Jeff Ramsey Wrote:
=======================================================
> Kevin K Wrote:
> ==================================================
> > the folks at the WW&F have had to do some
> > re-engineering of the original frame
> I hear Mssr. Moedinger has experience. Looks like
> a math question.?
Kevin had the right term.
The original locomotives were designed by
mechanical engineers, men (now women also) trained to evaluate and deal with static and dynamic stresses.
When CATS was first created, there was a certain amount of laughter because they planned to run a tourist railroad without passenger cars, so some volunteers built a proof-of-concept rider car from an old boxcar.
Unfortunately, they did not completely understand stresses, so they conservatively left all the framing in place, which resulted in unacceptably small windows.
Fortunately, Bob Keller had a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering (and must have been quite good at it, since he had been on the faculty at Stanford), so he did understand stresses and was able to re-engineer the cars to produce the ones we are familiar with.
I'm guessing that part of the need for re-engineering at the WW&F was the fact that they had to put a completely new boiler in #9. But, as I have already said, if engineers with slide rules could get the
Torch Lake right, I am completely confident that engineers with personal computers could get a replica right.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2012 06:22PM by Randall Hess.