At about 11:40 just as the train was clearing the curve and before Glenbrook yelled 'BANZAI!!!' and took off I suddenly realized what "little engines" meant. The coaches are _enormous_ in comparison. Cumbres Pass may have eventually won that battle but ye gads it must have been worried when Glenbrook sang her fight song. Thank you for sharing and thank you Nick for the firsthand account. We need the story of the dinner train now please. :)
Easily one of my favorite styles of old steam, looove the pre-1900 stuff C: the ornate detailing, the way they run, the beauty of it, it's all just stunning and I can only hope I can get out west to see one of them in person someday!
@rescues_greyhounds you aren't the first person to say that, but I dunno... I can be a whole idiot by myself. Might throw off the balance of the show! 😂
Very cool story! If I may, I’d suggest keeping this format going. Not only telling your own stories, but every once in a while bringing a guest in to share one of their stories as well. It’s a great way to share additional perspectives and new stories. As always, great content and looking forward to more!
Also, the fact that CoS is being written by people whose feeling about stories like this is "This is so cool; I want to create a game to share what it's like to do this," really says a lot positive about CoS too.
Everybody Wooping, hollering and all because an 1875 steam locomotive managed to pull not just her train but push her sick cousin up A 4 and a 1/2 % grade It makes me proud
22:00 Uhh... Holy smokes! That is simply an incredible display! A gorgeous, ornate 1875 wood-burner, rocking side to side like it's in a cartoon, with exhaust beat that sound like shotguns firing. Simply incredible. What a display of what these old engines could do.
Everyone got excited when 4014 helped the stalled freight a while back, and it made some impressive sounds, but there's NOTHING like these old grandma locomotives giving it 110%, every single last ounce of tractive effort and steam those wood fired boilers can churn out, what a sound!
I LOVE how Glenbrook took that and ran and helped Eureka up the grade all by herself, what a seriously cool story this was, I NEED to hear about thr Dinner Train incident. Hearing a locomotive down a chuff is such a interesting noise. The engineer waving his lantern basically say "OPEN THE THROTTLE PLEASEEEEEE"
Not gonna lie, Cumbres & Toltec is the best place for any old classic steam locomotives like Glenbrook, 315, RGS 20, Eureka and etc. One day I'm might visit there this summer.
A lot of people don't understand that these are built for this. Back then, someone clocked in and ran these with a heavy ass train for 10-12 hours a day. These were and still are iron workhorses.
Really neat to see machines this old giving it 110%. Often in preservation, the mindset of "preserving" your locomotive comes into play and sometimes people don't run them this hard much anymore in 2024, so this was neat to watch!
That single triumphant toot from Glenbrook after shoving the Eureka up the grade is the most victorious toot to ever toot. I love those two engines and hope to get a chance to see them tackle the grade in person one day.
I was the fireman on the 315/425 that came up the hill that day to rescue the train. That was the fastest that locomotive probably has ever been. That was definitely a day to remember out of a fun and exhausting week.
I remember being there when you and Jeff arrived. He's such a hot rod engineer. You almost fell out of the cab from exhaustion. I could tell it was hard work, but you loved it. I remember thinking how jealous I was that this was your "job". I didn't want to leave the action at Cresco, but I wish I could've seen y'all barreling up the hill. If you know anyone with footage, I'd love to see.
You have to remember that 20 is a T-19 and has more TE than Glenbrook and Eureka COMBINED. She alone could do it and 491 would just run up the hill like "Wait I have a train behind me?"
I can now understand why the Big K’s (K-36, K-37) are preferred on Cumbres Pass. Such brutes of narrow gauge locomotives. Props to the crew of the Glendbrook and Eureka for giving it the old college try up one of the biggest grades in Colorado. Love it!
@susanlua4792 ah well that explains it. Shop talk, talk among employees or members of a blue collar organization. These places are often called workshops, or just "shops" The type of people who work those jobs are often very not PC. Even if/when they may be respectful to different people, they're still not very pc lol
18:20 They actually did something similar in an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. They loosened the screw couplers to give it slack and picked up the cars one at a time. The narrator explained it to the audience as it was happening. Crazy that a children's show had such a thing imo. Didn't even consider it with knuckle couplers. Good stuff.
I'm still a bit unclear on what happened to Eureka, so the blower pipe fell over, does that mean it just started dumping steam out of the boiler? I would've assumed the valve for the blower was in the cab, so the pipe breaking wouldn't do much unless you needed the blower, and I can't imagine she needed the blower particularly much working up that grade, did the loose pipe go and break something else? what am I missing here
@@Hyce777 this. Whilst trying to build pressure while standing, the fallen blower was just creating positive pressure in the smokebox and negating any draft there was, which meant they couldn't make any headway in rebuilding pressure.
Oh absolutely they needed that blower going up that grade. The blower, recanting on my knowledge, is meant to induce a draft and therefore deliver both more steam to the cylinders by increasing the fire temperature. The blower pipe being knocked over meant that the opposite was pretty much happening, it sounds like as said above me.
Speaking of backing down against the handbrakes and giving it a good yank to start the train, Ive done that with 3 SD70's trying to move a switching cut. In the yard I was in, its downhill to the west, and we were on the east end trying to pull a cut of 108 cars up to make a cut on about 40 to switch. With 3 SD70's online, we couldn't get the cut to move. There was usually at least 5 handbrakes on the downhill end. I tried and tried but it wouldn't budge. My conductor said he was about to take off walking. I said hold on a min, let me try something. I eased of the independent and let gravity take me until I felt those brakes. I then came out on the throttle and gave it hell. My old head conductor was impressed to see 108 cars start moving, with 3 SD70's wide open, screaming for all they had. Sitting in 8, less than 2 miles and hour with the amp gauge bouncing off the needle maybe wasn't the best thing to do, but by golly I got that train to move 40 cars to the cut!
