Attica Hill is No Match for Steam | Nickel Plate Road no. 765
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 бер 2014
- AVAILABLE ON DVD AND BLU-RAY: fortwaynerailroad.org/product/...
Every railroad has "the hill," but they're no match for the 765. In this excerpt from Listen for the Whistle, Rich Melvin recalls a trip out of Buffalo where the 765's capabilities surprised a road foreman.
#NickelPlateRoad765 #NKP765 - Фільми й анімація
wow, this thing is pretty strong.
Damn right
Ahhhh, the power of a good old Steam Locomotive.
Take her to the Illinois Railway museum
Sounds like the road foreman on the tourist railroad that I work for in Oregon. He's pretty irritating. He was like that the first time that I ran with him. Turns out he's like that with everyone I work with. He's just a curmudgeonly old road foreman who is about 80 years old. Thankfully he retired a couple of years ago. I'm now the acting road foreman, and I'm 25 years old.
Who's stronger
John Snyder, the fireman mentioned in the video passed away at 89 years old on December 17, 2020 at Brown Memorial Hospital at Conneaut, Ohio. He had a lot of stories about his railroading days as an engineer. This is from Rev. Marvin Blowers.
RIP John. A few years ago, he helped out on the SP 4449 crew here in Portland, Oregon.
You are talking about the wrong person. The fireman I talk about in this video died much younger than 89, and it was *many* years ago. I think John was only in his 50s when he died of a brain tumor.
Every Steam fan out there needs to get this DVD, you won't be disappointed.
Rich Melvin is such a gem: a superb engineer, and a sincere friend to many. Great interview and documentary. I hope the FWRHS comes out with another documentary about 765's entire third career a few years from now. Hopefully the Headwaters Junction project works out, and helps bring more publicity to this magnificent engine!
relax, this is a Steam Locomotive, it can handle a little bit of a grade.
Rich Melvin is a class act and so is the "Listen for the Whistle" programs. Showing that program to upper management at Metra went a long way toward gaining their approval for three consecutive years of 765 operations on Metra property. Tying everything together was the absolute professionalism and safety dedication of the FWRHS team.
I love the sound of 765's whistle in this video.
The moral of the story is never underestimate the power of a Lima locomotive Works steam locomotive
Or a super power locomotive in general.
Yes Indeedy!
Rich is such a captivating storyteller. Thanks so much for sharing this story! 🔥
Again, 765 has proven how powerful she is! :D
I would like to see her take on bigboy on a pulling test!
No contest.
Let's not get crazy here. You're talking about pitting a 6000+hp articulated steam locomotive with 135375lbf starting tractive effort against a 4500hp locomotive with 64135lbf starting tractive effort. I love 765 to death but a Big Boy like 4014 would probably chew her up, spit her out, look back and say "What was that?" and move on like nothing happened.
BTW: I love crunching numbers. Based on some math figures from a 1934 article about calculating a steam locomotive's power at speed and based on the fact that it takes 8lbf per ton to move a train on perfectly flat track I estimate that 765 if pushed to the limit could probably pull a train of 4881 tons at a speed of 40mph, excluding the weight of the engine and tender. A Big Boy on the other hand at 40mph is likely to move 7510 tons, again minus the weight of the engine and tender.
its a joke! even I know a Berkshire cant take on a bigboy
I hate to say this but 765 would lose! The big boy is is a freight locomotive therefore she can pull a hell of a lot more but it would be to see how much the 765 could pull!
I love 765 whistle its got a nice song to it
Rich melvin ive always wanting to meet you and ive wanting to ride the locomotive
765 has a beautiful soulful rhythm
Steam locomotives in general do!
NKP 765 is fantastic to see run . One of the greatest steam locomotives in operation.
I wish that they could get more of these stories on video, the engines are great, but when you have the stories of the men who ran them,they become SPECIAL.
We've got about ten hours of interviews from this project alone!
Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society that's awesome!
the 765 is awesome to see in person.
I've been around and on dozens of steamers in my time. 765 is one of my top three. She is an amazing runner.
Diesels: we can pull a 30 car train with 4 locomotives up a huge hill just fine!
765: am I a joke to you?
284 likes
765 = Berkshire = 2-8-4
Coincidence? I think not!
Wasn't he the same man that narrated the August 1984 611 video called "Bridges to Buffalo" from Hopewell Productions which showed the J running from Bellevue via Erie and Cleveland to Buffalo's old NYC station and brief showing of 611 meeting and leaving with 765 from also Bellevue for the NRHS doubleheader convention in Cincinnati? Frank Collins was the engineer and Bobby Saxtan was the fireman on 611.
Dylan Watson Rich Melvin narrated many of his own programs as well as others.
The basic functions of locomotion:
>>Diesel electric locomotives: Constant horsepower, variable torque machines.
>>Steam locomotives: Constant torque, variable horsepower.
That is why steam can take incredibly heavy trains, and after it gets up to speed, can pull them with the seemingly greatest ease.
Look I know how strong 765 I'd I saw it at power on that exact hill and had a radar gun and he was accelerating so 765 is a strong engine and I sould know.
OMW the Erie ran fast steam over Attica hill all the time back in the day. Sounds like the road foreman needs to read up on his history and talk to some old heads..
yea its not like its shermans pass out west or saluta when it was in service, that one gave even big ones like 611 and the chessie steam special a workout with just a few cars on saluta, just look at the footage of 611 though it did start from a dead stop on the hill and takes it slow and makes it, not many locos could pull that off without significant power.
Sounds like the road foreman on the tourist railroad that I work for in Oregon. He's pretty irritating. He was like that the first time that I ran with him. Turns out he's like that with everyone I work with. He's just a curmudgeonly old road foreman who is about 80 years old. Thankfully he retired a couple of years ago. I'm now the acting road foreman, and I'm 25 years old.
@@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos
Year late responding; sorry.
Worked for ATSF 70s- 90s.
Rude, cranky old turd lifers were the norm. 1st day on the job as an apprentice, was told by old general foreman; "If you think you need little compliments or atta-boys, just for doing what you're paid for, you'll never hear one here; but you'll damnsure hear from me if you if you "f___ it up."
Nowadays, foremen and supervisors get "sensitivity training."
It's a whole different world.
@@tomp.6239 That's fine. Wow! Sounds like a great career on the ATSF! I sure agree with you on that!
I remember I saw the 3985 at the top of Kirkwood hill back in 2004. The station was set at the top of the hill, and even though the speed limit is 20, I remember I could SEE the brick inlay of the station platform shake and buckle from the power.
Excellent story! We NEED many more like this. It maybe nothing to you folks who get to spend everyday in "the life", but to those who only get to see it from a video standpoint..... well.... were selfish and want more!!!
Your doing great things. I wish SRI and 1225 could do as much. Please post more stories like this. You have no idea the size of the void there is concerning the need of experienced crews telling their stories. Hoggers, Firemen, Brakemen, and Conductors alike.
yep 1225 is even a bit stronger then the 765 by about 300 or so horsepower, the 765 has 4000 and was made to run hard freight at road speed though the cars were half the size they are today, but still 50 cars of freight is a lot for one engine to run by itself but I have seen it done though it is slower then molassis in antartica though they do have a speed restriction for extra long trains due to the increased stopping distance, but I have seen 2 engines take one that had to be at least a mile long full of coal and they struggled it seemed and they were the six wheel truck set bnsf locos, so they are at least 4300 hp last I checked, you just cant beat a steamer for raw power though and I heard that the horseshoe curve excursion put the 765 though its paces, and I doubt it would have pulled over saluta without help even 611 had a great deal of trouble with that on the videos of her trying to make the hill after half her consist was taken over with other engines, though she gets going from a dead stop and hauls at it and takes the hill to the top on what was the steepest mainline grade before it was taken out of service, though I doubt even two diesles could do that today from a dead stop it would not be easy for sure. though today railroading is a differant day and age and the things they did in the past they get their underwear in a bunch about if they were done today, though it sure gave more people work and jobs being more man power intensive then today.
