Saturday, May 3, 2008

0-8-0 Powerhouse



This wonderful 0-8-0 runs smooth and has the looks of a powerful participant in the history of railroading. I had no idea it would be so smooth running. It looks good pulling this mixed bag of boxcars and I imagine it would look just as good pulling passenger cars. Unfortunately the track crew (me) did a lousy job on some corners and the thing gets derailed once in a while. Still, I like it and will get the track crew to upgrade enough to have it function properly.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great photo. But we in the yard gang hope you don't send that switcher out on the open road! Do you have plans for a decent sized switching yard to put it to proper use?

Thanks for making the verification word more readable--can it go away?

Anonymous said...

Greetings Yard Crew,

I did not even notice the verification word. I will have to look into the bowels of this thing to see if it can go away.

Your ever friendly ....

Anonymous said...

Hello to the Yard Crew again,

What makes this 0-8-0 inadequate for road service. Its drivers are pleanty large enough. Is it because it does not have the extra wheels that sometimes help an engine stay on track??

Unknown said...

I didn't know you were into model trains! (Or is that an actual sized one?) Thanks for letting me know about your blog you big Catholic bear, you.

Anonymous said...

Yep. The frount truck (1 or 2 wwheels) on a steam engine is to help it stay on the track at high speeds in rough places. All "road engines" have a front truck. The trailing truck (also 1 or two wheels) is to support big fireboxes so that there can be high steam pressure: this is for speed (also needed "on the road").

If a steam engine has no front or trailing truck (e.g. 0-4-0, 0-6-0, 0-8-0 and even 0-10-0) then it is a switcher: no fast travel or travel on rought track, or both. You have a little 0-4-0, I think. That kind of engine was phased out (too small) for switching about 1900, except on the Pennsy, where they had a lot of dock track with sharp curves. They kept making their A-5 Class 0-4-0s until 1926.