Have a similar story with a pair of 38's doing something waaaaaay outside their wheelhouse of a tonnage rating. But hey. It sure beats 30 minutes of walking.
Great story. Little Engines and Big Men was a wonderful read for me, I believe by the time a I read the book, it was already out of print. I do wish it would be reprinted, I would definitely like to add it to my personal library.
Correction: Glenbrook was able to haul up an average of 6 loaded flatcars in her Tahoe days. Edit: not trying to downplay anyone's skills or actions. Just felt an impulsive need to bring that up. Fantastic video.
Thanks for the correction- I tried looking for the photo I had to verify before we started filming, but couldn't find it. Biggest difference between "home rails" and Cumbres Pass is the grade. Far more difficult to move that train on continuous 4.5% than on 2.4-ish% with short sections of 4%. That stall happened with the bar in the corner and the throttle wide open, just under pop- that was all she wrote.
@@nickhovey261Fair enough. This was a great story I never heard anything about. It's cool to know how Glenbrook really took charge that day. Surely it was a valuable learning experience for everyone involved.
It's always such a treat and a joy to see these grand old ladies in action. And I can definitely understand why Eureka was starting to struggle while Glenbrook fought on. Dan Markoff (Eureka's current owner) is a bit cautious about how often Eureka runs, as she still retains her original lap-seam boiler from 1875. It's definitely got some miles on it, which makes those old lap seams weak. We had a similar issue at Railtown when our No. 3 went in for her 1.2 million dollar restoration, where we ultimately went and had a brand-new boiler made with welded seams in order to fully preserve the original 1891 boiler, as the alternative would've been to drastically modify the original to strengthen the lap seams. It's an FRA rule, one that I am uncertain as to if it has any jurisdiction over narrow gauge equipment. Might be a question Hyce can answer. It's also why the Inyo retains her original boiler while the 3-Spot had to have a new one installed, because Railtown's excursions have to operate on an active freight railroad (Sierra Northern, the current form of the original Sierra Railway), while the Inyo gets to freely run around on a nice private loop around the NSRM to her heart's content. Speaking of the NSRM, it's worth pointing out that, like the 3, Glenbrook has a brand-new boiler. I can't remember if it used the old school lap seams or welded seams, but given that she has a new-ish boiler and is a 2-6-0 rather than a 4-4-0, Glenbrook is basically going to get the entire train and Eureka up as far as she can come Hell or High Water.
I believe it was 1981 when the No 2 (152) of the Huckleberry RR was being finished with a retubing over the winter; it was a few days late and the season started with using No 3 (a 15-ton 2-6-0 with 33-inch drivers) and No 1 (a GE 25 tonner) on the head end of a 10-car passenger train. After successfully running for a few trips, one of the gaskets in the branch pipe in the front end blew killing the draft anytime the throttle was opened. I was the track crew foreman then and was pulled to run the No 1 while the Supervisor fired No 3 and the regular train engineer ran No 3. I wound up pulling the train and pushing No 3 so No 3 was the whistle until we could finish the day and get the gasket replaced overnight. Strange time.
Spectacular story and video! And even though in the end the Glenbrook did have to end up backing down from the grade and there may have been a look of disappointment amongst the crew, I would say it was a very successful trip regardless! We got to witness pre 1900’s steam locomotives giving their all, and that in and of itself is a wonderful experience.
I remember that day very well. The whole event was amazing. I was trackside at Cresco for this "dilemma", watching the whole thing unfold. I was up around the engines most of the time. I remember, when the Eureka was having problems and Stathi thought it might have been bad wood and we all started scouring the undergrowth for alternatives. They even briefly considered how they might chop up an old tie by the water tank to get pieces into the fire box. When you mentioned that this video from engineerguy20 was the only one you could find, my wife will tell you that I almost jumped out of my seat with excitement and started checking all my videos. And as luck would (or would not) have it, that very moment is just about the only thing I didn't get on video. I even remember calling my dad while standing there trackside, telling him what was going on. For context, my father is a retired engineer of almost 50 years from UP and several steam railroads, including Heber Valley, Texas state, and FWWR. As a teenager, I even had the pleasure of working with him to help restore 1744 when it was going to the Gulf Coast Railroad. Long before it ended up at Niles Canyon. He told me that day on the phone that they should "load up the breaks on the last car, take the slack in the couplers in, and get started that way so they can get moving before everything is pulled tight. And sure enough, I had no idea that's what Stathi was already doing. The only other thing I wish I had seen is Jeff flying up the hill in 425 to come to the rescue. When they got there, the fireman almost fell out of the cab and flopped on the ground, he was so exhausted. I always loving being there when Jeff is the engineer. He's such a hot rod-er. Coincidently, I did also chase the almost midnight dinner train you were on with 425 and 168. I got a lot of great shots of that run, including that rocket of a start at Cresco after topping off water. With red-hot cinders spewing out of the smoke stack in the black night. I'd be happy to share if you're interested. Also curious, don't suppose you and/or Nick will be at C&T for the friends photo charter with 463 in Aug? My dad and I will be there.