manga12 I know the 611 video your talking about. Had her hands full that day huh! As for the Berkshires you mentioned, your about spot on with your numbers. However, with 1225 having 1" larger drivers (given to her [and her sisters] after she started service) and friction bearings, this would tend to even them out. Both capable of handling 100+ car trains instead of the 50 you mentioned. And up to 80 mph in some places during their normal service years. Cars may be larger now, but their weight hasn't changed much. 70 and 100 ton cars existed back then.
I cant state how NKP operated but the PM did run shorter trains than them. When the C&O took over the PM in 1947 and the C&O Mechanical Dept got onboard, they quickly saw that the PM Berks were very, very underused at hauling short trains (less than 80 cars). And in good shape from the lack of abuse and good maintenance. The PM engineers were promptly given longer trains to pull, and at the same speeds or better. In those days, you didn't shorten a train, you added another loco. Many a picture exist of doubleheaded NKP Berkshires. Never saw a PM Berkshire doubleheader. I have seen a Mikado and Berkshire together on the PM, so it had to have happened. The theory being, if one loco starts the train, albeit slowly, then two locos will start it moving faster. That was the rational.
Be a good show to see 765 or 1225 on Saluda. The smaller drivers (than 611) might have given them the edge to get over the top. Hard to say.
(my references are "PM POWER" by Art Million, "C&O Power" by Huddleston/Stouffer, "Van Sweringen Berkshires" by Huddleston, and Lima blueprints of the PM Mech Dept. and AMC)
PM Railfan I dont know about a saluta, it gave just about all locos a workout, and 611 has more power but your right it has biger drivers though I dont know that 2 inches would have made much differance compaired to say a sub 60 inch driver diamiter, as for the use in modern day freight well I guess that that only way to compair would be to rig a mile long one up to 765 and pull and compare it to one of them new ge locos that get 4300 hp and see who could pull the train better get it going faster, see if its still able to do it just as well or better at high speed service, its the only real way to know for real, though the steamer I bet would do a better job at speed once its there since the new ge 4300 series only have 43 inch wheels tiny in comparison to steamers drivers. I dont know though the pm 1225 would be apples to apples hp in comparison but I dont think she ever runs the main line just her route in michagan but I dont know for sure.
No need to test locos with a mile long train. Just search on here (youtube) and you can find all the proof you need as to how steam can outperform diesel. I know for a fact there are two videos here that depict the "New River Train" both with 765 and diesels. It only took ONE Berkshire to pull 30 cars (UNASSISTED!). It took TWO GE 4400's to match that. For all their prowess, a/c traction control, and other fancy modern enhancements.... steam still pulls more!
No, 1225 for some insane reason isn't allowed out of Michigan. I can never get a straight answer for this from anyone in the know. I summize, its NS and CSX's "anti-steam" programs. Think about it, if you were SRI what is the first thing youd want to do with 1225??? Put her on the main and notch her open to about 60mph and watch her purrrrr along. Never happen as long as NS and CSX are around. (oh how I wish they would prove me wrong! FAT CHANCE!)
PM Railfan ns though has the 21st century steam program, they have more then asked for the 765 npk to pull excursions for employees the last 2 years, they put lots of trips on her during the summer, so I dont buy that NS is anti steam, csx is dead set I hear, though this might have to do with the shear volume of traffic on their rails as I can attest as being held up constantly at the track, and my neighbor that just became a conductor for the csx, can attest they cant seem to get people signed on fast enough.
but he dont like the scedualing they do and sometimes being on the road for 36 hours while deadheading home or waiting for a train to take him back here to deadhead, he is gone constantly, he said the pay is good but he dont like the scedual and its really not something he is liking, the rails arn't for everyone after all though, but he also said sometimes they pull out and got to wait got to wait and end up over time so they sit till the recrew and sometimes he dont have to do a dang thing for hours, but attention to detail and orders is absolute no messing up allowed with that much power and weight,
I am well aware of the NPK 765 holding the record for the amount of cars up the new river train, though she is really set up break wise for no more then 20-25 Mr Winniker at the historical society where she is kept said, as it has something to do with the handling with passenger cars and not thowing people around with hard breaking like you can with freight.
