a question about drawings in our archives

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Tue Aug 7 03:50:59 EDT 2018


Hi Brent,

 

Thanks for the feedback. The Y7 would have been a terrific machine. Lurking
somewhere in my mass of railway books is one which featured "might have been
" UK designs. Some looked plausible and others definitely not. 

 

Regards

 

Phil 

 

From: NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of
NW Mailing List
Sent: Monday, August 6, 2018 11:15 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Cc: 'Phil Mortimer'
Subject: Re: a question about drawings in our archives

 

Hi Phil, as a partial answer.to your question (there are certainly many more
knowledgeable folks on this subject than I am), but there were some
exploratory drawings/sketches created that were actually something in
between the class A and y6b as a potential "follow-up" design as you say.
The hypothesized Y7 was to be a simple articulated like the class A, but of
a 2-8-8-2 configuration like the other y class locomotives.  If I recall
correctly,  the dimensions were maximized to what could possibly be
conceived that would fit though N&W's clearances (tunnels, bridges, etc.)
I'm sure it would have been both impressive and glorious!  But the drawings
I have seen of this proposed beast were only rough dimensions and a general
conceptual outline,  vs. the type of detailed schematics I am referring to
in the archives. 

So I come back to my original question, and hopefully some of our esteemed
historians can shed some light here, how safe would it be to assume that if
I find a drawing for a boxcar with a Climax roof, that at least one of such
animal actually existed in real life, even if I can't find photographic
Proof of such?

Was it common for the N&W to do such detailed diagrams for something that
was only a "what-if"?

Brent 

___________________________
Dr. J. Brent Greer

  _____  

From: NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> on behalf of NW
Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Monday, August 6, 2018 7:02:07 AM
To: 'NW Mailing List'
Cc: NW Mailing List; 'Phil Mortimer'
Subject: RE: a question about drawings in our archives 

 

Good morning from the other side of the pond.

 

This is an interesting observation. The drawings of locos, railcars and
passenger vehicles in my treasured 1947 Locomotive Cyclopaedia (Simmons
Boardman) are real works of art and I assume originally drawn out by hand.
How these were ultimately reduced for inclusion in a book is a mystery. The
patient man hours that went into the development of these drawings must have
been staggering but they are all meticulous.  

 

In relation to speculative designs I suspect that quite a lot of this sort
of activity went on to sketch out what might be feasible/possible/desirable.
I have in my office a drawing of a Baldwin Duplex that became the basis of
the T1s on the Pennsy and a souped up Mallard type A4. It would have been
neat to see both in reality. 

 

Regards

 

Phil Mortimer

 

PS Was there ever any evidence of follow on designs for the A Class or the
Y6b?

 

From: NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of
NW Mailing List
Sent: Friday, August 3, 2018 10:26 PM
To: NWHS Mailing List
Subject: a question about drawings in our archives

 

I have on occasion prowled about the on-line collection of drawings in our
archives and it is amazingly extensive.  It is also interesting to me the
amount of detail that went into these drawings and they seem to encompass
even the most subtle nuances of changes over time.  I have also found a few
drawings of interesting things for which I have never seen prototype photos,
so this brings about my question.  Given the time and detail involved in
creating these documents, how often would N&W engage in such exercises, if
they never actually got translated to something that was used?  Could there
really be that many drawings done that were only "what-if" speculations?
Like "what-if" we wanted to add a Viking roof to a specific class of boxcar,
then it would look like this, and "what-if" we wanted to add a Climax roof
to that same class of boxcar, then it would look like this, etc. etc.   Can
it be reasonably assumed(absent obvious photographic proof) that if there is
a set of drawings showing a particular appliance installed on a particular
car type that it was actually at least done once in real life?  Or was it
common practice for these drawings to be created based upon pure speculation
or the various component offerings of the different manufacturers  (ends,
roofs, doors, lock systems, etc.) ?

 

Brent

  _____  

Dr. J. Brent Greer

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