The train I work on....

[badrotation]

Guess I will post these, even though they suck composition-wise. Took them while waiting for passengers to board the train, and then at night while we were prepping to shut down the locomotive for the week. We will have her fired up again friday, and will be running between Owosso, MI and Chesaning, MI on Saturday and Sunday at 10am and 4pm (returning at 2pm, and 8pm respectively)

BTW, this is the locomotive used for the sounds and to generate the CGI locomotive in 'The Polar Express'



There was a deisel behind it with headlights on in the night shots, which really screwed with blowing out the highlights in the steam.

And the second shot doesnt show it, but we have 4 more passenger coaches behind the two in the photo, and then two beautifully restored cabooses.

[badrotation]

Its not every day you get to see a 400 ton, 101ft. long steam locomotive fired up and running... Costs us about $10,000 a day to operate.

[TwoBit]

I don't see anything wrong with the composition. Keep up the good work.

[kaitanium]

ooo, like the last one, i wonder what it will look like if it was compeltely spepia toned. may look like somehting from the US civil war era. almost surreal and painterly!

[Ballen Photo]

These are GREAT! I really like the last one as well.
Since you mentioned it, I'm curious now as to why it costs so much to run? Coal or wood and water for go power, right? $10,000 a day seems mighty high.
-Bruce

[badrotation]

Originally Posted by Ballen Photo

These are GREAT! I really like the last one as well.
Since you mentioned it, I'm curious now as to why it costs so much to run? Coal or wood and water for go power, right? $10,000 a day seems mighty high.
-Bruce

Basically coal/water/Liability insurance every time we run it/maintnence, Chase deisel (in case something were to happen where we would need a tow. It happens quite often with antique equipment which you cant get parts for anymore), and trackage rights to go out onto other railroads.

It runs us between $10,000 and $12,000 every day it is fired up.

[Mike Smith]

Nice shots. If those are your "bad composition" shots, I can't wait to see the good ones.

[wolverinesr1]

i think they are all good

[Tom W]

Nice shots - I like them, but especially #1. Seems to be huffing a good bit of steam from all over in that cold weather.

It is an expensive contraption, though. I wonder what it would cost to run if you had parts readily available. I know that steam can't compete with the diesels, but I also know that BTU for BTU, coal is a cheaper fuel (and plentiful, if a bit dirtier).

[badrotation]

Originally Posted by Tom W

Nice shots - I like them, but especially #1. Seems to be huffing a good bit of steam from all over in that cold weather.

It is an expensive contraption, though. I wonder what it would cost to run if you had parts readily available. I know that steam can't compete with the diesels, but I also know that BTU for BTU, coal is a cheaper fuel (and plentiful, if a bit dirtier).

Lol, this locomotive is nowhere near as fuel efficient as a deisel. We burn a ton of coal every ten miles, so as you can guess, a deisel is MUCH cheaper to operate.

We have actually been paying quite a bit for coal lately unfortunately. Hopefully the prices will drop back down soon.


The locomotive weighs 400 tons, while a modern deisel-electric only weighs 100-160tons.




It wouldnt cost much less if we had spare parts. Most of the stuff that does break is minor, and can be fabricated by the guys in our shop rather quickly.

[Tom W]

Originally Posted by badrotation

Lol, this locomotive is nowhere near as fuel efficient as a deisel. We burn a ton of coal every ten miles, so as you can guess, a deisel is MUCH cheaper to operate.

In the electric power industry, the situation is much different. Oil can't touch coal there. Of course, the entire turbine/reheat/condensing process is very refined in a steam-driven power plant. Especially in the supercritical 3500 PSI multi-stage units.

We have actually been paying quite a bit for coal lately unfortunately. Hopefully the prices will drop back down soon.

Big jump in energy costs of late. I think coal is just jumping up a bit based on demand and fear. It'll settle down in a bit.

The locomotive weighs 400 tons, while a modern deisel-electric only weighs 100-160tons.

Well, that's a bit of a difference!

It wouldnt cost much less if we had spare parts. Most of the stuff that does break is minor, and can be fabricated by the guys in our shop rather quickly.

That's good to know.

Of course, if steam were competitive, NS, CSX, and the rest would be using a bit of it by now. As it stands now, even the railroad lines that run through coal country would not even consider such a move.

[badrotation]

Originally Posted by Tom W

Of course, if steam were competitive, NS, CSX, and the rest would be using a bit of it by now. As it stands now, even the railroad lines that run through coal country would not even consider such a move.

Yeah, they say for every day of active service, a steam locomotive will spend a day in the shops. They are maintnence hogs.

[Paul A]

They look great to me.

[Jon Foster]

Oh man, that last picture in the set is just awesome!

Jon.

[badrotation]

Originally Posted by Jon Foster

Oh man, that last picture in the set is just awesome!

Jon.

thanks.


Like I said in your other thread, head on up here sometime and check it out. If you catch us on a day it is back in the shop, I can get you up in the cab and show you around.


Right now is the best time to catch it running though, since we run saturdays and sundays.


We only bring the locomotive out a few times each year, so catching it operating is quite rare.