#40 Slips on the Grade - Then Attacks!!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 7 лип 2024
- During New Hope Railroad's steam-powered Fall Foliage trains, 2-8-0 #40 almost loses it going up the grade out of Buckingham, PA. Then the locomotive slips more - and more!! The engineer fights it - watch to see what happens next!!!
Excellent strategy from the engineer! There’s always a solution to problems as long as logic and patience are not overwhelmed by panic.
Indeed, he did a great job!
Don't let this struggle fool you. #40 is a fantastic puller. I worked at NH&I for 4 years in the early 2000s. On a Sunday in October of 2002, I was the "Trainman" on the Fall Foliage trip to Warminster. We had 2198 7087 in push pull with 1096, 1220, 1505, and 1202 as our consist. Both diesels were not in good health and we limped into Lahaska on our last legs. 40 was on the regular train with 1430, 1424, 1127, and 4907 as consist. We combined our trains for the run home. 40 struggled not a lick getting us up the hill to Lower Mountain road but put on a fantastic show. In my opinion, the finest performance of throttle and scoop I ever saw. 40's crew that day was Pete Bransky engineer and the late great William Sherrick as fireman. I remember Tommy Marion was on 2198 but I sadly cannot remember his brakeman. Good memories!!!
I agree, I know it's a great puller. It's rare to have it happen with this locomotive. If you see my other video from this day (posted on Friday), you'll see it pulled (and pushed) great the rest of the day.
I worked in the Carpenter shop full time back in 2006-2007 and had a large hand in the rebuild of the 1st class car. I also spent some time in train service Firing #40. Best memories of my life. Glad she’s still running.
She's doing pretty good now!!
Engineer knew what he was doing. Long time experience!
Indeed he did know!
I rode this train just two days earlier. What a great day outdoors! The train was beautiful, the crew was amazing and the service was great!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I worked in New Hope Pennsylvania in 1968 and part of 1969. As hard as it is to believe this steam train at least the engine and tender were stolen. I worked at Moorehead Chevrolet on route 202 just outside of town towards Lahaska. A mechanic named Nick came to work one morning and said to me, boss I thought I was late for work today. I said no you seem fine to me and he said well I sat straight up in bed when I heard the whistle for the train. The train started to run at 9 AM in the morning at that time and when he heard the whistle he presumed he was late for work. It was I think he said 2 AM in the morning. It’s reasonable to assume that a few of the younger people in the area who hung around the train station and the repair shop probably threw a couple shovels full of coal in the banked firebox, build up a little steam and started the train on its way. Now for those who know New Hope and that train track area you do know that it has to cross the east and westbound lanes of Route 202 and had flashing lights at the crossing, at least it did then. The train went a few miles down the track and then ran out of steam and that’s where they found it. What a wild town New Hope Pennsylvania was and probably is, I live in Western Pennsylvania now and I miss places like New Hope. My three year old son called the train the Hope Choo Choo.
Edited for spelling error
That railroad doesn’t cross 202. It was probably a late night freight run
@@blw58824
I didn’t take into consideration that they built a new bridge between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, thereby moving route 202 over the new bridge north of the old route 202 that went through Lambertville and of course New Hope. I see that it’s marked 179 now and E. Bridge St. going over the old bridge into Lambertville.
When that was called route 202 the lanes were split and the train had to cross both streets and the streets were separated by homes or businesses. The train was not making a late night freight run at 2 AM. When you find a train a couple miles down the tracks sitting there, no engineer, what freight do you think was involved?
If you don’t remember route 202 going through new Hope and into Lambertville then you are a youngster.
Edit. Do you remember when there were shows in New Hope and they starred female impersonators from New York? They were advertised that way on the marquee. I dealt with these people they were very nice they were very kind and sometimes they would come into the dealership where I work in drag or half of their make up on.
The train was back on schedule, Sir Toppham hat was pleased.
Before or after they pulled Percy out of the drink?
@@stepvanjoe3469 When my boy was little it always cracked me up when he would try to say "Percy". It came out completely different. 🤣
Oh my... LOL
One of the best railfan vids I've seen.
Thank you very much!!
New Hope and Ivyland. Beautiful names
40 and her crew handed the wet grade very well! Also that was nice stalk talk as well!
Indeed they did!
Now that's an engineer who knows what he's doing.
Most definitely!
That's an engineer who wishes he had functional rear sanders.
Jim, this is some great “storytelling.”