18:45 Oh my god! This is the first I've seen this footage. I feel like a proud father. I grew up in Reno through the 70's-80's and seeing the Glenbrook at the Museum a lot was a part of that. It really is the Little Engine That Could. Oh and I believe the steepest part of any of the Grade that Glenbrook and Tahoe(#20) ever saw on their original alignments was just shy of 3%.
Also what was the issue with the Eureka, because they must have been able to still get a decent amount of pullingpower out of it. I mean that if it were only capable of pulling its own weight up the hill or less then the Glenbrook would have stalled before the water stop. Or is this a case of the engine can pull the train but it aint starting it on its own. (I'm thinking: after the waterstop, just get Eureka to pull as much as is safe with its defect to get started, then manage Reg and JohnBar so it only pulls itself or a little more- with Glenbrook RRO-ing it.) Could this have been an option or is my lack of knowing much technical things showing here?
It sounds like they got behind on pressure, and then without the draft of working at speed due to the stall, they couldn't get more pressure because lack of draft. They could put some power down for sure, but not near the amount they needed to. I don't know how low they got, but, it must've been a fair bit down.
That clip of the two engines coming around the “State Line Curve”, reminded me of watching the Thomas the Tank Engine 4th season story “You Can’t Win”.
@@nickhovey261 and the clip when they backed the train into the last car to create slack to get the train the last few feet to have Glenbrook’s tender fill hatch in line with the water tower reminded me of “Edward’s Exploit” from the second season.
Hearing a story about steam engines over coming obstacles makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Reminds me a little of Edward's Exploit from The Railway Series, but better.
This was an amazing recounting of perhaps one of the best displays of modern steam railroading in recent memory! There was a lot of footage I had actually not seen until now, especially the clips of Glenbrook trying her hand at soloing Cresco. I think it is undeniable that she put on a stupendous show unlike anything else. How I hope to see this little Mogul one day, she’s got the bite to match her bark!
I’ve learned so unbelievably much out of this video. Please upload more like this! Also the zuma replica and the eureka would look so cute together lol
Your videos are always fantastic! It really made my father's day. And is good as your videos are, the music at the end is unbelievably good! I listen to every note, every time.
Hahaha don't tell me these old girls aren't alive. I can just imagine Glenbrook sitting there going "well, I suppose it's time to show these young'ns how it's done...... old iron indeed" *cracks joints*
This put the biggest smile on my face. Holy crow! As soon as you said "old school railroading" I knew where this was going. That was absolutely incredible!
i just noticed at 19:14 (after watching again with nice headphones) that you can hear eureka chuffing in the background of glenbrooks grunts of shoving her ass up the hill.
Here’s a clip of NKP 765 doing exactly what Nick and Mark are talking about with the Glenbrook, rocking back and forth. The sound is just… *chefs kiss* amazing. ua-cam.com/video/WjEzExukNMs/v-deo.htmlsi=8Q5XHoWg_CSaAp2a
That was an amazing story, and some incredible stack talk. At the risk of triggering the Thomas fans out there, this was less Edward pushing Gordon chanting "I will do it, I will do it!" and more Glenbrook just swearing and cussing up a storm back there, like "F*** Eureka, Move your fat a**! F***ing move it, F***ing move it!"
I was there during the first 2 days of the Iron Horse Roundup, it was a fun event! I later heard of what happened to the Eureka and Glenbrook in the days following the event, but never knew WHAT exactly transpired. Wish I could've been there to see/hear the Glenbrook power up the grade like it did, quite literally the little engine that could.
Hyce. You're way too upbeat. I live in Los Angeles And I aspire to B as upbeat as you. Do you guys need some assistance or would like to hire? I am a welder, US Army vet welder, And would love for nothing more than 2 go to work at something. I love. Especially since I live in Los Angeles... Great video.
Meanwhile Tallstar (warrior cats turned locomotive) is a K-49, he probably would've been able to tow both the old timers and those three cars up the grade without breaking a sweat
On a somewhat related point. I learned and also had to do it once. If your car's automatic transmission get stuck engaged in gear as in the torque converter gets locked up, or if your car has a clutch and the clutch will not release the same idea should work. Some how you have to get the car moving, on a slight hill is best if you are alone. Once it is moving a bit and then put in it gear from neutral or a clutch car, force it in gear. Now in my case it was a automatic on and the torque converter stuck on. I had to circle around a few times till the traffic light where this happened. I had to was time it so I did not have to stop the car on a hill the wrong way. Problem was I had several traffic lights and stops signs before getting home but if I got close I could park it and walk the rest of the way. So that left me with at least 3 traffic lights. Well the first on was not on a hill and the next two slightly possible. So I was coming to the traffic light and it was going red and no way did I wan to be be stuck at the light, so I pulled to the edge of the road and had to slow do a lot and had to stop. Once it changed I started the engine put it in gear and it moved a little and stalled, started it again while the car was moving and after about three stalls it kept running and I made it through that light and the next 2 and parked the car about a 1/2 mile from home and walked home. It took two or more days before that torque converted released and let me drive it normal. I learned of the electric connection for it and un-plugged it and ran it for a few month like that till I junked the car.
That was some old-school railroading right there, straight out of a memoir. The dance, the angry bark, totally at the limit. Glenbrook shows that the #mogulcult is alive and well.
I'm sure the Zuma will handle that grade just fine. Juuuuuuust fine. Fine. yeah... Really, the Glenbrook was always pulling the train, the Eureka was only pulling the Glenbrook. Next time add the Zuma to pull the Eureka.😀 I used to think books such as "Little Engines and Big Men" were only interesting reads. It took me a while to realize how important stories from other steam engineers really are. While they can be fun, there are a lot of important lessons to be learned from the troubles of others and how they dealt with them. Engineers writing about their bad days in publications such as "Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Magazine" and "Railroad Gazette Magazine" undoubtedly saved a lot of time, frustration, and probably lives.
