Grassroots Railroad Sports?

The only narrow gauge Mallets were the 36" gauge 2-6-6-2Ts of the Uintah Railway. Founded in 1903, the Uintah Railway was heralded as "the crookedest railway in the States", and it's hard to argue the title. It stretched from an interchange with the D&RGW at what became known as Mack, Colorado east to the Books Cliffs in Utah, and was constructed for the purpose of hauling Gilsonite mined at the Black Dragon Vein in Utah. Twenty-eight miles of track was laid following West Salt Wash Creek upstream to the company town of Atchee, Colorado. From Atchee, six miles of 7.5% grade were required to climb the Books Clifes to Baxter Pass at an elevation of 8,437 feet. From the summit of Baxter Pass, there were seven miles of 5% downhill grade to Wendella, Colorado, followed by twelve miles of 3% or shallower grades down Evacuation Creek to the Black Dragon Mine just west of the Utah border. And that's not even getting into the curvature. At Moro Castle there was a 66 degree curve, and that was after a realignment procedure knocked it down from 81 degrees. Rugged doesn't even begin to describe the territory that the Uintah Railway operated over.

 Originally, motive power for the end of the line west of Atchee were a number of Lima 2-truck Shays, while on the east end, they used secondhand 2-8-0s largely purchased from the D&RGW and some intriguing 0-6-2Ts that typically handled the rudimentary passenger service consisting of a locomotive and a single combine. In 1920, the Uintah Railway was taken over by Lucian Sprague, a reclusive railroad executive who would later become known for his dramatic turnaround of the bankrupt Minneapolis & St. Louis. Sprague wanted to eliminate the engine changeover at Atchee and replace the Shays with something faster (geared locomotives typically top out at under 10mph), so he ordered a single saddle-tank 2-6-6-2 Mallet from Baldwin, Uintah Railway #50. It had 42" drivers, 15x22" cylinders, a 210psi boiler and generated 47,000lbs of tractive effort.  The single articulated locomotive could move as many cars as two Shay locomotives from Rainbow to Atchee and made the trip in half the time. After some initial modifications, this engine proved to be such a success that in 1928 the railroad purchased a sister locomotive, #51.

The 2-6-6-2s were shown to frequently trail up to 4 water canteens behind them. Since the water in the saddle tanks increased weight on the drivers, which in turn increased traction, the saddle tanks were often used as ballast first and a water supply second. They drew from the canteen cars first, and then used the saddle tanks as a reserve if they emptied those before they could reach a water tank.

Demonstrating their articulation.

#250 at the 66 degree curve at Moro Castle after reduction from 81 degrees.

Even before the 2-6-6-2s, the Uintah was a really interesting operation. It was founded as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Gilson Asphaltum Company. Gilson Asphaltum Company was founded by Samuel Henry Gilson, who was the fellow who discovered and named Gilsonite, a naturally-occurring form of asphalt with a high melting point that was used for varnish, electrical insulation, and waterproofing. Since the Uintah Railway served very remote areas, it then became a common carrier that also hauled passengers, mail, and wool and livestock from area ranchers. When a public library opened up in Dragon, Utah, the Uintah Railway agreed to deliver library books free of charge to and from any borrower along its route.

Through a bizarre bureaucratic loophole, the US Postal Service charged in-state rates for shipping between the Uintah Basin and Salt Lake City, assuming that the mail would be shipped in a straight line distance, despite them using the Uintah Railway, which traveled in anything but a straight line, and having to route the mail to Colorado first and then back into Utah. This meant it was significantly cheaper to ship by mail than pay the railroad to directly ship anything. A number of businesses soon discovered this loophole, and when the builders of a bank in the town of Vernal discovered this, they shipped 30 tons of bricks, one at a time, by mail. This nearly bankrupted the Utah division of the postal service, forcing them adjust the shipping zone boundaries to match the geographical isolation of the Uintah Basin from the rest of Utah.

The railroad lasted until 1939 when trucks took over hauling the Gilsonite. At that time, the rails were pulled up and the towns abandoned.

One of the little 0-6-2Ts in mixed service. They appear to have the combine coupled ahead of the freight cars, which is not the usual practice.

A narrow-gauge Mikado that was previously owned by the New York & Bermudez Railroad.

Uintah Shay #7. The running gear was all assembled from spare parts that the Uintah had laying around for their other Shays, and then Lima supplied a brand-new boiler for it, making it possibly the only Shay not built by Lima. 

