Re: (NNG) Looking for info on SPRR/TSRR/FWWR/GVRR 2248

Steam Fan 492 Wrote:
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> Earl and Russo,
> Thank you for your kind responses. Earl, what is
> the small "tank" on the end of the tender facing
> the cab in front of the oil bunker (there is a
> seat there currently). Are there different types
> of firing valves, as from what I have seen the one
> from back in your era and the current one are
> significantly different, also would you mind
> filling me in on the "railfan" weekend which from
> what I heard was MAGNIFICENT. Also how many people
> were on the "Tarantula" steam crew and do you know
> who they and where I may be able to contact them.
> If you don't mind me asking, how did it feel
> running her five days a week ten months out of the
> year?
> IMHO: Russo, maybe greatly warped foamers start
> alike?
> Thanks again,
> John
> (P.S.) TXhighballer, thanks for the information, I
> wish I could have seen her back at the Texas State
> it must have been very interesting see and get her
> up those hills.


The "tank" on the front of the tender is the sand box. It would be filled with sand for sanding the flues as necessary. It was never used for that. It was a handy place to put your grip, and a 5 gallon bucket served as a sand supply for the flues.

2248 had a typical Espee brass firing valve handle. I don't remember anything special about it, other than it was nice big brass lever. Below the firing valve was a damper control lever, that we never messed with.

The FWWR line from Grapevine to Ft Worth was up and down hills, nothing more than 1%, but if all 6 cars were on the train, 2248 worked wide open up the hills and put on a good show, As she was a soak, she was both hungry and thirsty at the same time. When ever the throttle was open, the injector was running. But 2248 steamed well and we never had any trouble keeping her hot. The run to the Ft. Worth Stockyards was fun because you got to tangle with the Big Boys. We crossed the UP and the BNSF/UP mains. The UP crossing was an automatic interlocking where whoever got there first got the signal. The BNSF/UP crossing at Tower 60 was a manual interlocker that required us to radio the BNSF dispatcher to get the signal. More than once we managed to get in ahead of some BNSF coal drag that had to stop and wait for an 1896 the-wheeler to trundle past. We also got to sit and wait for many parades to go past. My favorite runs were the evening charters we did to the Stockyards. We'd run down there and sit for 2-3 hours while the group went to Billy Bob's (World's Largest Honkytonk) or some such place. They always had good barbeque catered for the inbound trip and we got to eat the plentiful leftovers.

We also ran from the Stockyards down to the FWWR 8th Ave Yard, which was about 5 miles of straight track with a short 2% grade up into 8th Ave. One day a local FWWR freight stalled on the hill as we were headed south and we came up from behind. I suggested we give them a shove up the hill. So 2248 locked couplers with a big hopper car, I whistled off and with the Johnson Bar in the corner, the sanders running, I ripped the throttle wide open. 2248 eased up enough to get the cylinders full of steam, made a 1/4 revolution slip, stopped for about 5 seconds and proceeded to shove the works up the hill. It was awesome. I got yelled at by the big boss for doing that. He was a real jerk, hated the steam train, and did all he could to make it unattractive to the owner.

South of 8th Ave the track continued to Belt Jct. where there was a wye whose tail was controlled by the BNSF. You had to call them on the radio to get the signal. We seldom went down that way. We simply ran around the train at 8th Ave and came back to the Stockyards tank first.

The Railfan Weekend we ran in 1999 was 2248's finest moment. The first day we ran from the Stockards down to Belt Jct, turned and then came back past the Stockyards and off to Grapevine where we had a lunch break while we turned the engine. We then went tank first down to the end of the line at Carrollton, ran around the train, then ran back to the Stockyards. We did a bunch of runbys along the way. The next day we ran 2248 to Granbury which was about 35 (?) miles each way. I fired down and ran back. There is along hill out of Ft. Worth going south. The track was good for 49 mph. Ron Larson hooked her up and opened 2248 up wide. We were making a solid 40mph. My injector was running constantly, and we were still losing water. I told Ron to start his. He did so and fed 2248 more oil. With a nice haze at the stack, we were loosing a bit a steam, more oil, a bit more, finally the firing valve was wide open, still with a nice haze at the stack. The steam was not recovering, so we sanded her out, that did the trick. 2248 was running with absolutely ALL she had: firing valve wide open, both injectors running, throttle wide open, Johnson bar up in the Company notch. She probably ad not run like that since the SP days.

Awesome.

We had lunch in Granbury and did an all too time consuming turning exercise involving backtracking to Cresson (15 miles) then, returning for the trip home. I ran home. The 2% grade out of Granbury to Cresson was great. It was "2248 Climbs Cumbres" - slugging it out at 15 mph, both injectors running. 2248 as built as a "Heavy Passenger Engine" to pull SP trains up the likes of Donner Pass in 1896. So.... This is what the Overland Limited of 1896 sound like climbing Donner Pass.....

Awesome....again.

Over the top at Cresson it was all downhill to Ft. Worth. I sailing along enjoying the ride when a pacing auto indicated we were doing 55mph... We got into the Stockyards and every bearing on 2248 was ice cold. It was 2248's finest hour

The FWWR leased he entire passenger operation to another company, 3 days before this trip. Fortunately, they did not mess with already made plans. The new outfit proceeded to cut our pay, eliminated all our benefits (health insurance, RR Retirement, etc.) In less than 6 months the entire steam crew had quit and gone on to other jobs.

Sad. But it was fun while it lasted.