Modern zoomy will have about a sneeze more T.E. than the eureka. It'll be interesting for sure. lol. By my math she's good for one full size coach and one half coach (be it a caboose, or if we build one of the two axle doots) up that hill by herself at her modern updating. Lol
@@FuelFire Twin Turbo's and NOS. Or the Wankel Rotary the gang wants to hide in the tender. Being serious though: I don't catch enough Montezuma Monday's, but given the equations for TE I'd assume most of that gain will be from being able to run at a higher boiler pressure with newer stronger materials. Higher Pressure equals more beans.
If you watched a few episodes back in derail valley I talked about part of my own mental health journey about a lot of the things that frustrate me about it. I'm pretty much over it all.
This story was hell of a watching experience. Great fight against "THE HILL", advanced yee olde techniques to get the ass moving and on- just amaizing. For those in preservation- one situation of the lifetime moment!
Hi Mark, that was a fantastic story. And to hear it from one of the guys in the cab was ultra cool!!! Seeing the footage of old school railroading right out of the Little Engines book was like watching history come alive! I recall seeing the getting started on hill video but didn’t fully comprehend its significance until now. WOW-brought tears of joy to my eyes! I wish to add that Glenbrook and Eureka are absolutely beautiful choo choos! Like they’ve been lifted directly out of a period lithographic image! Many, many thanks to Nick Hovey for sharing his amazing story of that day. And as always many thanks to you Professor for this excellent latest edition of shop stories! Cheers to both you and Nick!
Sumpter valley 19 and 20 were originally built as wood fired and didn’t get converted to oil until serving the white pass I cannot imagine how hard it would have been to feed a narrow gauge mikado wood while hauling a freight train on 4% grades
I had no idea of what you lads were talking about when you were on the bit where the train stalled next to the water tower until 18:15 and I went "Holy fuck, it's Edwards exploit from Thomas."
![[SFS] The only time I YELLED at a coworker when I worked for the Railroad. | Stories from the Shop](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UKs9GO_dIV0/mqdefault.jpg)
"Stories of why we are in the shop"
Lol, basically.
Stories for the shop
@@Hyce777trading in the scoop for a crescent wrench and a hammer.
At about 11:40 just as the train was clearing the curve and before Glenbrook yelled 'BANZAI!!!' and took off I suddenly realized what "little engines" meant. The coaches are _enormous_ in comparison. Cumbres Pass may have eventually won that battle but ye gads it must have been worried when Glenbrook sang her fight song.
Thank you for sharing and thank you Nick for the firsthand account. We need the story of the dinner train now please. :)
Easily one of my favorite styles of old steam, looove the pre-1900 stuff C: the ornate detailing, the way they run, the beauty of it, it's all just stunning and I can only hope I can get out west to see one of them in person someday!
Nick would be awesome at 3/4 idiot series 😀. Sorry, but was Nick a volunteer? If he was, what is management going to do? Fire a volunteer? 😀
Nick is a volunteer yes. And volunteers can technically get fired. Lol
@rescues_greyhounds you aren't the first person to say that, but I dunno... I can be a whole idiot by myself. Might throw off the balance of the show! 😂
23:47 I do believe that is the official wording in the rule book 😂
18:49 so this is the same thing that happened in Edward story. Where his side rods snapped. So they have to add slack to pull each car one at a time.
I got the story from Carlos a few weeks later about the tea kettles battle on cumbres .
Exellent stor .
Very cool story! If I may, I’d suggest keeping this format going. Not only telling your own stories, but every once in a while bringing a guest in to share one of their stories as well. It’s a great way to share additional perspectives and new stories. As always, great content and looking forward to more!
As a compliment to CoS, because of the thumbnail I thought it was a CoS devvlog lol
Lol I thought the very same.
Ditto
Also, the fact that CoS is being written by people whose feeling about stories like this is "This is so cool; I want to create a game to share what it's like to do this," really says a lot positive about CoS too.
Everybody Wooping, hollering and all because an 1875 steam locomotive managed to pull not just her train but push her sick cousin up A 4 and a 1/2 % grade It makes me proud
Felt like something Wilburt Audrey might have written. 😅
Glenbrook being the hero in the end.
11:45 Glenbrook just went super saiyan and shouted "MOVE IT!" to Eureka 😂
Thomas Energy. Glenbrook is just yelling everything.
@@lukemendel8197"I can't do it! I can't do it!" "I will do it! I will do it!"
I was gonna say something like that you beat me to it😂
22:00 Uhh... Holy smokes! That is simply an incredible display! A gorgeous, ornate 1875 wood-burner, rocking side to side like it's in a cartoon, with exhaust beat that sound like shotguns firing. Simply incredible. What a display of what these old engines could do.
Everyone got excited when 4014 helped the stalled freight a while back, and it made some impressive sounds, but there's NOTHING like these old grandma locomotives giving it 110%, every single last ounce of tractive effort and steam those wood fired boilers can churn out, what a sound!
I LOVE how Glenbrook took that and ran and helped Eureka up the grade all by herself, what a seriously cool story this was, I NEED to hear about thr Dinner Train incident. Hearing a locomotive down a chuff is such a interesting noise. The engineer waving his lantern basically say "OPEN THE THROTTLE PLEASEEEEEE"
i second this, i want to hear the story.
