morning visitor

[r0bert]

worth getting up early for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZAayYeIPR0

[jonathan]

You speak the truth!

[Jim Banner]

That gives the old heart a cardio workout without ever leaving the chair.  I can feel mine beating harder and faster as the train speeds up, trying to keep pace with the exhaust.

Thanks for sharing and for getting up early to do it. 

[Doneldon]

r0bert-

All I can say is WOW!!  And just this morning, too. Why oh why am I in Minnesota?

                                                                   -- D

[jward]

i guess that trumps the ringling bros circus train that went through yesterday morning.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

I understand the 844 will be making a run from Denver to Cheyenne for Frontier Days. A friend in Denver tells me tickets, which aren't cheap, sell out in, like, 20 minutes.

[jonathan]

Oh, you know I watched your KATO COLA video right after that.  Great, great stuff!

Would it have killed you to throw in a B&O frieght car somewhere?

Regards,

Jonathan

[r0bert]

You know Jonathan, I honestly don't think I have one, don't have a reason why,
I guess one just never caught my eye, I'll have to fix that.
If you scan down the videos, you will see that I do have a B&O 44 tonner,
if that helps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do4oSH-2RkE

[jonathan]

 :)Whew, I feel better now.  Very nice scenery.  I probably wouldn't have guessed N scale unlessed you mentioned it.  Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Michigan Railfan]

Great video. Just one thing that bothers me, and that's that they pretty much always put a modern diesel engine with the steamer. They pulled 50+ cars on their own back in their day. Do they really think that it can't pull a boxcar and 7 coaches on it's own? Just one thing that always bothers me about steam specials. But great video nonetheless.

[r0bert]

This diesel is in this train for two reasons.

1) cosmetic, as this excursion follows the Missouri Pacific lines
to Little Rock, one of  Mopac's main maintenance facilities,
so the Mopac Heritage loco was used.

2) Dynamic Braking, The real reason for having a diesel in this train.
Utilizing the diesel for it's dynamic braking power saves a lot of
wear and tear on the steam locos systems.
The 844 can, and has pulled entire modern freight loads all by itself, no shortage
of horsepower, but all replacement parts have to be custom made, they can't just be ordered in like for a modern diesel.

The other main reason that you see a diesel loco in other steam consists is that
the steam loco does not have the proper CTC (Centralized Traffic Control)
equipment it for the railroad it is operating on, which is handled by the diesel.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

This diesel is in this train for two reasons.

1) cosmetic, as this excursion follows the Missouri Pacific lines
to Little Rock, one of  Mopac's main maintenance facilities,
so the Mopac Heritage loco was used.

2) Dynamic Braking, The real reason for having a diesel in this train.
Utilizing the diesel for it's dynamic braking power saves a lot of
wear and tear on the steam locos systems.
The 844 can, and has pulled entire modern freight loads all by itself, no shortage
of horsepower, but all replacement parts have to be custom made, they can't just be ordered in like for a modern diesel.

The other main reason that you see a diesel loco in other steam consists is that
the steam loco does not have the proper CTC (Centralized Traffic Control)
equipment it for the railroad it is operating on, which is handled by the diesel.

I understand that some years ago, the 844 was to make an appearance at a railfair in California, and to get there, the Union Pacific insisted on putting a diesel on in front of the steamer. All was well--until the diesel conked out in a tunnel. The runner on the 844 just cracked the throttle and both pushed the diesel out of the tunnel and pulled the train.   

[Michigan Railfan]

Ah, I see Robert. Thanks for clearing that up. I never knew the diesel engine had so much responsibility. I though they put it on there just for "in case" reasons (i.e. "in case" the steamer were to break down, things like that).
Funny story Jeff. I guess that proves how much better older things are than newer ones (in some cases) like automobiles. Older, metal made cars are much better than today's crappy fiberglass and plastic ones. 

[RAM]

I don't think CTC was an issue. This is the first time, in this part of the country, that I have seen a diesel with either of UP steam locomotives.  I think it was just to have the heritage locomotive. 

[jward]

i don't think ctc would affect a steam locomotive. ctc is just a form of signal system using wayside signals.

union pacific and some ofther railroads do use cxab signals, which repeat the lineside signal indications inside the locomotive cab before you get to those signals. they were used extensively on amny former conrail lines, and in those territories the lead locomotive must have cab signal equipment. in my area, that means about half the locomotives ns currently owns are reduced to trailing unit only.

in the case of the union pacific, the steam locomotive may not have cab signals but the diesel would. they may have seperate engineers for both steam and diesel, in which case the diesel engineer could tell the steam engineer what the cab signal indication is.