How much do YOU know about railroads?

Question

On a scale of 1 to 15

1=none at all 15=expert

I'd rate myself as a 12

Answer 1

I'd say I'm a 5. I remember being pretty awe inspired standing right next to some of the locomotives like the 2-10-0? with it's enormous drive wheels and the double articulated 4-8-8-4 at the museum in Union Illinois. I just have a modest amount of actual knowledge about them though.

I really want to ride the unit that the Austin Steam Train Association is scheduled to get up and running next year into the Texas Hill Country.

Answer 2

I would rate my knowledge on trains around a 5 or less.  I know that my love for steam engines is unmeasurable!  I'm pretty sure a person like the titanictrain can't get one running in less then five minutes because the fire takes much longer than that to get good and hot.  I also know that hoghead couldn't pay me enough to ride his train.  I love the sound of a nice steam engine, but I think we could still hear him over it.  I would like to sit beside sbhutchi on a nice slow Shay because he makes me smile.  You see gentleman, it isn't how long and loud you blow your whistle, but that you blow it at the right places and times.

Answer 3

I'm a 20.

Addendum for titanictrain:  You ARE joking, right?  But, let's assume you're not.  Here are ten easy (for you) questions that relate to steam locomotives.  Private communiques smack of cowardice, so I prefer to keep a public account when accepting a challenge such as yours, and I do accept.  So, let's "figure it out and have her rolling in 5 minutes or less" together, shall we?

So, here we go...............

1.  What is the difference between a feed water pump and an injector, and when would you use each?  (Hint:  This is a good thing to learn during your 5 minutes of preparatory time.)

2.  What do cylinder c***s do, how are they engaged and when are they used?  (Hint:  This is a good thing to know by the end of your 5 minutes preparatory time.)

3.  You are 2 minutes past your 5 minute deadline, and the choo-choo is still sitting right where it was when you climbed aboard.  You see a valve marked "Booster".  What is it, where is it and how is it going to help you get under way?

4.  As an engineer you find yourself "in the corner".  What are you and your engine doing when you're in the corner?  (Hint:  You're not being punished.)

5.  What makes a Mallet a mallet?  (This is a gift question.)

6.  Most modern locos employ a 26L brake schedule, although there are probably some 24Ms and 24RLs still out there, but you're on a steam engine with a No. 6 brake schedule, remember?  Name the detentes on the quadrant.  (Hint:  It is a good idea to know how to stop before you try to go, but, in this instance, I doubt you'll need this knowledge.)

7.  What is the difference between Stevens and Walschearts valve gear?  (I'll give you partial credit for the nickname of the latter.)

8.  What does the cross-compound pump do for you, and when would you expect to use it?

9.  There are two "humps" on the top of the boiler of your steam engine.  What are they, what do they do, and when would you use them?  (This is another gift.)

10. Your gages indicate 200 psi of boiler pressure, but the steam chest shows 0 psi.  What is wrong and how can you change this situation?

Here is a bonus question:  You are under way and almost immediately you find that you need some "jam".  What is it you're in need of?  (Hint:  It has nothing to do with toast or peanut butter.)

There ya go.  Remember, you're on board and computerless, so I won't accept any cut and paste answers.  I hope no one else answers your challenge, lest they steal your thunder and deprive you of a fair chance to dazzel all of us with your vast knoweledge,

So, Highball, and  "Skid 'er back!"

It's 13:11 PDT, 9/6/06.  You have 24 hours to come up with the answers, even though you can do it in 5 minutes.  Next time we can answer questions pertinent to the left hand side, if you like.  You know, fuel oil preheater, firing valve, atomizer, blower, soft plugs, lubricators, blow downs, sanding out, etc.  And, best of all, the guy on THAT side even gets to ring the bell!

Addendum:  Deadline past.  Answers on day three of the question, if the asker lets it ride until then.

Addendum:  Had I volunteered this information, and in the   manner in which it was disseminated, I would be the first to agree that the author is a conceited, arrogant, self absorbed individual.  But, I didn't.  I responded to both a question and a challenge, nothing more.  That's the trouble with throwing down the gauntlet.  Sometimes someone is there to pick it up.  Though it is a fun game, the primary purpose of Y!A is to inform, though some try to make it more than it is.

That having been said, here are the answers in response to the challenge, for the edification of all who are interested.

1.  The feed water pump is at the disposal of the fireman.  It is a means by which the fireman can regulate water supply at the same rate it is being consumed, keeping all the elements involved in balance.  In addition, many of the latter day steamers were equipped with a feed water heater so that water entering the boiler was already hot.  The injectors were on both sides of the engine, accessable by both the engineer and fireman.  It is a large pump, usually with a pipe of 4" or more in diameter, that is there to get a large amount of water quickly into the boiler.  This water comes directly from the tender, cold.  The injectors were designed to be used in the event of dangerous circumstances, such as the water winking out of the sight glass, or at start up to fill the boiler quickly.

2.  The cylinder c***s are operated either by valve or mechanical link.  They are a direct vent to atmosphere from the engine's cylinders as a means of blowing out any condensation that may have accumulated in the cylinders while the engine has been standing.  It prevents damage, since water doesn't compress and needs to be evacuated, used primarily when starting out the train.

3.  On engines so equiped, the booster engine was a third cylinder that powered the trailing trucks (under the cab) of the engine, increasing tractive effort, used when needed to start out the train.

