Re: D&RG Montezuma - - ten pounds of t.e.??

Russo Loco Wrote:
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> Did Montezuma have enough oomph to get herself
> from Chama to Cumbres, much less pull even one
> coach??


By the time the cumbres route opened I think the 2-4-0's had been removed to minor work like pay train service. Some of them may have been dismantled entirely by then (if not, they soon would be). They made about 3600 pounds tractive effort, which was sufficient to pull 3-4 car trains on the relatively low-grade original D&RG line from Denver to Pueblo and southward. I've seen a photograph of one on the veta pass line with a single car in tow. The 2-4-0's were not particularly good locomotives. The short wheelbase and 2-wheel lead truck gave them an unsteady motion at speeds above about fifteen to twenty miles per hour, and they lacked sufficient boiler capacity to sustain much faster than that with any real load, anyhow.

EDIT: Let's have some fun. 80 pounds per ton rolling resistance on a 4% grade, added to 8 to 10 pounds per ton normal resistance. Locomotive weight about 25,000 pounds, tender weight (puny 4-wheel 500 gallon tender) probably on the order of at most another 8 tons or so. So let's say 20 tons for the power and another 10-11 tons for a mostly loaded, lightweight early coach (one of the 2-and-1 Jackson & Sharp coaches with canvas roofing). ~90 times ~30 is 2700, with 3600 available so that leaves some for curvature and general wiggle room. So....yeah, it could manage 1 early car up-grade at perhaps eight to twelve miles an hour or so. 20th century or modern, much heavier equipment? Forget it.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2018 06:41PM by James.