One of the abrupt curves on the Uintah.

You can make out the rail line zig-zagging through Baxter Pass, showing why the Uintah needed Shays and articulateds.

After the Uintah ceased operation in 1939, while the majority of the Uintah's equipment was scrapped onsite, the two Mallets were sold off to the Sumpter Valley Railroad in Oregon.  The Sumpter Valley stripped the saddle tanks off and coupled them up to tenders, as well as converting them to burn oil and renumbering them to #250 and #251. By the time they were purchased, the Sumpter Valley was long into it's decline. It had discontinued passenger service that year, despite buying brand new passenger cars the year before for some reason. The two Mallets pretty much retired every other Sumpter Valley steam locomotive on arrival. Within 7 years, the Sumpter Valley Railroad ceased to exist as well. 

After the Sumpter Valley's end, they were disassembled and sent down to Guatemala. They were reassembled and operated for some time, then were taken apart for overhaul. During that time, the Guatemalan Civil War broke out, the railroad was abandoned and the locomotives were left in pieces in the jungles at a place called Esquintla. 

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to NickD :

Wow, I didn't realize it had a cosmetic restoration. I expected it to be similar condition to the ones you posted above. 

So, just heard that the Bonhomie & Hattiesburg Southern Mikado, #300, that is on display at Hattiesburg, Miss. and formerly owned by Fred Kepner, has been sold to Valley Railroad of Connecticut. They sent some guys down at the beginning of this month to tear into it and make an evaluation of it's mechanical condition. I'm curious to see what they find, since it's been sitting outside in humid conditions for 50 years with it's boiler jacket and asbestos(!) lagging in place. I also know there are some parts like, like some of the side rods, that are missing. It's been sitting in literally the same exact spot since it's donation and the only work done to it was the painting that the city received permission from Fred Kepner to perform. Definitely an odd choice, since the Valley Railroad already has three operational steam locomotives, and this one is halfway across the country from them and likely in very poor condition. But, since it's one of the Kepner collection locomotives not in Oregon, it's up for sale and probably is being offered cheap. 

If the #300 is indeed restored to operation by the Valley Railroad, it will fit in nicely with their other locomotives. The #40 and the #97 are also of similar era and have similar appearance of high headlight, round number plate on the smokebox door, and boiler tube pilot. The #97 even has a similar flanged smoke stack. Funny enough, the #40 and #97 are also both of southern shortline heritage. The #97 was a bit of a boomer engine, but it's final revenue career was on the Aberdeen & Rockfish, and the #97 was from the Birmingham & Southeastern. The #300 is a Baldwin product of 1925 though, while the #40 and #97 are Alco products of 1920 and 1923 respectively.

In reply to NickD :

Wow! That's definitely surprising. 

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

Yeah, first of all that they would be considering an engine that far away that is in that rough of shape. But also, is Valley Railroad that busy that they need four operational steam locomotives. Strasburg is incredibly busy and yet only operates three (#89, #90, and #475). They're bringing back #31, but that's less a need and more that they want it operating for the 60th anniversary of steam's return to Strasburg.

Old circus railcar catches fire and burns in NC.

Tucked away in the woods of Nash County is the last place you'd expect to find nine old railroad cars from the 1960s Barnum & Bailey circus.

Sadly, the vacant train caught fire on Thursday morning – faded Barnum & Bailey logos and stickers reading 'The Greatest Show on Earth' still visible through the smoke and soot. Orange flames could be seen peering through the train windows like passengers waving goodbye.

The fire was reported before 7 a.m. near the old Masonite Plant in Spring Hope, where the line old railroad cars were stored.

The cars are "currently inaccessible" based on their location in the woods, according to a spokesperson. In recent months, the isolated train had become a popular spot for urban explorers, after people began sharing the train's location and photos in social media groups.

In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :

My gut instinct is that it was either homeless people living in them, or vandals set fire to them. Looks like they got pretty damn hot, by the way the one sagged in the middle. Probably not helped by them having been gutted and redone with cheap hardware store materials over the years.