Shoulda dropped sand on the way south the first time. Wouldn’t of had to shove south and try again.
Wasn’t raining on the way down there and we had no issues with the first trip of the day. I did lay sand for the southbound move on the next trip.
40's a strong determined little consolidation. Keep in mind she's 1 month short from her 95th birthday. Good work from the crew too
Oh hey Thunderbolt, nice to see you.
I hear they are pulling her off the tracks again. No Christmas 🎄 Steam!
Where did you hear that from? She's running fine for Christmas from what I can tell. Maybe you're thinking of another RR?
Awesome! The sound and echo, then the whistle in the distance. Beautiful.
Thank you!!
A skilful first attempt, but in the end a wise decision to go back down sanding, ready for a second attempt.
We were riding the train at Disney and it started raining. The train stopped at one of the depots on an uphill grade. It could not get moving again. After several attempts,it backed up and got a run on the hill, and was able to get up the hill.
That would have been cool to see!!
This was a great watch! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
#40: "I think I can, I think i can..."
"I think I can, I think i can..." Love that cadence, that march up the grade.
I'm so happy to see this comment... I know I can! I know I can!!
Great video! Thank you! 👏👏👏
Glad you liked it!
Excellent train crew. They got the job done. Thanks for sharing!👍
Yes they did! You're welcome!
Great video! Smart engineer. With running backwards, the locomotives pushing as well as pulling. With no reverse sandes, it was a very tough pull up that grade. Great work by the crew.
They indeed did very well!
I believe sand can be applied to the track remotely from a reserve supply on the train. However not all conditions are right for this approach. The crew of the #40 did it on the second try. Great video.
This is the first I'm hearing of this capability...
Shays at Cass Scenic Railroad run water on the front wheels to cut down friction. They climb an 11% grade at one point. Third steepest rail line in the world.
Yeah. I recall a Cass engineer talking about that. But also shay locomotives can climb grades like that because they are very torquey. Climax locomotives product the most torque. Shay is next.
@ss ss don’t forget the heisler locomotives too. Class has a heisler too
"All it takes is determination and a little practice!" (Mrs. Mooley)
Maybe problem was the Engine was reversed and the sand went after the Drive Wheels instead of before. I don't know but glad she made the grade.
#40 sure is a nice looking little engine! Good job handling her and the train.
It sure is!
Great video well shot why doesn't railway have a rack and pinion to get up the gradient.
LOL it's not that much of a gradient, it was just a slippery rail condition once the rain started. No rain, no problems.
Nice work by the engineer,
Indeed!
Nice train in a wonderful landscape, great video, thank you! Best Regards from Germany, Railherbie
Thank you very much!
I sure like that whistle.
As do I!
Lovely film - the sylvan setting, the locomotive, the train, the action. That is what steam railroading was all about.!
Very much so - thanks for the nice words!
Well done by the Engine crew to get the train going and keep the schedule. The track in that area looks like it could use some love to smooth out the grade some.
Thanks 👍
This was a lot of fun. Lovely scenery!
Glad you enjoyed it!!
Good running. As an engineer myself I’ll tell ya that when the sand is running low you have to get inventive and problem solve.
Indeed. The sand wasn't running low though, there's only a sander in front of the driving wheels, not behind.
great thinking by the engineer!
As you can see in the first clip of 40 you can seen her wheels were slipping
Awesome Railfan video ! Great 🚂👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you very much!
Ooh yeah. I love the sound of a real bell banging down the rails. None of that e-bell stuff now!
Love the sound if train horns.
Reminds me the time when this happened to 611 on a excursion in 2016.
611 will slip on dry rails going downhill with a tail wind. Hard to control that kind of steam power. Diesel guys don’t realize how easy they have it.
That's what I was thinking too
@@ClockworksOfGL for sure
Me and my wife were on that 611 run, we also had an emergency issue we had to stop and get a passenger off ASAP to a hospital. It was a long run but still fun
@@sharkyfish3492 jeez
Very cool! Great Video!
Thank you very much!
Fantastic video!
Thank you very much!
Love that whistle!
Me too!
Good piece of railroad engineering. Next time boiler forward!
If only there was a place on the line to turn the locomotive, then yes!!
Experienced a similar situation in Md 2004 Cumberland excursion to Frostberg.. Overnite frost on the rails. They backed down.. Dropped off the cars and ran forward sanding the grade in to Frostberg then came back and picked up the cars.
Must have been fun!
Great video awesome work
Thank you! Cheers!
Super film!
Thank you!!
