Modern Steam

[NW Mailing List]

John, 
  After reading your reply to my query, I took the time to read through your paper.  I must say, you have done some serious number crunching, calculations, and research on this subject.  I think your professor should give you a very good grade on it.  I would!  Your effort in this has been enormous.  You have my compliments.
   
  As I already stated, I'd be more than happy to endorse steam use today.  I feel we, as a nation, should not be energy dependent to outside countries.  Whether we truly are dependent on them or not is a political issue, and I won't get into that.
   
  About ten years ago I came up with an idea for the "What if?" category, but never built it.  It was a J class locomotive with a safety cab similiar to the GE cab on the front of the engine, with the old rear cab closed off.  This was to be a "What if the diesel never came along?"
   
  If the diesel had not been developed, then that would have allowed continual development in steam technology, which as you more or less stated in your paper, has advanced drastically since the "modern" steam locomotives were designed decades ago.  And yet, only in the last few years have diesels began to compare to steam horsepower and tractive effort of the 1950's.  If steam R&D had never stopped, I have no doubt they'd be much higher that what you calculated, because they would have kept pushing it higher.  N&W's Y7 was to be a mammoth, high horsepower engine.  As we all know, it never made it past the drawing board.
   
  As much as I would love to see steam on the class 1 railroads again, I have to admit it would be a hard sell.  I think it would only be possible if diesel became so hideously expensive, or in such short supply, that it was causing them to operate at a loss.
   
  But again, my compliments on the paper.  That was a lot to put together, and I think you did it well.
   
  Ben Blevins
   
   
  

NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
  Ben,

Reasonable questions.  I did write to these issues in the paper.

  On Jan 11, 2008 3:14 PM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote: 
    Sorry.  I haven't read the report yet, but I will, so I'm not knocking it.  But, some things I've not seen mentioned here are: 
   
  The capability to connect these locomotives together, and operate them from one control stand, with each one pulling evenly with the others.  The diesel can do this.  Could a steam turbine?  I dunno.  Could the "Modern Coal Burning Steam Locomotive" of the 40's and 50's?  No.  They had separate crews, with engineers and firemen who were masters of their art constantly tweaking the controls to maintain that effort. The diesel can do it with a flip of the reverser lever and a notch on the throttle.
  
With computer controlled boiler management and electronic controls, MUing and one person operation is to be expected.  The RR's would not be interested in anything else.
 
     
  So, can these new modern steam locomotives be MU'd together?  Is there a safety cab in the FRONT of the locomotive?  These ideas would have to be factored in as well.  Maybe they were.  Again, I don't know.  But, I'd bet the FRA would just about demand the cab be on the front.  The Southern Pacific accomplished this with oil burners, but that won't work for the coal stoker used on the locomotives back in the day.
  
If you can MU you can put the cab anywhere or have distributed power or remote control for that matter.


     
  And, don't forget dynamic braking capabilities.  That makes a LOT of difference, especially in the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains.  They really save a lot of wear on brakes, not to mention added safety and braking capability.  This is a major consideration.
  
That is included.
 
     
  I'd be the first in line to endorse modern steam on todays railroads, but, it would be a tough battle, and would have to have some serious money behind it.
  
That is true the conversion cost would be quite large.
 
     
  My humble opinion.
  Ben Blevins



I hope you enjoy reading the paper.

John R. ________________________________________
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