GLENBROOK is very beautiful and the fact it had to pull a train on her own is wild and the fact Eureka really said: do it yourself to glenbrook
The Eureka. She really say do it my friend I'm not the same engine at I was a long time ago. I'm only saying. If trains can talk.🎉🎉🎉🎉
14:41 "I'm giving her all she's got captain she cannae take anymore"
This would make a good citation needed 😂
The Norfolk and Western 611 pulled off this same trick on Saluda back in October 1992
11:50, the moment where Glenbrook started shoving Eureka all the way to Alamosa
Not gonna lie, Cumbres & Toltec is the best place for any old classic steam locomotives like Glenbrook, 315, RGS 20, Eureka and etc. One day I'm might visit there this summer.
Good girl, Glenbrook! Working for the money, and look at you go, you little old lady! That was amazing to see footage of!
Glenbrook looks like she's dancing. "Yeee! Look at me! Still got it, baby!"
She’s like 100+ years later I’ve still got it baby
Man. Is this the live action movie of "The Little Engine That Could"? What a cool story!
I love it, it's like an Edward's exploit type of situation.
A lot of people don't understand that these are built for this. Back then, someone clocked in and ran these with a heavy ass train for 10-12 hours a day. These were and still are iron workhorses.
Really neat to see machines this old giving it 110%. Often in preservation, the mindset of "preserving" your locomotive comes into play and sometimes people don't run them this hard much anymore in 2024, so this was neat to watch!
That single triumphant toot from Glenbrook after shoving the Eureka up the grade is the most victorious toot to ever toot.
I love those two engines and hope to get a chance to see them tackle the grade in person one day.
Glenbrook really is the little engine that could, and by God, could I hear her through those religious barks "I think I can" and later "I know I can."
Hey Hyce, so.... I accidentally had captions on..... according to youtube your name is Heist.... I found that more amusing than I shoulda done lol
I was the fireman on the 315/425 that came up the hill that day to rescue the train. That was the fastest that locomotive probably has ever been. That was definitely a day to remember out of a fun and exhausting week.
I remember being there when you and Jeff arrived. He's such a hot rod engineer. You almost fell out of the cab from exhaustion. I could tell it was hard work, but you loved it. I remember thinking how jealous I was that this was your "job". I didn't want to leave the action at Cresco, but I wish I could've seen y'all barreling up the hill. If you know anyone with footage, I'd love to see.
It’d be really interesting to see 491 or 20 try to pull that grade
You have to remember that 20 is a T-19 and has more TE than Glenbrook and Eureka COMBINED. She alone could do it and 491 would just run up the hill like "Wait I have a train behind me?"
@@FuelFire491 would probably also get PTSD because that's the same pass it got snowed in on
20 has been there, done that, in 2021! 491 has too... but in 1963. Lol!
@@Hyce777 please tell me there’s footage of that
@@Hyce777 talk to the museum director and convince (bribe) them to take 491 there lol
I can now understand why the Big K’s (K-36, K-37) are preferred on Cumbres Pass. Such brutes of narrow gauge locomotives. Props to the crew of the Glendbrook and Eureka for giving it the old college try up one of the biggest grades in Colorado. Love it!
"Shop talk" would be a great name for a podcast... would probably get you canceled, though lmao
How would it get him canceled
@susanlua4792 if you know what shop talk is, you know
@@wobblebee1242 I kinda don’t
@susanlua4792 ah well that explains it. Shop talk, talk among employees or members of a blue collar organization. These places are often called workshops, or just "shops" The type of people who work those jobs are often very not PC. Even if/when they may be respectful to different people, they're still not very pc lol
@@wobblebee1242 ok that makes sense….i think
18:20 They actually did something similar in an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. They loosened the screw couplers to give it slack and picked up the cars one at a time. The narrator explained it to the audience as it was happening. Crazy that a children's show had such a thing imo. Didn't even consider it with knuckle couplers. Good stuff.
These aren't even knuckles! They're link-and-pin, super archaic by modern roads but it's what they had in the 1860-70s!
I'm still a bit unclear on what happened to Eureka, so the blower pipe fell over, does that mean it just started dumping steam out of the boiler? I would've assumed the valve for the blower was in the cab, so the pipe breaking wouldn't do much unless you needed the blower, and I can't imagine she needed the blower particularly much working up that grade, did the loose pipe go and break something else? what am I missing here
It sounds like they got a bit behind on pressure, and then couldn't recover once stalled.
@@Hyce777 this. Whilst trying to build pressure while standing, the fallen blower was just creating positive pressure in the smokebox and negating any draft there was, which meant they couldn't make any headway in rebuilding pressure.
Oh absolutely they needed that blower going up that grade. The blower, recanting on my knowledge, is meant to induce a draft and therefore deliver both more steam to the cylinders by increasing the fire temperature.
The blower pipe being knocked over meant that the opposite was pretty much happening, it sounds like as said above me.
18:50 this is just Edwards Exploit but in real life. Absolutely amazing
I was thinking the exact same thing! 😂
Speaking of backing down against the handbrakes and giving it a good yank to start the train, Ive done that with 3 SD70's trying to move a switching cut.