Its not just the rain...its the leaves
I think this is the train I was on. The 1:45 fall foliage train on the 25th. It was pretty great to hear 40 as she struggled up the grade and finally made it after reversing getting some speed to make it.
It was worth sticking around for, that's for sure!
Did they take you to Wycombe?
@@samanthab1923 unfortunately no. They went to none such farm and back.
Fermit The Krog Oh wow 😳 that's still better than just Lahaska! Beautiful ride with a pumpkin 🎃
@@samanthab1923 any ride on the railroad is a good one. But yeah you're right. It was fun to go further with 40
if they invested even a 1/2 day worth of labor on the track, the excitement could be avoided. I have seen less undulations in sand dunes.
This wasn't due to any issues with the track but because the tracks were covered with leaves and water. Also the locomotive was running backwards so the Sanders couldn't help much.
very intresting! i remeber riding 425 from port clinton to jim thrope once and it kept wheel slipping due to wet rails from the rain storm, we were in port clinton for about 10 minutes behind schedule,it was the smae situation as this.
Interesting!
Love it.
Thanks!
Wow!
I tip my cap to the fine crew. 🧢
A fine crew indeed!
I live 10 minutes away from new hope
What is the gradient 1/60
They need some rail adhesion trains to prevent slip slide
Nah not on this line... LOL
That was awesome
Thanks!
Nice Video
Good idea to run back downgrade laying sand, increasing the adhesion to the rails.
Go , little Steamer , go ! :-)
Jim I can picture the same scenario going over Kladder Hill with Number 11 if the conditions are right
Hold my beer, watch this.
Ein Liebes Video toll gemacht weiterhin good Lucky Train 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃
This is how they delt with this like this.Because there were times an extra locomotives were not available. Some times they had to split the train in two scetions.
Fortunately nothing that drastic was needed here!!
Cool
nice video
Thanks!!
Looks like the leaves had already transitioned anyway.
In some places, yes. But there was a fair amount hanging on. The fact that it was cloudy/rainy for the most part didn't help bring out the remaining colors that day.
Alright everyone off it's time to push
I think I can! I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!
Pretty much!!
That's what is going on in my head
This train has Cinderella's whistle and number 90s Bell.
awesome video.like
Big thanks!!
I'm just curious, that diesel powered train you meantioned in the video, is that a gurenteed connection
Not a connecting train. Just was a different scheduled tourist train, which was scheduled to meet #40 and her train at one of the two run-around points/sidings on the railroad.
@@Bigjimvideo did #40 make it that day after the trouble on the hill?
@@katerinakittycat3849 We moved the meet from Deer Park to Lahaska. Thanks to a good staff onboard the train we were able to leave with the 3:45pm trip on time. So even with the delay at this spot we were able to hold the schedule between the two trains for the remainder of the day.
Great job guys no need for the diesel after all.
Nope, not needed this time!
Wow, how steep is the grade?
I'm not sure, TBH...
My only complaint is I wish the videographer had been in a better position to view the loco’s wheelslip. But, I understand the moment picks the artist. Otherwise, fantastic video!
Yeah I know - I kept thinking that I should have gotten into better position, but I kept thinking the engineer was surely going to catch it this time and get going - and that's what I wanted, to see that moment when he got a hold of it and got going. So I kept stopping to pick a new spot, it ended up being behind the locomotive/train, so I couldn't get a good angle on wheelslip...
When was this filmed?
Sunday, October 25, 2020 - it's literally right there within the first 10 seconds of video...
@@Bigjimvideo oops now I feel stupid...didn't notice
I suspect that this was not the engineer's first day on the job!
Very much not!! He's a pro here.
Im going on the spooky train ride today
I hope you enjoyed it!
I did it was more aggressive than I thought
So there was no sand on the first attempt. Where did the sand come from the second attack? Was it because the loco was turned around backwards?
There's only a sandpipe in front of the drivers - not behind for backing up. So on the first attempt, there was no way to put sand down in the direction they were going, from the cab. The engineer thought he could keep it going on his own, and nearly did - but when they started backing down the hill and the engine was moving forward, they laid sand down for the locomotive to use on the second attempt in reverse.
If it was the first day on the job for the engineer then he didn't want to look incompetent. If it was the last day before retirement he didn't want to go home with a failure hanging heavily on his conscience. Both ways good.
It was neither! This was an experienced hogger...
6:50 40: I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!
#Imsocheezy
What’s the max gradient on this line
I wish I knew, tried to look it up, but I'd have to ask someone.
