NW-Mailing-List Digest, Vol 30, Issue 83

[NW Mailing List]

Gary,
For a modern steam locomotive as suggested by LD Porta the coaling stations
could be as far apart as current diesel fueling facilities.  Condensing
could be used or 1 intermediate water stop would be needed.  An excerpt from
my paper explaning the large mainline coaling station.

The large coaling facility would have four service tracks running through it
plus a
supply track for inbound coal. The facility would have three 2,000 ton
coaling towers in
a row so consists of up to three locomotives of any class, facing in either
direction, could
have their coal space and water spaces in the tender and auxiliary tender
filled without
having to move the train from the initial spotting. Larger consists would
have to pull
forward to coal and water the trailing units. The author chose three
locomotives for the
large facility standard since three locomotives could handle most trains
that the Class I
railroads operate. With 6,000 tons of total coal capacity, the facility
could accept unit
trains of coal for refilling, which would be a plus in today's railroading
environment. On
the water side of the equation, it would have three elevated one-million
gallon water
tanks. This will allow the water pumps to run at night only, when electric
power is
cheaper and gravity to feed the standpipes for filling the tenders and
auxiliary tenders.
The coaling and watering process could be automated where the locomotive
pulls to the
correct spot, the water hatches open, and the process of coaling and
watering begins.


John Rhodes


On Fri, May 30, 2008 at 11:23 AM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
wrote:


> Would the railroads be willing to rebuild the coaling and watering

> facilities in numerous stratigic locations in order to fuel the new beasts?

> and with newer EPA standards it would be extreamly harder to rebuild near

> water sources. The dinosaurs are extinct because they could not adapt, the

> steam locomotive followed the same path!  Gary Price

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