The Virginia Museum of Transportation is doing a fund raising event in August 2007 that will benefit the VMT and Special Olympics. This is from their blog, http://vmtmusings.blogspot.com/2007/03/tug-of-war.html: "Like #1218 and #763, we don't own [Class J] #611; it belongs to the City of Roanoke, and we lease it from them for $1.00 per year. As part of our agreement with the city, and the city's agreement with Norfolk Southern, we are required to move #611 about once a year to keep its wheels and bearings from flattening under the weight of the engine. The last time we moved it was more than a year ago. Our Executive Director had a fantastic idea to accomplish this task this year -- a large-scale tug-of-war tournament. #611 is registered as a national engineering landmark, in part because it is very well-balanced, so much so that a small group of people (perhaps as few as two or three) can pull it with a rope over level track. The idea would be to clear the track in front of and behind #611, and have competing teams pulling in opposite directions. The first team to pull the engine beyond a certain point would win that round and it would proceed in a tournament style. We'd solicit prizes from local businesses, get some live music, throw some burgers and dogs on the grill and charge a nominal admission fee, also collecting group entry fees from the teams. The turn-out could be tremendous, and it could easily become an annual fund raiser. There are a lot of people locally and abroad that would pay just about anything to see this engine move. If nothing else, we'd get somebody to move the engine without Norfolk Southern having to come in with a switcher just to move the thing a few feet in either direction." Here's another site with more information: http://www.vatrainpull.com.
Although an interesting modernday challenge, there were times in railroading's past where locomotive tug-o'-wars were actually held between steam locomotives! One such occasion is documented in the 1930's Hollywood epic Danger Lights. There, as I recall, two huge Pacifics went at it nose-to-nose, a truly spectacular sight!!! Of course, I don't think many would approve today of matching one surviving national treasure steam locomotive against another! NYW&B
I think that's a great idea. Somewhere in my collection of NY Central books is a photo of four scantilly clad (for the day, shorts, showing lots of leg) women pulling a NYC Niagara with ropes. The Niagara had all roller bearings. Typical PR for that time, not long after WWII. :teeth:
There was also a tug-of-war between a Milwaukee Bipolar and two steam engines. The electric won; naurally, it was set up to prove its power.
There were actually several of these events. But I've never heard anyone mention a "set up." I don't know how that could be done. Boxcab E50
Last year the Wauseon, OH (National Threshers Assoc.) tractor show had a steam tractor vs crowd of people tug of war. The object was to get the engine to stall. Heres a brief video of one of the pulls: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGdXurT6UuI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGdXurT6UuI[/ame] This show is quite large and is coming up this weekend.
I don't mean they cheated. I mean they almost surely started the tug-of-war knowing that the electric was more powerful.