I would still like to see the NPK pull some revenue freight myself though once in a blue moon, 10 cars on excursion is really not even working her all that much, compared to what she was made to do.
He lit up and a cigar and did not care about the hill. I would have really awed at the fact the im on the 765. Thanks guys.
Can't wait till the DVD comes out I have been waiting for it!!! Very Excited!!
That was great. I love people that won't listen. They are so much fun to play with !!!
That's a great story. I love the NKP 765!
This story is very neat! Thank you for sharing this!
The one thing I mis are the old is the old signals that made for some good photography I’m one for change but learning that it’s aways the best way!!
@northstar2007 I agree those 2-8-4's have a beautiful sound. Normally I have seen that they get that sound going good around 50mph or above. Love 765.
Very cool story about the hill. Well done.
• Cheers from the Detroit & Mackinac Railway
Good old East Attica hill! I've seen a few NS trains stall on that hill!
Great work, Kelly!
I rode August 2nd. It was smooth East & West.
Absolutely beautiful, thank you so much
I like to hear more stories about the 765
Have to wonder what the trailing tonnage behind the tender was for this trip. As far as I can find, Attica Hill is graded at 1.15%. 765 would be nominally rated on that hill for about 1900 trailing tons (drag speed), which works out to about 23-24 cars in the 75 to 80 ton range.
If the locomotive wasn't being worked hard and had room to accelerate from 30 mph, the trailing consist was probably closer to 15-16 cars.
If it is 1.15% what is that in terms of 1 in something (1 in 40) for example?
@@AECEntertainment 1 in 40 is actually 2.5%. 1.15% works out to 1 in 87.
@@FanRailer how do you calculate it then. Pardon my ignorance
@@AECEntertainment if you're talking about converting between the two gradient units, I dont know the actual conversion formula. I just googled it. Calculating tonnage ratings, I do know how to do.
That all depends on what ones own definition of "being worked hard". I'd imagine he was giving 'er some beans
Love hearing These kinda stories.
This is a great story!
Awesome story! Really hoping #765 makes a trip towards the East again!
Don’t guys remember tht there was a time when this was every day and tht this is wat these magnificent beasts were built to do Especially the 765!!
Great story and steam power.
Thank you v. Much.
going back to this I say there are next to no railroad workers that even have an inking of the power or how a steamer runs, many kids even never saw even a real display engine or one at a theme park, turns out the harder you work a steamer and the more speed you put on it the more draft on the fire so its more like a forge and a hotter fire makes steam better as well as gets the steam drier in the superheater so it expands more, and in turn the faster it runs the cutoff can be used more fully to use even less steam per stroke and lets it more fully use all its power and expantion against the piston before it is exausted up the stack which in turn creates more draft on the fire, as what causes the steam to shoot out the sided when it starts out to get all the condensation out of the cylenders is then closed off with the cylender cocks or valves and then the exaust steam is sent up the stack.
Now it might be harder on the low end for a steamer to start a heavy train but once it gets going it makes more of its peak power and therefore can pull a train it cant start while it is said a diesle electro can start a train that it cant pull as most of its torque is on the low end and depending on the gearing in the 2010s now tops out at a lower rpm and does not have the advantage of a steamer where the more speed and heat you can get into its fuel the more of its peak power it makes. its in a way kind of like a turbine based engine where heated air aids the expantion of gas in this case heated air and fuel which aids the effecentcy of the engine.