In the yard I was in, its downhill to the west, and we were on the east end trying to pull a cut of 108 cars up to make a cut on about 40 to switch. With 3 SD70's online, we couldn't get the cut to move. There was usually at least 5 handbrakes on the downhill end. I tried and tried but it wouldn't budge. My conductor said he was about to take off walking. I said hold on a min, let me try something. I eased of the independent and let gravity take me until I felt those brakes. I then came out on the throttle and gave it hell. My old head conductor was impressed to see 108 cars start moving, with 3 SD70's wide open, screaming for all they had. Sitting in 8, less than 2 miles and hour with the amp gauge bouncing off the needle maybe wasn't the best thing to do, but by golly I got that train to move 40 cars to the cut!
Have a similar story with a pair of 38's doing something waaaaaay outside their wheelhouse of a tonnage rating. But hey. It sure beats 30 minutes of walking.
Same, done the same with an GMD-1. 37 loaded clay surry tanks!
Great story. Little Engines and Big Men was a wonderful read for me, I believe by the time a
I read the book, it was already out of print. I do wish it would be reprinted, I would definitely like to add it to my personal library.
I’d love an in-depth video on what went wrong with Eureka! You said a hose fell off a pipe or something along those lines?
Correction: Glenbrook was able to haul up an average of 6 loaded flatcars in her Tahoe days.
Edit: not trying to downplay anyone's skills or actions. Just felt an impulsive need to bring that up. Fantastic video.
Thanks for the correction- I tried looking for the photo I had to verify before we started filming, but couldn't find it.
Biggest difference between "home rails" and Cumbres Pass is the grade. Far more difficult to move that train on continuous 4.5% than on 2.4-ish% with short sections of 4%. That stall happened with the bar in the corner and the throttle wide open, just under pop- that was all she wrote.
@@nickhovey261Fair enough. This was a great story I never heard anything about. It's cool to know how Glenbrook really took charge that day. Surely it was a valuable learning experience for everyone involved.
So you mean to tell me, two locomotives had problems that day and the other two beat the hill into submission for hurting their friend?
It's always such a treat and a joy to see these grand old ladies in action. And I can definitely understand why Eureka was starting to struggle while Glenbrook fought on. Dan Markoff (Eureka's current owner) is a bit cautious about how often Eureka runs, as she still retains her original lap-seam boiler from 1875. It's definitely got some miles on it, which makes those old lap seams weak. We had a similar issue at Railtown when our No. 3 went in for her 1.2 million dollar restoration, where we ultimately went and had a brand-new boiler made with welded seams in order to fully preserve the original 1891 boiler, as the alternative would've been to drastically modify the original to strengthen the lap seams. It's an FRA rule, one that I am uncertain as to if it has any jurisdiction over narrow gauge equipment. Might be a question Hyce can answer. It's also why the Inyo retains her original boiler while the 3-Spot had to have a new one installed, because Railtown's excursions have to operate on an active freight railroad (Sierra Northern, the current form of the original Sierra Railway), while the Inyo gets to freely run around on a nice private loop around the NSRM to her heart's content.
Speaking of the NSRM, it's worth pointing out that, like the 3, Glenbrook has a brand-new boiler. I can't remember if it used the old school lap seams or welded seams, but given that she has a new-ish boiler and is a 2-6-0 rather than a 4-4-0, Glenbrook is basically going to get the entire train and Eureka up as far as she can come Hell or High Water.
I believe it was 1981 when the No 2 (152) of the Huckleberry RR was being finished with a retubing over the winter; it was a few days late and the season started with using No 3 (a 15-ton 2-6-0 with 33-inch drivers) and No 1 (a GE 25 tonner) on the head end of a 10-car passenger train. After successfully running for a few trips, one of the gaskets in the branch pipe in the front end blew killing the draft anytime the throttle was opened. I was the track crew foreman then and was pulled to run the No 1 while the Supervisor fired No 3 and the regular train engineer ran No 3. I wound up pulling the train and pushing No 3 so No 3 was the whistle until we could finish the day and get the gasket replaced overnight. Strange time.
Spectacular story and video!
And even though in the end the Glenbrook did have to end up backing down from the grade and there may have been a look of disappointment amongst the crew, I would say it was a very successful trip regardless!
We got to witness pre 1900’s steam locomotives giving their all, and that in and of itself is a wonderful experience.
I remember that day very well. The whole event was amazing. I was trackside at Cresco for this "dilemma", watching the whole thing unfold. I was up around the engines most of the time. I remember, when the Eureka was having problems and Stathi thought it might have been bad wood and we all started scouring the undergrowth for alternatives. They even briefly considered how they might chop up an old tie by the water tank to get pieces into the fire box. When you mentioned that this video from engineerguy20 was the only one you could find, my wife will tell you that I almost jumped out of my seat with excitement and started checking all my videos. And as luck would (or would not) have it, that very moment is just about the only thing I didn't get on video. I even remember calling my dad while standing there trackside, telling him what was going on. For context, my father is a retired engineer of almost 50 years from UP and several steam railroads, including Heber Valley, Texas state, and FWWR. As a teenager, I even had the pleasure of working with him to help restore 1744 when it was going to the Gulf Coast Railroad. Long before it ended up at Niles Canyon. He told me that day on the phone that they should "load up the breaks on the last car, take the slack in the couplers in, and get started that way so they can get moving before everything is pulled tight. And sure enough, I had no idea that's what Stathi was already doing. The only other thing I wish I had seen is Jeff flying up the hill in 425 to come to the rescue. When they got there, the fireman almost fell out of the cab and flopped on the ground, he was so exhausted. I always loving being there when Jeff is the engineer. He's such a hot rod-er. Coincidently, I did also chase the almost midnight dinner train you were on with 425 and 168. I got a lot of great shots of that run, including that rocket of a start at Cresco after topping off water. With red-hot cinders spewing out of the smoke stack in the black night. I'd be happy to share if you're interested. Also curious, don't suppose you and/or Nick will be at C&T for the friends photo charter with 463 in Aug? My dad and I will be there.
