In Monterey, Ca there is a picture of a train with no coal car, how does a train go with no coal car?

Question

Steam train not train.....my bad

Answer 1

Maybe the cool is hiden under a compartment, is there still a place for smoke to exit? the train could be steam powered which is the boiling of water exhaling steam to run a strap to power up a motor? or run on diesel fuel which can power an electric motor to make the train run, either of these answers could be correct, if you desperately need information, try there internet website, if they have one, or if you live near there check out a local tourist kiosk or even ask the department of transport in that area.

I hoped this help answer your question

Have a nice day!

Kind Regards, Timothy H

Answer 2

Not all old steam engines had tenders to carry fuel and water.

Some, called "tank" engines, carried the fuel and water on the engine.  This limited their size and therefore power, however, which is why they were usually seen in service as "dockside" switchers servicing sea ports, such as Monterrey.

Other tank engines are also "condensers", so called because a portion of the steam exhausted from the cylinders is cooled and condensed back into water, then reheated to steam.

Many of these engines finished their sevice as switchers in locomotive shops and roundhouses as (commonly called) "horses".

Addendum:  Y!A is a fun game, but the purpose is to learn, inform and educate whenever possible.  In that regard, a bit of history to clarify the answer from "guess78624" below, which is a good answer as well.

Though the "cab forwards", unique to the Southern Pacific, were collectively referred to as Mallets, the last of the breed were not true Mallet steam engines.

A Mallet steam engine is a "compound" steam engine.  This means that the steam was expanded twice before being exhausted to atmosphere.  This was done be incorporating a "high pressure" cylinder and a "low pressure" cylinder.  When steam was exausted from the high pressure cylinder it was injected into and expanded again in the high pressure cylinder.  A mallet is easily identifiable as the low pressure cylinder is usually much larger than the high pressure cylinder.

On locomotives with one engine under the boiler, a mallet will be seen to have the large cylinder on one side of the engine and the markedly smaller cylinder on the other side.  This was known as a "cross-compound".

When the "articulateds", those engines with two or more engines under the boiler, made the scene, they were Mallets.  In this case, the first engine was powered by the low pressure cylinders and their exhaust steam powered the high pressure cylinders of the second engine.

On the Southern Pacific, the first were class MM, standing for Mallet Mogul, with a 2-6-6-2 wheel arrangement, and MC, Mallet Consolodation, with a 2-8-8-2 wheel arrangement.  These were converted to single expansion engines before meeting the scrapper's torch.

The classes of articualteds that were out-shopped as single expansion engines were class AM, Articulated Mogul and class AC, Articulated Consolidation, with 4-6-6-2 and 4-8-8-2 wheel arrangements, respectively.

The last of this breed manufactured, the SP 4294, is the only survivor, restored (non-operating) and on display at the California State Rail Museum in Sacramento.  An amazing achievement, this last design won awards from the SAE and other engineering societies.

If I ever hit the lottery, the 4294 will steam again..............

Answer 3

Coal cars on trains went away back around 1950's I believe.  They are all diesel locomotives now.

Large diesel engine creates power that turns electric motors that in turn, turn the wheels.

More or less trains are like hybrid cars of today.

Answer 4

Maybe it's diesel powered. (diesel powers generator, which powers electric motor for motion)

Answer 5

trains are powered by deisel now.  they got rid of the coal cars years ago.  it's cheaper and faster to use diesel.

Answer 6

First of all, the steam engines finished out their useful lives using oil fired burners, (at least most of them did")  Plus there is a type of steam engine calles a "saddle tank engine" that pulled trains on short runs that had tanks mounted right on the engine for fuel and water!  I grew up in the mounitians of Calif, and remember seeing Southern Pacific steam engines sometimes 6 of them pulling around 100 cars up Donner summit (out of Truckee going to Sacramento). These engines had two sets of 8 wheel "drivers' (four on each side). They ran two in front, two in the middle, and two on the end!   The engines were called "Mallets" (pronounced "malley"), they were so long that the cab was in front (making it look like the engine was going backwards). These were all running on oil too! At night the "fireboxes underneath" looked pretty awsome (to a ten year old kid). Oh by the way, the reason that they ran"backwards", is so that the engineers didn't pass out from carbon monoxide while going through the tunnels so slow, - becasue of the big load,. and the fact that they had so many "switchbacks" getting up the hill! anyway!)