This trip from Buffalo was probably 1987. Cause that year 765 had a oscillating mars light above the regular headlight. This was smaller than the one that is equipped on SP 4449 Daylight
Given that he said it was on Conrail, they were heading outta Buffalo on old Erie tracks, and that he'd never ran on the line before, I'd guess '85 at the latest. Those shots from 1987 were of that year's New River Train which clearly never ran on Conrail trackage in New York State. The other shots, I'm unaware of what year they were.
Amazing story
This engine is in my honest opinion. The very symbol of American steam....she's a beauty that'll last forever or at least I hope.
I loved seeing this on the DVD. If 765 was anthropomorphic, I'd say 765 was showing off!!!
Cool Video, I Wished This Was Released on DVD.
It is - click on the link in the video description.
Love the video...long live steam....keep it going.
They Are The Best American Steam Locomotive Drivers In The Universe
Rich…..I always get a kick out of this story. The road foreman sat down and lit up a cigar and didn’t care to hear anymore about Attica Hill. Love it!
Loved the story.
The selling motto from Lima Loco Works was "Power at Speed". Shoulda shown him the better side of 40 Rich, woulda made his cigar taste a bit better.
I Love Steam Locomotive Engineers The Most
A good steamer with a good crew runnin' 'er tends to shave most grades flat. That's what it was designed to do, pull like hell and keep the schedule with a full load on behind the tender, hill or no hill.
Diesels just aren't the same.
Rich Melvin . 765's version of Doyle McCormack
I'm friends with Doyle McCormack!
It's no surprise to me, the early diesels were no match for the Berkshires on the Nickel Plate
If I was the engineer I would have topped it at 38 just to prove a point!
I would have Highballed over the hill😎😁.
there's gonna be a dvd on this?
Superpower at work, Lima built some mighty fine steamers
These locomotives were built to tackle the grades solo or Doublehead on these kind of runs just like the articulated locomotives did with heavy freight. Nothing can stop the power of steam.
That was interesting i liked that
Great story.
Will the 765 do another trip through buffalo again ?
What's the steepest grade 765 has tackled?
looks like they will be hitting attica hill once more this year in 2015 on the trips east, I am sure the road they will be a guest on at least that is what the enginer sitting in the cab at the open house on saturday was saying, cant remember his name but it was around the time fireman zack was sitting there feeding, the fire. I am sure they will not be as supprised this time, as she has done this a few times, what people dont know is that the old fast freight locos like npk 765 is that they make more peak horsepower at a higher speed as opposed to the diesles that have all of it at under 15 mph peak torque, they also dont have as large of wheels which changes the leverage of the power between the two. oh the fellow in the enginer seat also is part of the tech team for the penn T-1 project small world isn't it.
Two questions about the 765 how old is it and what is the maximum Boiler pressure?
765 was built in 1944 and operates at 245 psi boiler pressure.
I need a copy of this dvd but it says it's unavailable
Try this link: fortwaynerailroad.org/giftstore/
The unbelievable power of steam
765 did on Attica hill what its ancestors, the Erie S Class Berkshire certainly did countless times .
Ancestors? More like cousins. The Erie, C&O, PM, NKP, and W&LE 2-8-4’s were all of the same general base design with minor differences between them to suit the needs and preferences of each railroad.
Oh boy!
I'm curious, If Milwaukee road's famous St Paul Pass was still here today, the section of track that had the little joes, could this train run without a diesel through there?
+Gamer Lunatic If I"m reading your comment right, it sounds like the St. Paul Pass hasn't existed for quite a long time. Decades maybe? Depending on when you were talking about, it's quite possible that MIlwaukee Road 261, which is a fairly comparable locomotive to the 765, could have made it. How steep is the pass?
