Weed Spraying Train

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Wed Oct 31 15:03:44 EDT 2018 

Joseph,

Contact me offline at gordonshamilton at cox.net and I'll see what I can do 
for you.

Gordon

On 10/31/2018 2:00 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
> Gordon,
> Speaking of the weed spraying train, do you have any more pictures of 
> this train or where they may be found in the Archives? I’m 
> contemplating building an N&W weed spraying train in O Scale.
>
> Sincerely,
> Joseph Congemi
>
> On Oct 30, 2018, at 22:52, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
> <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
>
>> I am very familiar with the use of water spouts to fill not only 
>> steam loco tenders but also tank cars.  I worked four summers (1952 - 
>> 1955) as a laborer in the shops in Durham, NC (3 summers) and in 
>> Winston-Salem, NC (1 summer).  Several times daily I would have to 
>> climb up onto the top of a tender tank, open the funnel lid, pull the 
>> spout down against the counterweight tending to pull the spout 
>> upward, generally stand or sit on the spout to keep it down, reach up 
>> and pull on the rope to open the valve which admitted water into the 
>> spout, and try to judge when to shut off the tremendous flow of water 
>> to avoid overflowing the tank.  In addition, I worked June and July 
>> of 1954 as a laborer on the N&W's weed spray train covering the 
>> entire N&W east of Williamson, WV (the ability to see that part of 
>> the railroad up close was why I sought that job).  Our train had four 
>> tank cars for water (plus two chemical tank cars, the spray car and a 
>> bunk car).  During those two months I filled the four tank cars from 
>> many different water tanks (see the attached photo of one on the 
>> Shenandoah Division as best as I can remember the location).  I am  
>> confident that the operators of today's weed control trains wish that 
>> they had as great a selection of high-flow-rate water sources as we 
>> did when water tanks were all over the railroad.
>>
>> I don't remember how long it might have taken to fill an almost empty 
>> tender, but it didn't take long when you consider the diameter of the 
>> spout and that the spout was completely filled with rushing water.  
>> By the way, there was no need for a lock on the water tank valve.  
>> The thief/vandal could never reach the valve rope while standing on 
>> the ground.
>>
>> Gordon Hamilton
>>
>> On 10/30/2018 5:49 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>>> Mike,
>>>
>>> Me too, that is why I originally asked the question.  Remember, 
>>> after coming to a complete stop, the brakeman would have to turn the 
>>> valve (? terminology) on the car immediately behind the locomotive 
>>> to keep air in the line; then the locomotive would uncouple from the 
>>> train and move into place at the water plug.  The brakeman would 
>>> have to climb up on the tender and open the water fill hatch; then 
>>> position the water spout over the tender.  I'm not certain about the 
>>> mechanism to operate the water spout, but I presume there was some 
>>> type of lock so no vandals or ambitious railfans could discharge 
>>> water improperly.  The spouts were of large diameter so I imagine 
>>> the water discharged at a fast rate, perhaps only taking a few 
>>> minutes to reach capacity; then the entire process was reversed from 
>>> securing the discharge pipe, closing the water hatch and climbing 
>>> down from the tender.  I would imagine a similar procedure was 
>>> followed for coal loading.  The locomotive then needed to back to 
>>> the train and couple up, with the air hoses connected, etc.
>>>
>>> Since most sound decoders today have a water fill routine available, 
>>> I have been programming this into my steam loco decoders (there is 
>>> no coal fill that I am aware of); I also use the ash dump feature 
>>> for locos returning the roundhouse and before going on the 
>>> turntable.  All interesting operational aspects.
>>>
>>> Jim Brewer
>>>
>>> On Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 5:04 PM NW Mailing List 
>>> <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
>>>
>>>     I'm curious as to how long on average was a coal and water stop
>>>     for a mainline locomotive? 15 minutes?
>>>
>>>     Mike Weeks
>>>     Seattle
>>>
>>>     On Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 9:59 AM NW Mailing List
>>>     <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>> wrote:
>>>
>>>         Jim,
>>>         One of Bud Swearer's recordings is of a train stopping at
>>>         Villamont for water and I don't think that they uncoupled
>>>         from the train.
>>>
>>>         Jimmy Lisle
>>>
>>>         /Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID/
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>> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
>> <WeedSprayTrain001.jpg>
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