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Post by WP 257 on Jun 5, 2015 19:21:16 GMT -8
Spikre--
The Challengers were the reason as even the early challengers were capable of matching or exceeding the starting tractive effort of a 4-12-2 while providing noticeably higher horsepower at the higher speeds, without the rough(er) ride of the 4-12-2's, and with better ie more routine maintenance. Plus they could go places the 4-12-2's could not.
Although the 4-12-2 was a good engine, that did its job well, the UP Challenger was just a much better one.
Also--if you look at all the later Union Pacific steam from 2-10-2's onward--they favored reasonably long smokeboxes (compared to most railroads) on the front end of the locomotive. A single axle pony truck (of a 2-10-4) would not have been adequate for the weight of any of these later engines. Look at the typical later UP 2-10-2 and see how far out the smokebox overhangs in front. A 2-10-4 just would never have been their "thing". They tried 4-10-2's but quickly went beyond that to 12 drivers...
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Post by riogrande on Jun 6, 2015 8:54:49 GMT -8
Nice to read some good reports on the UP steam program. BTW, the N&R steam engine will be running excursions out of Manassas so I read but the cost of tickets is a bit more than I want to pay but nice to see it back up and running.
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Post by Dear Leader on Jul 9, 2015 17:29:54 GMT -8
I am attending the NMRA Rocky Mountain Region Convention and today we went on a tour of the Union Pacific steam facilities in Cheyenne. All I can say is "Wow." It was very impressive. Ed (the guy who mentioned earlier in this thread) was our tour guide. Apparently the last time UP serviced 844, they took some shortcuts which led to the current servicing occurring sooner than expected. Once they got into the situation, they concluded that the servicing had to be more substantial that was originally expected. UP is trying to coordinate all of their steam engine maintenance to make it as efficient as possible. They are also trying to be as thorough as possible so that the locomotives will not have to be serviced as often. They had several people working there who all were very friendly and made a point of saying how happy they were to work there. Yes, they have a boilermaker. 844 was being worked on while we were there and UP is cautiously optimistic that they will have the work completed by the end of this year, which means that 844 should be running next year. All of the resources are currently being applied to 844, so 4014 has been back burnered until 844 is completed. They also are doing things in connection with 844 that will result in synergies on the rehab of 4014. Ed told me that the goal is to get 4014 operational by 2019. Given their experiences with 844, UP has decided to be more thorough with 4014 and has found that 4014 needs more work than they had hoped for. Locomotive 3985 also needs work, which presumably will start after 4014 is completed. 3985 is sitting in the Cheyenne roundhouse next to locomotive 5511, which also will be restored someday. Diesel locomotive 6936 was also in the roundhouse next to 5511. All in all, it was a very enjoyable day and it appears that UP is committed to continuing steam excursions. Boy oh boy, did you ever drink Ed dickens cool aid! Since Ed took the steam program is in poor shape. He used pool additives in 844 and they degraded the flue tubes. Go onto the Train Order sight and look for photos of what happened to the flues. The pool additives have badly corroded 844's tender. It now needs extensive repairs. Ed has systemically destroyed the steam program because of his dislike of Steve Lee. All the problems and screw ups. Ed has made, he's blames on Mr. Lee's crew. They were no shortcomings when 844 was rebuilt. It got a brand new fire box, flue tubes, etc. It was better than the day it was built. Having Ed explain how he fixed the steam program is like Charles Mason explaining people skills. There has been not been a operating steam on the UP for almost two years. Ed hates the 3985 and will strip parts off of it to get 4014 running. He has already stated he will used 3985's tender, which is oil rather than coal, for the 4014's tender. Search the internet and find out the true story. It's sad what Ed has done. |
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Post by valenciajim on Jul 9, 2015 19:38:34 GMT -8
I am attending the NMRA Rocky Mountain Region Convention and today we went on a tour of the Union Pacific steam facilities in Cheyenne. All I can say is "Wow." It was very impressive. Ed (the guy who mentioned earlier in this thread) was our tour guide. Apparently the last time UP serviced 844, they took some shortcuts which led to the current servicing occurring sooner than expected. Once they got into the situation, they concluded that the servicing had to be more substantial that was originally expected. UP is trying to coordinate all of their steam engine maintenance to make it as efficient as possible. They are also trying to be as thorough as possible so that the locomotives will not have to be serviced as often. They had several people working there who all were very friendly and made a point of saying how happy they were to work there. Yes, they have a boilermaker. 844 was being worked on while we were there and UP is cautiously optimistic that they will have the work completed by the end of this year, which means that 844 should be running next year. All of the resources are currently being applied to 844, so 4014 has been back burnered until 844 is completed. They also are doing things in connection with 844 that will result in synergies on the rehab of 4014. Ed told me that the goal is to get 4014 operational by 2019. Given their experiences with 844, UP has decided to be more thorough with 4014 and has found that 4014 needs more work than they had hoped for. Locomotive 3985 also needs work, which presumably will start after 4014 is completed. 3985 is sitting in the Cheyenne roundhouse next to locomotive 5511, which also will be restored someday. Diesel locomotive 6936 was also in the roundhouse next to 5511. All in all, it was a very enjoyable day and it appears that UP is committed to continuing steam excursions. Boy oh boy, did you ever drink Ed dickens cool aid! Since Ed took the steam program is in poor shape. He used pool additives in 844 and they degraded the flue tubes. Go onto the Train Order sight and look for photos of what happened to the flues. The pool additives have badly corroded 844's tender. It now needs extensive repairs. Ed has systemically destroyed the steam program because of his dislike of Steve Lee. All the problems and screw ups. Ed has made, he's blames on Mr. Lee's crew. They were no shortcomings when 844 was rebuilt. It got a brand new fire box, flue tubes, etc. It was better than the day it was built. Having Ed explain how he fixed the steam program is like Charles Mason explaining people skills. There has been not been a operating steam on the UP for almost two years. Ed hates the 3985 and will strip parts off of it to get 4014 running. He has already stated he will used 3985's tender, which is oil rather than coal, for the 4014's tender. Search the internet and find out the true story. It's sad what Ed has done. I merely reported what was said at the NMRA convention. I did not attend the Saturday evening banquet, but Ed was the guest speaker, so someone at the NMRA must respect the guy. As for me, I am just a guy from California--I have no way of confirming what Ed said. I will say, it was really cool seeing all the locomotives though. |
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