Great to hear your perspective, and you and your dad's experiences! I am not planning on being at that charter. Perhaps another time.
Literally almost like Edward's Exploit in real life.Really cool to see!Glenbrook was working really hard there.
18:45 Oh my god! This is the first I've seen this footage. I feel like a proud father. I grew up in Reno through the 70's-80's and seeing the Glenbrook at the Museum a lot was a part of that. It really is the Little Engine That Could. Oh and I believe the steepest part of any of the Grade that Glenbrook and Tahoe(#20) ever saw on their original alignments was just shy of 3%.
Also what was the issue with the Eureka, because they must have been able to still get a decent amount of pullingpower out of it.
I mean that if it were only capable of pulling its own weight up the hill or less then the Glenbrook would have stalled before the water stop.
Or is this a case of the engine can pull the train but it aint starting it on its own. (I'm thinking: after the waterstop, just get Eureka to pull as much as is safe with its defect to get started, then manage Reg and JohnBar so it only pulls itself or a little more- with Glenbrook RRO-ing it.) Could this have been an option or is my lack of knowing much technical things showing here?
It sounds like they got behind on pressure, and then without the draft of working at speed due to the stall, they couldn't get more pressure because lack of draft. They could put some power down for sure, but not near the amount they needed to. I don't know how low they got, but, it must've been a fair bit down.
That clip of the two engines coming around the “State Line Curve”, reminded me of watching the Thomas the Tank Engine 4th season story “You Can’t Win”.
Not gonna lie, I had that thought after the fact!
@@nickhovey261 and the clip when they backed the train into the last car to create slack to get the train the last few feet to have Glenbrook’s tender fill hatch in line with the water tower reminded me of “Edward’s Exploit” from the second season.
@@MachRacer4 very much the same concept!
Edward the Blue Engine did the same thing when he snapped his connecting rod. Pick up the train one car at a time.
Hearing a story about steam engines over coming obstacles makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Reminds me a little of Edward's Exploit from The Railway Series, but better.
This was an amazing recounting of perhaps one of the best displays of modern steam railroading in recent memory! There was a lot of footage I had actually not seen until now, especially the clips of Glenbrook trying her hand at soloing Cresco. I think it is undeniable that she put on a stupendous show unlike anything else. How I hope to see this little Mogul one day, she’s got the bite to match her bark!
What an amazing video. All the clips are soo cool as well.
I’ve learned so unbelievably much out of this video. Please upload more like this! Also the zuma replica and the eureka would look so cute together lol
:) Thank you for sharing stories in this way
And thank you Nick
That is so unbelievably awesome, props to everyone involved
Your videos are always fantastic! It really made my father's day. And is good as your videos are, the music at the end is unbelievably good! I listen to every note, every time.
Hahaha don't tell me these old girls aren't alive.
I can just imagine Glenbrook sitting there going "well, I suppose it's time to show these young'ns how it's done...... old iron indeed"
*cracks joints*
that hillstart was insane
This put the biggest smile on my face. Holy crow! As soon as you said "old school railroading" I knew where this was going. That was absolutely incredible!
Glenbrook is cool
i just noticed at 19:14 (after watching again with nice headphones) that you can hear eureka chuffing in the background of glenbrooks grunts of shoving her ass up the hill.
Yeah, eureka wasn't doing *nothing*, just wasn't doing much.
@@Hyce777 still so cool to hear the difference of a failing engine and one that's just saying "GET YOUR FAT ASS OUTTA THE WAY!"
This story gave me chills, so freaking cool how history can repeat itself in the art of old school railroading.
Here’s a clip of NKP 765 doing exactly what Nick and Mark are talking about with the Glenbrook, rocking back and forth. The sound is just… *chefs kiss* amazing.
ua-cam.com/video/WjEzExukNMs/v-deo.htmlsi=8Q5XHoWg_CSaAp2a
That was an amazing story, and some incredible stack talk. At the risk of triggering the Thomas fans out there, this was less Edward pushing Gordon chanting "I will do it, I will do it!" and more Glenbrook just swearing and cussing up a storm back there, like "F*** Eureka, Move your fat a**! F***ing move it, F***ing move it!"
I was there during the first 2 days of the Iron Horse Roundup, it was a fun event! I later heard of what happened to the Eureka and Glenbrook in the days following the event, but never knew WHAT exactly transpired.
Wish I could've been there to see/hear the Glenbrook power up the grade like it did, quite literally the little engine that could.
Still blows my mind that something like a 4% grade stumps a modern consist of a train, let alone 19th century engines like Glenbrook and Eureka.
Hyce. You're way too upbeat. I live in Los Angeles And I aspire to B as upbeat as you. Do you guys need some assistance or would like to hire? I am a welder, US Army vet welder, And would love for nothing more than 2 go to work at something. I love. Especially since I live in Los Angeles... Great video.
Glenbrook = the little engine that sure as hell Tried!
and almost succeeded!!!!!
I’ve had to do that with a geep and a sw1001 pulling garbage out of bushwick queens. Set a minimum, bunch the slack and let the old 101 go.
