ChrisDante
November 15th, 2000, 06:48 PM
It was 9:27AM when I finally got my hand on the throttle. I was wearing gloves, but I took one off to test the controls, not as hot in the cab as I thought it would be. . Not too confusing. Let's see, first there was the headlight, then the Johnson bar, the whistle, the direct air brake, and of course the throttle. I didn't have to worry about the injectors or the glass. I had an experienced pilot and fireman to guide me. Pulled the Johnson bar all the way back, took up the slack on the throttle, blew 2 longs on the whistle, released the air brake, pulled the throttle to the first notch and off we went. Left the steam cocks open for a few seconds to drain out any water. Wow I'm moving 100 tons of a 2-8-2 Mike and you know, the guy was right, it was 100% of tractive effort at zero rpm. We got up to a roaring five mph when it began to get difficult. The pilot said: "OK stop by that crane". Now realize I'm about 100 yards from the crane when he said it. It only took me 3 starts and stops to get to that crane. And even then it was a good thing it wasn't on the same track. We did that 2 or three times, until I showed the pilot that at least, as he said "well that's fine if we were on a stub track". I figured out the snifter valve pretty quickly and was able to get us going without any wheelslip. Steamcocks closed, Johnson bar in the company notch and we're cruisin' oh maybe 13 or 14 mph. It felt like 100.
Fireman sings out "WhistlePost" Damn that whistle was loud! Of course, I let off too quickly and had to blow it again when we got to the grade crossing. Praise the Lord, noone tried to run the gates. That hurdle out of the way the pilot mentions long downgrade comming up and to let'r drift. OK, now, first I moved the Johnson bar to full steam, then backed off the throttle just enough to open the snifters... hey it worked, we went drifting down the grade without losing much speed. Of course for every downgrade, there's an upgrade. Crank on a notch of throttle, settle the Johnson bar into the notch and we're climbing. Once we got moving, I began to look around a little, kept thinking I was in a car and had to watch the road all the time. But the pilot said it was ok to wave at the people and give a toot. All this time the fireman is running the injectors and throwing a little coal on. He even washed down the floor of the cab.
We're now heading back, oh I didn't mention the first part of the run was in reverse. The pilot starts me working the brake and stopping and starting on grades, I learned very quickly that "lap" "application" and "run" are like playing a violin. I expect it will take a number of years to get the feel. It really is a seat of the pants job. You have to feel things, there's no time to look at the air gage, and don't forget lots of lost motion in all those links and cranks.
That was probably the shortest hour I've ever spent. And about the second most fun I ever had! The pilot and the fireman took all the anxiety out and made it a wonderful trip. I'll know in about an hour if the pictures came out.
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http://www.trainboard.com/smiles/047.gif When in doubt, empty your magazine.
Member #33
Fireman sings out "WhistlePost" Damn that whistle was loud! Of course, I let off too quickly and had to blow it again when we got to the grade crossing. Praise the Lord, noone tried to run the gates. That hurdle out of the way the pilot mentions long downgrade comming up and to let'r drift. OK, now, first I moved the Johnson bar to full steam, then backed off the throttle just enough to open the snifters... hey it worked, we went drifting down the grade without losing much speed. Of course for every downgrade, there's an upgrade. Crank on a notch of throttle, settle the Johnson bar into the notch and we're climbing. Once we got moving, I began to look around a little, kept thinking I was in a car and had to watch the road all the time. But the pilot said it was ok to wave at the people and give a toot. All this time the fireman is running the injectors and throwing a little coal on. He even washed down the floor of the cab.
We're now heading back, oh I didn't mention the first part of the run was in reverse. The pilot starts me working the brake and stopping and starting on grades, I learned very quickly that "lap" "application" and "run" are like playing a violin. I expect it will take a number of years to get the feel. It really is a seat of the pants job. You have to feel things, there's no time to look at the air gage, and don't forget lots of lost motion in all those links and cranks.
That was probably the shortest hour I've ever spent. And about the second most fun I ever had! The pilot and the fireman took all the anxiety out and made it a wonderful trip. I'll know in about an hour if the pictures came out.
------------------
http://www.trainboard.com/smiles/047.gif When in doubt, empty your magazine.
Member #33