+1993Warbirds You can say that you are right about it being gone for a long time. I bring it up because the pass was mainly electrified and Milwaukee was one of the first companies to make use of electrification for freight travel in America. The electrification ran through the mountains in Idaho and into the west end of Montana. It was electrified as you might have guessed was for improving freight travel in that region as steam operation there was difficult and it got really cold. At that point the little joes took over that region with freight and I assume passenger travel. That being said I'm not debunking that steam was not possible, but was difficult. But I heard, could be a rumor, that the Union Pacific Big boys were able to climb up there to test the free swinging front driving wheels. As for the pass and how steep it is, it can go up to 4% i think
If I remember correctly a 4% grade means that for every 100 feet, you rise 4 feet. This may not sound like much, but it is difficult when a mile long train is being pulled. There are a number of other factors that go into this as well. What is the starting speed at the bottom of the hill. How long is the hill? What is the weight of the train itself excluding the locomotive and the tender. The UP Big Boys I believe could handle a 7% grade or maybe even 8%, but they are exceptions. A 4% grade is about the maximum possible for a non-articulated steam locomotive. Or any modern locomotive for that matter. Milwaukee Road 261 was one of the most powerful non-articulated steam locomotives ever produced. It's certainly within the realm of possibility. But of course, those other questions would have to be answered first.
+1993Warbirds no regular steam locomotive could handle 7 to 8 % grades unless it was one of the geard locomotives like the Shay/ hyster/ climax locomotives. Saluda grade in North Carolina is steep at just over 5% but it's no longer used.
Everything in this video is completely true.
Ya that's right can't believe people don't know what a steam locomotive is any more
A lot of the larger main line steam locomotives actually have more HP than the average modern diesel locomotive.
Yay
Really, the Erie ran steam over that hill years ago with no issues. He must not have listened to the old heads that ran steam back in the day.
Right! I'm a road foreman on a tourist railroad, and the old heads are always like that.
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
hmm just a thought, speaking of hills, I would love to see her hit that 5 1/2 percent hill down in madison indiana its the steepest non short line rail in the usa, even steeper then the killer saluta run a full 20 car run up that grade, see if that gives the 765 a workout, its indiana afterall, there must be some excuse to run an excursion down there isn't there, they did the walbash cannonball to west lafyeete I think.
one thing is for sure I hope they have one ran out of fort wayne as the start of the trip this year I dont feel like going out of state just to ride a trip behind her.
manga12 rejoice they are doing a run from fort wayne this year, according to the schedual
765 wouldn't be good for anything more than about 3-4 cars behind the tender up Saluda if you do the math. 611 nearly stalled with 5 its first time up Saluda. The next time they ran up Saluda with 611, it had 4 behind the tender.
@@FanRailer well 765 has one inch smaller drivers so it would give it a slight bit more traction, but if you want to really know what strain she can handle it was the run on horseshoe curve, it was uphill on a constant turn and a heavy load, that had her topped out and one of the runs they turned the diesel off and took it though the curve under her entire own power, she could have done it but it would have taken too long with them holding the trains up to slug it out at 10 to 15 mph all by herself, the reason for the diesle though was not that she could not do it but they had to streach the fuel out and make it last since they could not just stop any ol where to re water and coal, and had to maintain some speed as its one of the busiest stretches of rail in the world really.
@@manga12 765's boiler pressure is 245 psi vs 611's 300 psi. The drivers being 1 inch less in diameter only matters if the boiler pressures are the same. Rated tractive effort is 64,100 lbs for 765 and 80,000 for 611.
Certified Fresh Vanilla Cakes For Very Very Excellent 🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂
I have the gold railroad spike on nkp railroad
The golden railroad spike is hand made its a hybrid railroad bolt and railroad spike put together
this is fantastic, I love the story from rich Melvin on that road foreman.
Lima Superpower at it's best.
I have a question. Why does the 765 have 2 whistles? I can't seem to figure it out and I was just curious... : /
The second whistle (not mounted on the steam dome) is typically a "guest" whistle.
Ah, thank you.
Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society I know it generates more power at 40 then at slow speeds but what makes this so , the way the wheels are with their size< the valve timing, is it the drought on the fire, what is the reason that makes it be so?
Manga, why are you posting this as a reply in MY comment feed?
well I saw that the historical socity responded to your question so it was to them.
The steepest railroad grade is Soldier Summit
The steepest mainline railroad in the U.S. is in Madison Indiana. Just over 5%.
5.89%.
I thought Saluda was the steepest.
I Am Never Pressing The UA-cam Video Dislike Button Forever
Thats right the ol road formen don't need to wright checks that his a.. cant cash😑👍👍👍
1% hill
Diesel: shakes in it's frames.
765: first time?
I wonder if European rails can handel 765's weight 🤔🤔
Wish all the steam train engines was all repaired working n running again that's ma dream job n as A get older n the years goes by ma dream job is slowly disappearing cause soon A will be old enough ta retire n never get ta do ma dream job
With out a gold railroad spike your not making history unless you have a gold railroad spike the golden railroad spike is the most important part of railroad history
Power wasn't steam problem
Proof the Roadforman hasn’t run trains in years and learn a valuable lesson. Listen to the people who do the job regularly not your tapes or book.
Steam rules diesel drools.
Lmao Silly Road Foremen
Sounds like the road foreman on the tourist railroad that I work for in Oregon. He's pretty irritating. He was like that the first time that I ran with him. Turns out he's like that with everyone I work with. He's just a curmudgeonly old road foreman who is about 80 years old. Thankfully he retired a couple of years ago. I'm now the acting road foreman, and I'm 25 years old.
yeah its so strong that most video show a diesel behind it. LOL They run excursions with this and always have diesels attached to show how weak it is....
Thanks for your curious input, but the 765 didn't run a single excursion with a diesel behind it in 2014.
1870-
Obviously, you're a model railroader so naturally I suspect your an automatic expert on real railroading practices. So, it's needless to say that one of the main reason diesels are tacked on behind steamers is for dynamic braking and are seldom used as helpers. I don't need to explain that principle to you because you know everything already. That being said, could kindly explain how the 765 is weak for taking advantage of modern braking capabilities?
If I'm correct, the FRA has regulations about power relative to the size of the train
and I believe they also use them for the steam-generators.
it is also a matter of safety, incase it breaks down for any reason, you dont want to tie up rail traffic with something that is a guest on their railroad, and the fact is that even on the horseshoe curve runs in 2013 that was only to save fuel since they had to go double the distance they normaly do, that they had to run the diesel on behinde her, and she did actually pull the curve unaided on at least one trip which is slightly uphill like a .5 degree grade around it, as well as being a bit longer train then normal.
The truth is that on the mainline back in her days on the nickle plate till she was retired from freight, she would pull 100 cars on friction bearings back then, and makes peak horsepower at top end speed compaired to a diesle that is on the low end of the spectram, now the cars were half as big back then but still today that is like at least a half mile long train unaided and at road speed, it takes two diesles to do even that and its a real strain for them even with the 4300 hp ge locos with the six trucks on each axle to pull a mile long train today with just two locomotives, I have seen it myself it was a slow go, and they usually pull fairly fast though the auburn junction area though there can be speed restrictions too, but these locos took forever to get any acceleration and were straining to pull the mile long train about 105 cars give or take is the length of modern cars per mile.
1870Logger The diesel sometimes found in the lash up is not there for pulling power. It isn't there in case the steamer breaks down either. No one in their right mind would suspect a steam engine as meticulously restored and maintained by the people that own her to break down. The diesel is there to provide steam heat and electrical power for the passenger cars. It is also there because the older steam engine's signaling system does not comply with the current system that the diesel has. I can think of very few operating steamers that are as strong as 765 or as well maintained.
Steam engines may spend a lot of service time in the shop but once thay get fired up thay mean business 765 proves that diesels are pieces of shit and are not real trains