But, targeted arson also isn't entirely out of the question, although highly unlikely in this case. The president of the Lehigh & Hudson River swore up, down, right and left that Penn Central intentionally set fire to the Poughkeepsie Bridge so that they wouldn't have to maintain it, and in doing so they severed the link to the L&HR and hammered the final nails into it's coffin. And I read an account of a guy who helped save an old B&O freight house that a city wanted to demolish for some pet project. Not long after they got the freight house ruled as a historical structure, it mysteriously caught fire in the middle of the night. He lived nearby, saw the fire and drove down there and standing just outside the tape perimeter were some guys in suits he'd never seen before, smoking cigars and laughing it up over the fire. He said he was certain they had something to do with the fire, but no way he could prove it.

Talking about the Valley Railroad and Strasburg brings up an odd phenomenom I've noticed in steam locomotive operations. I wonder why it is that some are referred to by their original road names by railfans, while others are called by the railroad they're serving on?

Examples:

Everybody refers to them as Valley Railroad #40 and #97, not Aberdeen & Rockfish #40 or Birmingham & Southeaster #97. Same with like New Hope & Ivyland #40 (Lancaster & Chester #40) or Black River & Western #60 (Great Western of Colorado #60) or Wilmington & Western #98 (Mississipian Central #98) and #58 (Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast #58) or Everrett Railroad #11 (Bath & Hammondsport #11).

But then you have Southern #4501 and #630 at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. They aren't called Tennesee Valley #4501 and #630. Canadian Pacific #2713 and Canadian National #3254 weren't referred to as Steamtown #2713 or Steamtown #3254. Canadian National #7470 is typically not referred to as Conway Scenic #7470. It's Union Pacific #618, not Heber Valley #618.

Where it gets really confusing is that there are operations that do both: At Strasburg,  (Canadian National)#31, (Canadian National)#89, and (Great Western of Colorado) #90 are all referred to as Strasburg #31/#89/#90, but then #475 is always referred to as Norfolk & Western #475. Reading & Northern #425 is never referred to as GM&O #425, but #2102 is not referred to as Reading & Northern #425.

I only have experience with Valley Railroad and a little with Strasburg but, to me, once those engines were rehabbed and put in service they took on a new life along with their new service. Sure, I've asked about their history but those engines are important for what they are doing as much as what they've done. 

Engines on static display don't really seem to take on a new life, they represent their most recent or greatest role(s). They are history while the in-service engines are living history. That's my take on it.

Lou Manglass

EMD was a force to be reckoned with in the early transition era, and continued to develop and perfect the Diesel-Electric Locomotive throughout the 50s and 60s. One of the greatest advancements they made was going from a roots-type supercharger to a turbocharger. The SD18 made 1,800 hp with a 16 cylinder 567 prime mover. The SD24 (EMD's first turbocharged production locomotive) made 2,400 hp with the same displacement, but turbocharged. While the SD24 wasn't a huge seller, it provided the blueprints for EMD's eventual rise to dominance in the six-axle road switcher market with later models like the SD40 and SD40-2. The SD24 was also unique in that EMD produced a cabless B-unit, although Union Pacific was the only buyer.

The SD24 was also unusual in that it didn't really have a 4-axle companion. Up until that point, you had the GP7/SD7, GP9/SD9, and GP18/SD18, which were pretty much mechanically identical to each other other than the number of axles. But the SD24, introduced in July of 1958, launched without a GP24 to go along with it. The GP30, which launched three years later, offered 150hp less and by that point SD24 orders had trailed off to the point that, although the SD24 was offered for another two years alongside the GP30, only one SD24 was produced during that time period. 

The reason there was never a 2400hp GP24 launched alongside the SD24 was that EMD was concerned that their D57 traction motors would not be reliable at a 600hp per axle rating. So they ended up completely redesigning the electrical system and downrating the engine to 2250hp for the next 4-axle road switcher offering. With the GP18/SD18, EMD had gone to a system of naming the models where the last 2 digits were the horsepower rating in hundreds (GP/SD18 was 1800hp, GP20 was 2000hp, SD24 was 2400hp) and so this new model should have been named a GP22 or GP23, depending if you round up or down. I've heard two explanations on why EMD didn't go with that name: one is that EMD was worried that by backtracking on numbers, customers would think the GP22/23 was an inferior product versus the SD24, the other is that GE had introduced their U25B and Alco had their RS-27 EMD was worried that their product having a lower number would make it seem inferior to the U25B (it kind of was, the GE offered 250 more horsepower and 15000lbs more starting tractive effort, the Alco had 150hp more and 6000lbs more tractive effort.) I imagine it was some combination of the two.