SAND SAND AND MORE SAND !!
i guess letting the passengers get out and push would spoil it.
Kinda - plus it was a little slippery too... LOL
LEt's vote for heritage railroads to push trains, too, and have cargo traffics, and be stronger.
time to set up a rail grinder and remove the slickness of the rails on the grades.. a nice non directional finish should be enough to increase traction .. those tracks also need to have the roadbed repaired.. so the drivers are not loading and unloading during the uphill.. counting out how many new ties are needed for the uphill grade areas and creating a donation box.. or a coin operated candy/gumball machine.. use candys not gumballs.. less under counter cleanups.. to collect new tie donations..
What would one new tie and its placement cost. How many ties need to be replaced? Might be a good place to start on the project.
@@rlewis1946 in what i see they come about 250 ties per truckload.. no pricing without a call and that will vary on location. used ties are available.. but who knows if they will last.. but the gravel roadbed is what needs the most help.. a flat car.. with a backhoe or excavator as a hydraulic power unit.. some hydraulic cylinders from tractor scrap yards.. some creative machine work.. could allow the hydraulics to lift the track slightly under the middle of the long flat car.. so the ties could be pulled.. the gravel worked .. ties reinstalled and the track set back down and respiked.
Maybe if all the passengers got out and pushed...
Normally they would have them do that but the camera was watching.
Nooo no. I've never heard of a tourist train (at least in the US) doing that. Although I was tempted to...decided against it, didn't want to upset the wrong people... :P
Why was engine in reverse
That's how they chose to run it. Plus there's nowhere on the line to turn the locomotive and face the opposite direction.
Why is the locomotive pulling backwards?
Probably because there is no way to turn the locomotive at the end of the line.
Makes sense
Indeed, nowhere to turn the locomotive anywhere along the line to face the opposite direction.
How come the engine is facing the other way? Did it not get a chance to turn around at a switch track. Also if the Engine was a 2-8-2 wouldn't the 2 trailing rear wheels perform better at grades. None the less great work by the crew and those are beautiful coaches.
It's a 2-8-0 - also, nowhere to turn around on the entire railroad. It could run around the train at an earlier siding, but they chose not to for these excursions.
If they run tender-first a lot, I wonder why they don't fit sanders acting on the rear drivers
Because they don't normally deal with those sorts of grades going in reverse on their normal trip length, to Lahaska and back. Because they went further than Lahaska for these trips, to the Buckingham Valley area, then they had to deal with these grades in reverse...
Why wasn't it going faster from the beginning?
Short scenic tour trip.
The rails weren't that wet or slippery on the way out, so the engineer didn't think it would be as much of a problem as it became on the way back.
Who thought it was a good idea to remove the rear sand pipes?
Not sure it had them to begin with, it's not a switching locomotive.
@@Bigjimvideo that makes no sense. 40 had sanders that went to the rear drivers. At some point they were removed.
@@blw58824 Removed in 2010, I won't throw the guy under the bus that removed 'em but maybe one day new ones will appear.
So why didn't he just lay sand while shoving down from Lahaska? Seems like some time and effort could have been saved by doing so
Because the prior trips had no problems, and it wasn’t really raining until he started heading back from Buckingham on that trip.
SHOULD HAVE MADE EVERYBODY GET OUT AND PUSH
Just like in trouble with mud from Thomas and friends.
I’d have sent some kid out to throw sand at the wheels 😂
Would have been a nice option, especially if there was no schedule to meet...
So why didn't they sand the rails in the first place instead of screwing around spinning out for 10 minutes? Makes no sense. If you know you are going to have a problem, take care of it right away
The engine was going in reverse. The sand is dropped in front of the drivers when its going forward.
Additionally, it wasn't really raining or slippery on the way down, and it hadn't rained on prior runs. The rain came rather quickly and hard enough to get it slippery on the way back.
WHY is the engine on backwards? Facing forward, the sanders would work as designed!
There's nowhere along the line to turn the locomotive to face the opposite way...
why don't the passengers get out and push?
LOL - it's a little slippery out there and I don't think the RR wanted any passenger accidents :P
Why not just get down with a bag of sand and apply by hand / shovel. What we do in the UK on heritage lines
Because the engineer thought he could handle the train without having to stop, get up there, get sand from the dome, get down, lay the sand down in front of the train, then try to get it moving again. If you notice, he never fully stopped until the decision was made to back up and make a run for it.