net force that will point "outwards" 
at some angle as the driver rotates and undergoes the thrust of the drivng 
rod(s).  Any locomotive was a candidate for high speed filming!  Probably 
most large railroads studied the actual motion of the drivers at speed in 
some manner or fashion and many probably jumped on Eggertons method as soon 
as they needed it.  I know the railroad civil engineering group did 
extensive studies of bridge loading caused by steam loco driving loads in 
the mid twenties and made actual load measurements.

It is unlikely that the N&W was the sole user of high speed filming.

Gary Rolih




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