EMD instead came up with the GP30 name, which made it numerically higher than the SD24, GE U25B and Alco RS-27. They had a whole song and dance that they used in advertising where they said that the 30 stood for 30 different improvements over the GP20. Realistically though, they probably could have named it a GP22 or a GP23 and it would have sold just fine, since GE was the new kid on the block with an unproven product, Alco was in a death spiral, and Fairbanks-Morse was puttering along with tepid sales of the H-16-44. As it was, the GP30 sold 948 total, which was more than the sales of the SD24, U25B, and RS-27 combined.

The GP30 was offered for only 2 years, with the SD24 in production alongside it, before they were both replaced by the GP35 and SD35. The GP30, SD24, GP35 and SD35 were all plagued with a number of electrical issues that were related to EMD hitting the horsepower threshold of a straight-DC (DC generator, DC traction motors), which required a huge number of relays and a very complex 16-step electrical transition program to prevent electrical flashovers. All those relays and switches were potential points of failure, and fail they did. After this, the manufacturers began to go to AC alternators feeding DC traction motors, which alleviated a lot of the concerns. Despite being a sales smash hit, the GP30s often led relatively short lives with a lot of their original owners. Part of that was due to the electrical troubles they had (which also resulted in a lot of them being run through rebuild programs) but the other was that shortly after their introduction, the horsepower wars heated up and suddenly yesterday's hot 2250hp GP30 was pretty milquetoast compared to today's GP40s, U33Cs and C636s.

Also funny is that EMD introduced their new naming system in 1959, with the GP18, GP20 and SD24, only to slam-dunk it in the trash in 1961 with the GP30, and then EMD never looked back. They kind of painted themselves in a corner of not wanting to go back to a smaller number, and so they ditched the whole naming convention. The exception to that rule was the GP15-1 that they introduce in 1976, which was both a smaller number and a number that represented the horsepower, as well as the unprecedented Dash-1 suffix that hadn't been seen before and has never been used since.

Of the 2400hp 6-axle competitors, none were quite as confusing as Alco's offering. Alco offered 3 different locomotives with the same model number, same carbody, and three different engine options. It's worth pointing out that the RS/RSD/RSC-xx model names weren't the official Alco model names in the early years of Alco diesel production, they adopted those later on, as evidenced by the operator's manual for the Alco RS-32 and RSD-33 using those terms on the cover. Instead, Alco used the DL-xxx as a "specification number", like the early DL-109s. So, while the 1800hp 4-axle and 6-axle road switchers were known as an RS-11 and an RSD-12, in official Alco parlance, they were a DL-701 and a DL-702 respectively. Gets even more confusing when railroads assigned their own names, like an RS-11 on the PRR was called an ARS-18 (Alco Road Switcher, 1800hp)

So, in 1954, Alco decided they needed to build a competitor to Fairbanks-Morse's H-24-66 "Train Master". They took the 2250hp V16 244 from the Alco PA-2 and installed it in a road switcher with a new body style that featured tall hoods with notched ends. Alco called this machine a DL600 and they built two demonstrators, #600 and #601. These prototypes delivered the highest continuous tractive effort of all diesel locomotives then available, and also boasted 75% more dynamic braking capacity than any standard freight unit available at the time. Alco sent the two DL600 demonstrators out on the road and ATSF ended up buying the pair and keeping their numbers.

Alco then put the unit into regular production. Additional experimentation by Alco included new fuel injection pumps and nozzles, increased fuel rack settings, and an aftercooler to reduce engine air inlet temperature, bumping horsepower to 2400hp. Internally referred to as a 244H, Alco was so desperate to distance themselves from the early reliability woes of the 244, that the engine was actually called a 250 in all advertisement material. This production version was referred to as a DL600A officially, but is called the RSD-7 by railfans.

In 1956, the DL600A was superceded in production by the DL600B. By this point, the 251 engine was in full swing, and the only mechanical difference between the DL600A and DL600B was the 244H was replaced by a 2400hp 251 V16. Alco also used the same body but offered the DL600B with a short front hood, which they had not on the DL600 and DL600B. This model is usually referred to as an RSD-15.

