Re: Slippery locomotives

kcsivils Wrote:
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> Was the slipperiness due to design?
> Handling by the engineer?
> Track conditions?
> Other?

Yes to all of the above, and
Engine condition: Driver tires worn hollow and to different diameters reduces adhesion, and well as valve timing. That big steam leak on one stroke can rob power as effectively as poor valve timing. The sanders may not be working. Combine that with oily rails from running with plain bearings, and early morning dew on the rails, and it's incredible how slippery they can be. Learned that the hard way when we were running sunrise freights. Horrible traction due to the dew, then two hours later there was no issue at all.

The stack talk doesn't correspond to the engine being worked very hard, so I would bet on extremely slippery conditions brought on by any combination of the conditions above.

Just because the track is straight doesn't mean that it is level. They may be climbing a fairly steep grade requiring both engines even on a good day.