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The End Of An Era

D

Dean

Well-known Member
Folks, the design of steam locomotives ended in the mid 1930s.

The handwriting was on the wall and locomotive manufactures scrambled to design diesel/electric locomotives to compete with the GM F and E units.

The Norfolk & Western was one of the last steam holdouts because it had many coal hauling customers. Moreover, the N & W built most of their own locomotives in their Roanoke shops.

The video below is of a N & W class J 4-8-4 steam locomotive. These locomotives, built in the very late 1940s/early 1950s, represented the epitome of steam locomotive design.

Steam locomotives did not get any better than this.

Dean
N & W Class J 611
 
Interesting, thanks for posting this. Never saw a locomotive get "stuck" before. Someone might have been mean and greased the rails? While you're on the subject of steam locomotives, the thought crossed my mind "would it work to use a diesel engine like the ones now in use but instead of generating electricity use it to compress air and use the compressed air like a steam engine"? Could it be efficient?
 
Those later engines were complicated!

There is one displayed at a local park. It's inside a fence, but I can get pretty close. I've stood and studied that thing for hours trying to figure out what some of the plumbing does!

It must have been important to squeeze out as much efficiency as possible, some of that stuff is very complex, had to have been very costly to build!

Overkill and heavy duty was the name of the game!
 
Pennsylvania, Norfolk & Western?s majority owner, also built and operated steam power well into the fifties.
 
Pressurized air would maybe go 1/2 of a mile. Many power plants, chemical plants ,explosive cautionary places had what were called thermos bottle or pressure cooker engines. All they were was a giant air tank but were filled to pretty high pressure with live steam. They were used only in the yard to shuttle cars around but had to go back and recharge every half hour or so. The "Super Power" steam engines were the last and at the end of the steam era. Very efficient but still required a lot of men to service them. A Diesel was by far the most efficient design. If even China dumped the last fires on their super steam in a land where man power is still dirt cheap. That tells you something.
 
"would it work to use a diesel engine like the ones now in use but instead of generating electricity use it to compress air and use the compressed air like a steam engine"? Could it be efficient?

Afraid not.

A couple reasons, more moving parts to rob power. It would need a compressor AND air powered drive system. Both would be major sources of inefficiency. But the biggest reason, air does not react like steam. As steam looses it's initial pressure as the cylinder extends, the steam continues to expand, carrying the charge throughout the full length of the power stroke with power to spare. Air is just compressed air. Once it looses it initial charge, it rapidly dwindles down.

But, there are air powered engines! They are used in mining operations. Look just like a miniature steam engine with cylinders and connecting rods on the sides. The reasons for use though is not efficiency, but because there is no exhaust smoke, no flames or sparks, and air is already available.
 
Wife and I went on this excursion pulled by 611 in April 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P24BO1OW7CA
There were more that year and in 2017.
But it looks like there may never be any more, thanks to Amtrak.
https://www.roanoke.com/news/local/roanoke/new-amtrak-policy-could-put-the-brakes-on-excursions/article_6de5ff34-c7dd-5379-93a4-8415d5f8e1a1.html
 
5,000, maybe 5,500 HP, the 611 had enough power to pull its consist up the hill but not enough adhesion even with the sanders.

Though the video does not show, it is likely that there were 2 or 3 E units pushing from behind when the 611 once again moved ahead.

Dean
 
Thanks for the great link, Weldon.

FWIW, I took my Mother on a steam excursion from Union Central Terminal in Cincinnati to Danville, KY and back, powered by N & W 611 in 1993.

The 611 pulled her 20 car consist up the hill out of the Ohio River valley south of Covington unassisted.

This remains one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Dean
 
There's a big picture of Clessie Cummins on the wall at work with besides a diesel engine saying my dream is to replace steam locotomotive with diesel.
 
the Powhatan took my mom from Petersburg, Va. to Bluefield, Wv. in 1956 . she made a lot of trips there on the Powhatan or Pocahontas to help my sis with her first child . lots of memorys .
 
I have seen the 611 many times when I was growing up. The J classes pulled the Powhatan Arrow through the little town were I grew up. We loved to see the people sitting up in the observation car. The arrow ran from Norfolk VA to Cincinnati OH. 565 mile trip in a little over 12 Hours. It is now on display not too far from me in Roanoke VA. A great piece of history and a good memory for me when I was growing up.
 
If ball of rail shaped as designed actual area of wheel contact to rail is not much larger than a dime. The steamers did not flex on curves, thus a locomotive with 4 drive axles, when on curved track, had lead and rear drivers with less than maximum area in contact with the rail. therefore wheel spin happened much more easily on a curve. Sand was a help with traction, but when that failed the engineer had to reduce power to all drivers. Final result was train slows and stalls. Wheel slip on new computerized locomotives is corrected instantly and just to the slipping axle so balance of traction axles continue to pull. The truck or set of axles on each end of locomotives turns on curves as well as each axle within each truck is computer controlled to move keeping more of the wheel in contact with the rail. Creating unbelievable tractive effort.
 
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