Because they used the same body and the production overlapped, there tends to be confusion on which model is which, especially on railroads that owned examples of both. ATSF owned all three versions, the two demonstrator DL600s, ten RSD-7s, and fifty RSD-15s. While you had to check the numbers to tell the demonstrators apart from the RSD-7, at least ATSF purchased the RSD-15s with low hoods. But C&O possibly owned either RSD-7s or RSD-15s, and no one is quite sure which, since none are left to check the engines. C&O documentation indicates that they were RSD-7s, despite being built at a late date when Alco had supposedly introduced the RSD-15, but then other interal paperwork from C&O refers to them interchangeably as RDS-7s and RSD-15s. If they'd had low hoods, it would be an obvious giveaway that they were RSD-15s, but they were equipped with high hoods, which means they could be either. 

Alco actually planned another 2400hp, C-C road switcher, which was going to be the C624, a 6-axle version of the C424. But before it made it to market, Alco decided to crank the horsepower up in hopes of winning back customers, resulting in the C628.

On a KC-135 Stratotanker.

Good ol' LK Orfoli Ernouthe

In reply to NickD :

The RSD-15 was a unique looking beast, with its set back cab and long nose. Small wonder the low short hood variant was nicknamed the alligator.

In reply to Recon1342 :

And the 4-axle companion, the RS-27, had a very short and stubby nose, as if the RSD-15 was compensating for that.

This one kind of slipped under the radar, but FMW Solutions, the company behind the restoration of FEC #148, ACL #1504, PRR #1361, NC&StL #576 and a bunch of other stuff, converted Everett Railroad #11 to oil-burning over the winter. “With our increased ridership and popularity, the 11 has been operating on our tourist trains now more than ever. It’s become a challenge to get the right coal at a reasonable price, and the quality of coal can greatly affect how a locomotive operates. Combined with our desire to be a good neighbor through reducing smoke, we’ll also be able to simplify our fueling logistics and free up more space for parking,” said Alan Maples, President of the Everett Railroad Company. It makes a lot of sense, especially because the Everett runs right through people's backyards and they probably will appreciate not getting their property showered in coal cinders. I am surprised that they are supposedly having such an issue getting coal, considering PA is coal country.

The funny thing is that Everett Railroad #11 was originally built as an oil-burning engine by Alco for delivery to a Cuban sugar plantation. It was never delivered to Cuba (a pretty common theme) and was sold to Narragansett Pier Terminal insted, and was converted to coal-burning by Alco before delivery. So, with the most recent conversion back to oil-burning, the #11 is really just going back to it's original configuration.

FMW Solutions has definitely been killing it lately. FEC #148 was a pile of rust strewn across the Colorado landscape a decade ago (even when it ran in the '60s and '70s, it was described as a nice running gear under a wretched boiler) and now it's a beautiful machine hauling excursions on U.S. Sugar Company's rails. It ran it's first public excursions at the beginning of this year, and has more planned. FMW Solution also designed the passenger car livery, which is not UP Armor Yellow and gray, it's actually yellow with green and red and is based off the Illinois Central's City Of Miami livery. I'm not entirely sure why they didn't go with the FEC dark blue, considering it's an FEC locomotive.

The "We Raise Cane" slogan is cute.

Perhaps the strangest promotional train ever, the Rexall Train, parked at San Francisco

In 1936, Louis Liggett, founder of Rexall, originally United Drug Stores, wished to hold a convention for pharmacists. Since the US was still shaking off the dregs of the Great Depression, Liggett was concerned that a convention would have poor turnout, due to financial situations preventing prospective attendees from traveling. Instead, he had the idea that if he brought the convention to pharmacists they would be much more willing to attend. So he leased 12 heavyweight cars from Pullman, which were each temporarily renamed to Rexall products, and New York Central loaned L-2c Mohawk #2873, even streamlining it in a manner similar to the Commodore Vanderbilt. Of the twelve cars, 5 were open to the public, while the other seven were either private or available only to pharmacists and store owners.  To further enhance its appeal the train was entirely air-conditioned.

The Rexall Train spent three days on display in Boston, Massachusetts before it officially departed on March 29, 1936.  During the next eight months the train toured around the country visiting every state, except Nevada, as well as portions of southern Canada. It traveled approximately 29,000 miles, stopped at 200 cities, and entertained 2.3 million members of the general public, 10,000 pharmacists and 20,000 Rexall salespersons.  The Rexall Train made its last stops between November 22nd through the 24th visiting its final city of Atlanta, Georgia.  The concept had proved a smashing success although, interestingly, was never replicated by another major corporation.  The #2873 was returned to the New York Central and had it's streamlining removed, and Pullman sold off the 12 passenger cars to various railroads.