Out of all the operating steam locomotives, I bet that 1309 and 4014 have the worst wobbles when their drivers are out of sync
Meanwhile Tallstar (warrior cats turned locomotive) is a K-49, he probably would've been able to tow both the old timers and those three cars up the grade without breaking a sweat
Speaking of waddling vehicles, have you seen footage of big rig tractors drag racing? When they apply power the whole tractor tilts significantly.
Glenbrook is such a badass. Never seen a locomotive work so hard. Would have been amazing if she could have made it the rest of the way.
On a somewhat related point. I learned and also had to do it once. If your car's automatic transmission get stuck engaged in gear as in the torque converter gets locked up, or if your car has a clutch and the clutch will not release the same idea should work. Some how you have to get the car moving, on a slight hill is best if you are alone. Once it is moving a bit and then put in it gear from neutral or a clutch car, force it in gear.
Now in my case it was a automatic on and the torque converter stuck on. I had to circle around a few times till the traffic light where this happened. I had to was time it so I did not have to stop the car on a hill the wrong way. Problem was I had several traffic lights and stops signs before getting home but if I got close I could park it and walk the rest of the way. So that left me with at least 3 traffic lights. Well the first on was not on a hill and the next two slightly possible. So I was coming to the traffic light and it was going red and no way did I wan to be be stuck at the light, so I pulled to the edge of the road and had to slow do a lot and had to stop. Once it changed I started the engine put it in gear and it moved a little and stalled, started it again while the car was moving and after about three stalls it kept running and I made it through that light and the next 2 and parked the car about a 1/2 mile from home and walked home. It took two or more days before that torque converted released and let me drive it normal. I learned of the electric connection for it and un-plugged it and ran it for a few month like that till I junked the car.
That was some old-school railroading right there, straight out of a memoir. The dance, the angry bark, totally at the limit. Glenbrook shows that the #mogulcult is alive and well.
Glennbrook really went I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN I THINK I CAN!
That’s an awesome story Mark can you share the one from the dinner train? Thanks man Jeff aka NW611J
They should do it again!
it should be "Stories For The Shop" not "Stories From The Shop"
23:47 we neeeeeed the context for this please it seems like such an interesting story
So Glenbrook did the Alamosa dance!
Man when the video started YT asked if I wanted to become a member and I panicked thinking I lost my lantern 😂
Nope, still gold and amber my friend :)
Cool story, thanks for sharing
What a story!!!!! Thank you!
I love all of your videos hyce have a great day
Probably the hardest the Glenbrook has worked since it was in revenue service
I'm sure the Zuma will handle that grade just fine. Juuuuuuust fine. Fine. yeah...
Really, the Glenbrook was always pulling the train, the Eureka was only pulling the Glenbrook. Next time add the Zuma to pull the Eureka.😀
I used to think books such as "Little Engines and Big Men" were only interesting reads. It took me a while to realize how important stories from other steam engineers really are. While they can be fun, there are a lot of important lessons to be learned from the troubles of others and how they dealt with them. Engineers writing about their bad days in publications such as "Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Magazine" and "Railroad Gazette Magazine" undoubtedly saved a lot of time, frustration, and probably lives.
Modern zoomy will have about a sneeze more T.E. than the eureka. It'll be interesting for sure. lol. By my math she's good for one full size coach and one half coach (be it a caboose, or if we build one of the two axle doots) up that hill by herself at her modern updating. Lol
@@Hyce777 hold up, Eureka's got ~5600lbs of tractive effort while Montezuma had like what, 3500? Where do you want pull the 2000 pounds from?
@@FuelFire Twin Turbo's and NOS. Or the Wankel Rotary the gang wants to hide in the tender. Being serious though: I don't catch enough Montezuma Monday's, but given the equations for TE I'd assume most of that gain will be from being able to run at a higher boiler pressure with newer stronger materials. Higher Pressure equals more beans.
@@Idaho-Cowboy from the calculation Hyce did in this stream, she will have about 4400lbs
Stories from the road
So 23:50 the lattern signal for literally more more fire and watch the crown head jump
And now we know next time do a triple header monty, eureka, Glenbrook, a box car two passengers cars and a bobber caboose.
That was EPIC 😮😮😮
first
Did anyone notice that hyce mentioned railroads online with out says how bad it is? And in a clam voice? Thats just different
If you watched a few episodes back in derail valley I talked about part of my own mental health journey about a lot of the things that frustrate me about it. I'm pretty much over it all.
@@Hyce777 ok
This story was hell of a watching experience. Great fight against "THE HILL", advanced yee olde techniques to get the ass moving and on- just amaizing. For those in preservation- one situation of the lifetime moment!
Hi Mark, that was a fantastic story. And to hear it from one of the guys in the cab was ultra cool!!! Seeing the footage of old school railroading right out of the Little Engines book was like watching history come alive! I recall seeing the getting started on hill video but didn’t fully comprehend its significance until now. WOW-brought tears of joy to my eyes! I wish to add that Glenbrook and Eureka are absolutely beautiful choo choos! Like they’ve been lifted directly out of a period lithographic image! Many, many thanks to Nick Hovey for sharing his amazing story of that day. And as always many thanks to you Professor for this excellent latest edition of shop stories! Cheers to both you and Nick!
the j
Ed Dickens sfs when?
I hope some day!
Sumpter valley 19 and 20 were originally built as wood fired and didn’t get converted to oil until serving the white pass
I cannot imagine how hard it would have been to feed a narrow gauge mikado wood while hauling a freight train on 4% grades
Hi guys
I had no idea of what you lads were talking about when you were on the bit where the train stalled next to the water tower until 18:15 and I went "Holy fuck, it's Edwards exploit from Thomas."