4.  The engine is "in the corner" when the engineer is operating with the power reverse lever in the full forward position, which usually puts it in the corner of the cab, right in fron of the engineer, which creates the longest stroke of the cylinders, there by being in full power.  As the engine gains speed, the engineer moves the lever towards him, which shortens the stroke and reduces the power.  When in a position a few degress ahead of top dead center, you are in the "company notch", and running fast.  This helps keep adjustments to the throttle position to a minimum, as well as conserving steam.

5.  A Mallet, named after its inventor, is a "compound" steam engine, with high pressure and low pressure cylinders.  They are evident when looking at them because the difference in size is notable.  When exhausting steam from the low pressure cylinders, the steam doesn't go right to atmosphere, but is routed to and expanded a second time in the high pressure cylinders.  A conventional steam engine has single expansion.  Most of the early articulateds were a Mallet design. with the high pressure and low pressure cylinders running in tandem.  Where the high and low pressure cylinders are on opposite sides of a non-articulated engine, it is referred to as a cross-compound mallet.  This is not the same as a cross compound air pump.

6.  Many steam engines still operating out side of a tourist railroad have had there air brake schedules replaced with the current 26L system so that they are compatible with modern operations, often times being assisted by diesel power.  The positions of the 26 quadrant are, from left to right, release, minimum reduction, service, over-reduction (aka 'supression'), handle off and emergency.  No. 6 equipment is charging, running, first service, holding (aka 'lap') service and emergency.

7.  Stevens valve gear is a simple sliding valve arrangement found on smaller engines, such as yard switchers.  Walschearts valve gear is much more complicated, but allowing the operation of the power reverse in the manner described above.  There is a lot of exterior cam work involved, giving rise to its nickname of "monkey gear."

8.  The cross compound air pump is a steam driven, two cylinder air pump that charges the engine's main reservoir as well as train's air reservoirs and brake pipe.  When one is operating, that is the "panting" sound heard when the engine is standing.

9.  The humps on top of the boiler are the steam dome and the sand dome.  Many larger engines employed two sand domes and will have three domes on top.  As their name indicates, the sand domes carry the sand to be applied to the rails when necessary for additional traction.  The engineer usually sands the rails when stopping, so the sand will already be under the drivers when starting.  The steam dome is where the throttle linkage actually admits steam to the piping that supplies the  cylinders, as well as containing the safety valve, though some engines have the safety valve independent of the steam dome.

10. When there is sufficient boiler pressure the engine can be moved.  At rest, there is no steam being admitted to the steam chest, which is that area above the cylinders, containing the business end of the valve gear and the lubricators.  When the throttle is opened, steam is admitted to the steam chest and then steam chest pressure will be indicated on the gage.

Bonus:  "Jam" is a slang term for the engine brake, sometimes referred to as the "independent".  It gets its name from an early engine brake system known as the "steam jam" brake, employed until Mr. Westinghouse came up with a much better idea.

Of course many locomotives were a custom order from the manufacturer or had after market modifications, so the information above may not apply to all locomotives, including those that are coal fired, which I know very little about.

DoubleD:  These questions were for no one else but he who proposed the challenge.  The only stupid question is the one that is not asked.  I always try to inform.  I am secure inside the skin I occupy so there is no need to stroke my ego.

Further, I gave sbhutchi a thumbs up for his honest self-appraisal.  If we are going to discuss Shays, however, we need to know if we are talking of two truck or three truck Shays and whether we are speaking of standard or narrow gage.  This, of course, opens the way for a discussion of Heislers and the Climax as well, two other classes of steam powered, geared logging railroad engines.

And, I agree with Conductor Bu completely.  No one knows "everything" about railways.  But, for clarification, I never claimed to be a "15".  I claimed to be a "20".

But, it's not the day you stop learning that gets you dead.  It's the day you lose respect for the beast.

Answer 4

15. You don't have to work on a railroad, you just have to read the many books that have been published, and watch the videos that are availible. I myself, although I have never set foot in an operating steam locomotive cab, could probably figure it out and have her rolling in 5 minutes or less, even a British steam locomotive. You want to test me? Ask me a question, any question, at [e-mail]

Answer 5

12

Answer 6

2 ?

Answer 7

Are you referring to passenger or freight railroads ??? Diesel or electric locomotives??? I'm probably an 11.

Answer 8

I'd rate myself somewhere around 13-14.  Depends on the aspect.

Answer 9

15 cause i have worked there driver to take

crews to & from trains & stations.

Answer 10

I'd say 10, maybe even less if given an honest assessment.

I do work for the railroad, so I have a fair bit of operating knowledge.  Also, I was a business major in college, so that aspect of the railway interests me, and I'm usually able to find some interesting material at work.

I also come from a railway family.  I'm 3rd-generation myself, and some have called this an "inherited education".  I've also been interested in all facets of transportation since I was born, so I've expanded my knowledge base through that pursuit.

Nobody knows "everything" about railways, nor will anyone ever come close - hence, I dispute anyone that claims to be a 15.  The job is always a learning experience, and the day you stop learning is the day you die.

Answer 11

Probably an 11 when it comes to locomotives, 14 when it comes to EMD 567, 645 and 710 engines. As far as railroad operations go I'm about a 10 when it comes to maintenance and repair. Around a 5 for all other aspects.

Answer 12

OMG what a question. Hmmm....I love looking at trains...1 point. I have ho scale trains here at the house... 1point. There is a rail yard less than a mile from me... 1 point for location. I know enough to not cross when the warning beacons are active... 1 point. I have never worked on a rail line... -1 point. I don't know the first thing about operation for current or past trains...-1 point. I am not sure as to why the engineers are called that... at least -1 point. so that puts me at a 1. have a nice day:)