Re: Uintah 2-6-6-2s and the Rio Grande

stevejb123 wrote, above,

"removing the tanks would not have changed the tractive effort of these (or any) locomotives. tractive effort is a (theoretical) relationship between the steam cylinders, boiler pressure and driver diameter. Adding or subtracting weight would affect the factor of adhesion (the point at which the locomotive would slip) but it would not change the tractive effort."

Assuming this is true, and I believe it is, the removal of the tanks would have seriously impacted the tonnage rating of these engines.

Does anyone know the difference in tonnage rating (as opposed to the T.E.) of these engines from the Unintah, with onboard water tanks, to the SVRR's application with tenders?

Maybe the difference isn't that much after all.

Recall that the Tonnage Rating of a C-18 is greater than that of a C-19, despite having a higher tractive effort.