Y Class, Etc

[NW Mailing List]

Ed:
 
I'm confident Pete will clarify in his own right, but for my part I read  
his posting as meaning the boiler horsepower capability as a "steam 
generator",  not the drawbar horsepower that you're citing.
 
Dave Phelps
 
 
In a message dated 6/29/2013 6:55:44 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org writes:

Pete  -

Where do you get your horsepower figures?  The rating for the  Y-6 was 
worked 
out using train resistance formulae and the actual  topography of the 
territory by Dave Stephenson and published in the  Arrow.  There was never 
a 
7000 horsepower figure put out for the  A.  The first test was 6300 which 
Engineer of Tests Bob Pilcher felt  was too high.  He felt the A was 
actually 
in the 5300 horsepower  range and that the dynamometer car's recording 
mechanism was in  error.  The A was not a Y "modded for speed".  The only 
feature  the A shared with the Y was the tender (and maybe the electical 
system,  and stuff like that).

One has to be careful tossing "facts" around  among folks who don't know 
much 
about the N&W.  They're like  football players who pick up a fumble and run 
with  it.

EdKing

-----Original Message----- 
From: NW Mailing  List
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2013 4:17 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject:  Re: Y Class, Etc

Query:  "Again the A class was essentially a Y  modded for speed . . ."   
The 
boilers (the most important part  of a steam loco, I'm finally beginning to 
realize) were very different -  5500 HP or so for a Y6 and 7000 HP or so 
for 
an A; also very different in  design, particularly, the fireboxes.

pete groom
On Jun 27, 2013, at  7:19 PM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>  
wrote:


> There was purpose behind designs, the Big Boy was meant  to tackle 

Sherman 

> Hill, it has larger drivers for speed not to just  get over the grades 

but 

> out west is a lot of land to cover and get  over it as fast as possible.

>

> N&W had numerous tough grades  and perhaps harder curves, speed was not 

> exactly the big handle to  get over its grades than to get as much 

tonnage 

> over as possible,  double heading and pushers a common scene on the N&W.

> Again the A  class was essentially a Y modded for speed and larger 

drivers 

> for the  not so mountaneous and level routes for speed, but they were put 

> on  the plodding Y6 runs as well.

>

> The railroads had their engines  made -their- way for -their- purposes.

>

> The DM&IR had their  yellowstones and were more powerful than the big 

boys, 

> why...heavy  ore trains, which can be far heavier than any coal train.

>

>  -Lynn-



> . .  .


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