What Era, Railroads, & Locomotives are you set on?

[nkp_174]

I suppose the larger steam locomotives are prohibitively expensive to operate these days (at least in the Northeast where i can see them).

Gonna have to find other places to see and understand them.

It's just a matter of having the right engine and the right group. (note: I didn't mention money, railroads, or cars...all of which can be handled by the right group).

At present, the only operational locomotive with a 4-wheel trailing truck east of Wyoming is Nickel Plate 765. There are a trio of Chinese 2-10-2s as well, but they are not quite the same experience (cool never the less). The big deal with superpower (a 4-wheel trailing truck) is that the peak horsepower occurs at mainline speed rather than drag speed...and so 765 has pulled 34 passenger cars at 79mph...it is a completely different experience from a branchline locomotive at 10mph.

Out west, there are four operational 4-8-4s and one 4-6-6-4 which are all capable of this as well...and any of them could put on an incredible show. 4-6-2s can make mainline speed, but they have to be double headed to haul a large enough train to pay its way...and 2-8-2s are generally too slow to do as much on the mainlines and are more expensive to operate in this role. This is why the Southern restored C&O 2716 (a 2-8-4). While in regular service they never had a 4-wheel trailing truck, their experience with T&P 610 (a 2-10-4) taught them the value of a 4-wheel trailing truck. Their class I overhaul of the 2716 was halted after the NS merger in favor of restoring N&W 611.

Additionally, a worn out engine (such as PM 1225 or any of the surviving PRR engines) will be prone to problems and require excessive quantities of work and money trees...and so it makes a bad choice even if it looks good on paper. On the horizon, MILW 261 will be rebuilt within a couple years and NKP 763 will be restored in the coming years (a great engine which was parked in great condition and owned by a very rich man who has restored 5-6 steam locomotives). Don't expect to see C&O 614 or N&W 611 anytime soon.

I've neglected Canadian steam in this post...which I shouldn't do, as plenty of good shows have been delivered north of the border (the 6060 at 80mph is a great example)...perhaps one of our Maple Leaf friends can chime in on the status of eastern Canadian steam.

It could also just be that steam isn't your thing.

Michael
(still set on the Oahu Railway of 1936-1946...with, hopefully, an upper deck of the DSP&P in the Fall of 1884...both with prototypical motive power)