kcsivils Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wonder if the cost of leveling the grade so to
> speak to prevent all those short up and down runs
> would over time be worth it (when the railroad was
> being built) to lower the cost of maintenance.
>
> I'm referring to the time period when the nation's
> rail network was being built and dismals weren't
> even a figment of somebody's wild imagination yet.
That's why Hill built the GN, to be better off than the up 'n' down NP. But what are you going to do if the whole line is up 'n' down? Impracticable. This is railroading not Defence spending here.
As for the differences between wear in oil and coal burners, where are you going to get that comparison on the narrow gauge up there? NZR ran both types of fuel in the same class on J 4-8-2 and K 4-8-4 locos, in goods train and express services. It was known that the JB oil burners were written off earlier due to wear and tear of oil firing, a rather convoluted saga is written here [
en.wikipedia.org]